UNROLL
Evening light on Samaria's walled hill above a green valley; in the foreground a garland of field flowers lies wilting on a low stone wall.

Woe and a King

Isaiah 28

What are you leaning on that you’re sure will never give way?

29 verses≈ 6 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

  1. 1–5Zion on trialJudah’s sin, the mountain raised, the vineyard’s song
  2. 6Holy, holy, holyIsaiah’s call, in the year King Uzziah died (about 740 BC)
  3. 7–12ImmanuelAhaz’s fear, the sign, the Child, the shoot of Jesse
  4. 13–23The nations judgedBabylon to Tyre: the LORD is Judge of all the earth
  5. 24–27The whole earthThe earth laid waste, and death swallowed up
  6. 28–35Woe and a KingEgypt’s help or the LORD’s, and the King in His beautyChapter 28
  7. 36–39Hezekiah’s crisisSennacherib, 701 BC: the prayer, the sickness, the envoys
  8. 40–48Comfort My peopleTo the exiles ahead: Cyrus, the idols, the Servant
  9. 49–55The Servant and ZionPierced for our transgressions; Zion restored
  10. 56–66New heavens and earthA house of prayer, the Anointed One, all things new

The Captivity of Ephraim

Isaiah
Close on the flat top of Samaria's wall at evening: a feast garland of field flowers left on the stones, its blossoms drooping and browning, the green valley far below.

Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards,

to the fading flower of his glorious splendor,

set on the summit above the fertile valley,

the pride of those overcome by wine.

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Isaiah

Behold, the Lord has one

who is strong and mighty.

Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest,

like a driving rain or flooding downpour,

he will smash that crown to the ground.

Isaiah
Isaiah

The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards

will be trampled underfoot.

The fading flower of his beautiful splendor,

set on the summit above the fertile valley,

will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest:

Whoever sees it will take it in his hand and swallow it.

Isaiah

On that day the LORD of Hosts will be a crown of glory,

a diadem of splendor to the remnant of His people,

a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,

and a strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.

Isaiah

These also stagger from wine

and stumble from strong drink:

Priests and prophets reel from strong drink

and are befuddled by wine.

They stumble because of strong drink,

muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.

Isaiah

For all their tables are covered with vomit;

there is not a place without filth.

Isaiah

Whom is He trying to teach?

To whom is He explaining His message?

To infants just weaned from milk?

To babies removed from the breast?

Isaiah

For they hear: “Order on order, order on order, line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there.”

Isaiah
Noon in a hill-town courtyard: deep shade under a broad fig tree beside a stone-rimmed well, a woven mat and a clay water jar laid ready, nobody there.

Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues,

He will speak to this people

to whom He has said:

“This is the place of rest, let the weary rest;

this is the place of repose.”

Isaiah

But they would not listen.

Isaiah

Then the word of the LORD to them will become:

“Order on order, order on order,

line on line, line on line;

a little here, a little there,”

so that they will go stumbling backward

and will be injured, ensnared, and captured.

Question

Quick question

Before the warning about foreign tongues, look at what the LORD had already offered (28:12).

What had the LORD offered His people (28:12)?

A Cornerstone in Zion

Isaiah

Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers

who rule this people in Jerusalem.

Isaiah
A flimsy shelter of brushwood and reed matting propped against a boulder in a dry wadi bed, dark storm cloud massing over the ridges upstream.

For you said, “We have made a covenant with death;

we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol.

When the overwhelming scourge passes through

it will not touch us,

because we have made lies our refuge

and falsehood our hiding place.”

God

So this is what the Lord GOD says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;

the one who believes will never be shaken.

Isaiah 28:16

God
God

I will make justice the measuring line

and righteousness the level.

God
A flash flood bursts through a narrow gap in a rocky wadi, brown water breaking over the stones in a white surge; no people.

Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies,

and water will flood your hiding place.

Your covenant with death will be dissolved,

and your agreement with Sheol will not stand.

When the overwhelming scourge passes through,

you will be trampled by it.

God

As often as it passes through,

it will carry you away;

it will sweep through morning after morning,

by day and by night.”

Isaiah

The understanding of this message

will bring sheer terror.

Isaiah

Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on,

and the blanket too small to wrap around you.

Isaiah

For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing task.

Isaiah

So now, do not mock,

or your shackles will become heavier.

Indeed, I have heard from the Lord GOD of Hosts

a decree of destruction against the whole land.

Pray

Pray

Lord, I have leaned on things that cannot hold. Thank You for the stone You laid in Zion. Let me trust Christ, the tested cornerstone, and never be shaken. Amen.

Two refuges

orEphraim’s crown28:1–4: a fadingflowerJerusalem’srulers28:14–15: a covenantwith deathA refuge oflies28:17: swept awayThe LORD’sstone28:16: a surefoundationNever shaken28:16: the one whobelieves

Whiteboard

Every refuge but one is tested by the flood. The stone the LORD lays is the only one that holds.

Listen and Hear

Isaiah

Listen and hear my voice.

Pay attention and hear what I say.

Isaiah
Isaiah

Does the plowman plow for planting every day?

Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil?

Isaiah
Spring morning on a small leveled field below a hill village: a farmer scatters tiny seed by hand from a fold of his cloak; rows of young wheat and a separate plot of barley beyond.

When he has leveled its surface,

does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?

He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots,

and rye within its border.

Isaiah

For his God instructs

and teaches him properly.

Isaiah
Isaiah

Surely caraway is not threshed with a sledge,

and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin.

But caraway is beaten out with a stick,

and cumin with a rod.

Isaiah
Evening on a hilltop threshing floor: a light two-wheeled threshing cart stands still on spread sheaves, its two horses unhitched and grazing at the edge, grain in a heap.

Grain for bread must be ground,

but it is not endlessly threshed.

Though the wheels of the cart roll over it,

the horses do not crush it.

This also comes from the LORD of Hosts,

who is wonderful in counsel

and excellent in wisdom.

0:16

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

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Isaiah 28

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A verse to carry with you

So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.

Isaiah 28:16

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