Isaiah 28:1-18, 20, 22, 24, 28-29

Isaiah 28:1-18, 20, 22, 24, 28-29 NIV Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley— to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine! See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground. That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, will be trampled underfoot. That fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley, will be like figs ripe before harvest— as soon as people see them and take them in hand, they swallow them. In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. “Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast? For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there.” Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”— but they would not listen. So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there— so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured. Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.” So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you. Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land. When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil? Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it, but one does not use horses to grind grain. All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Isaiah 28 is a message delivered to the leaders of both the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom of the Jews. The northern kingdom is referred as Ephraim. It's capitol city was Samaria. The city sat upon a hill surrounded by orchards and vineyards. I've stood on the ruins of Samaria and there are olive trees as far as the eye can see surrounding the place. Isaiah refers to Samaria as a wreath decorating the nation. But that pride of Ephraim is laid low by wine. Isaiah is calling the leaders of northern Israel a bunch of drunks. God will take them and their city down through powerful Assyria. And then God, not Samaria, will be prized as the glory of Israel when the survivors come back to covenant faithfulness under a new leader. God will empower the new leadership with justice and divine strength. Isaiah then turns his message on Jerusalem and its corrupt leadership. Even the priests and prophets of the temple are overindulgent. God seems to be unimpressed with their legalism. A rule for this and a rule for that points to the growing corpus of religious laws designed to keep the law of Moses. Although Pharasaism was a much later development after the exile, the spirit of legalism has always been around. So while the priests only play at religion, they harshly enforce others. Now God will turn the tables on them. The priests will be taking instruction from the Assyrians who will drag them off into exile. The leadership of Jerusalem does not heed Isaiah. They do not believe his warnings. They made a covenant with Assyria. They pay tribute to King Sennacherib. They believe no harm will come to them. Their covenant with death, that is with Assyria, will protect them. Not so, says the prophet. The time for divine justice has come. Jerusalem will pay for its unfaithfulness. As sure as a cornerstone sets the beginning of a straight wall, the truth is that Jerusalem will suffer the Assyrians. Count on it. At the end of his message, Isaiah reminds the leaders that just as a farmer stops plowing and then begins to plant, just as the harvesters finish their beating of the crop and begin gathering the grain, this destruction decreed leads to a further work, a holy purpose. After the destruction there will be a restoration. God will gather up the survivors and make them holy once again. I have to be honest, I'm getting bored with these prophetic messages. It's pretty much the same message day after day. Perhaps I'm like the leaders of Jerusalem who have turned their ears deaf toward the warnings of God through the prophet. Perhaps I'm drunk with my own pursuit of life on my own terms. Am I overconfident? Am I believing in a lie? Where does my security lie? Do I believe the cross of Jesus Christ makes me exempt of any judgment? Or do I believe the messages within scripture that we will all be held accountable? The scriptures contain both messages of universal mercy and universal judgment. How do I live within the tension of these two messages? Something to think about.