Chapters 28 through 35 give local prophecies that support the accuracy of the more global prophecies. Israel's two main concerns are the kingdom of Assyria in the east and Egypt in the west. These will play a prominent part in these next eight chapters. Six sections will open with hoy, a cry often translated "Woe!" Those six sections begin at 28:1, 29:1, 29:15, 30:1, 31:1 and 33:1.
Isaiah 28:1-4, Pride of drunkards
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.
The city of which drunkards boast (Samaria?) will be thrown down.
Isaiah 28:5-6, A wreath for a remnant
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.
Yet even as Samaria falls, a remnant is saved for the future. Isaiah interrupts his warning with a beacon of hope for a portion of Israel.
Isaiah 28:7-8, Staggering
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.
Priests and prophets are described as drunkards staggering from beer and wine, covering tables with vomit. Note the stumbling ABBA chiamus in verse 7, with "wine-beer-beer-wine", followed by "beer" one more time.
Isaiah 28:9-10, Mockery
“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.”
Isaiah's drunken audience apparently mocks his message. They may be accusing him of treating them like children, just weaned. Verse 10 in Hebrew is a rambling collection of rhyming sounds that might imitate a baby's babble:
ki saw lasaw saw lasaw qaw laqaw laqaw zeer sam zeer sam
which translated more literally in English is
"For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a little here."
In our modern culture, the audience might as well be saying "Oh, blah-blah-blah!" and rolling their eyes.
Isaiah 28:11-13, And so God will intervene
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.
If people mock in verse 7, then YHWH will respond to their mockery, repeating it as the people collapse. Indeed, in verse 11, God promises to use the speech of foreigners to get the attention of Israel.
In the New Testament, Paul quotes verse 11 in 1 Corinthians 14:21.
Isaiah 28:14-15, Scoffers
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.”
The scoffers and cynics are accused of a covenant with Sheol and the realm of the dead. Most likely, says Grogan, the prophet is referring to a treaty between Egypt and Judah made to protect Judah from Assyria.
Isaiah 28:16-17, A cornerstone of righteousness
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.
The cornerstone in Zion will stand firm. As the chaos sweeps other things away, the cornerstone will prevail. Verse 16 is quoted in the New Testament in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:6, Matthew 21:42, and Acts 4:11. It echoes Isaiah 8:14 and Psalm 118:22. Despite the numerous references, it is not clear whether the stone is a foundational stone at the base of a building, getting it started, or a capstone, completing the building. Here it seems to be a foundational stone.
One debate on this passage is whether the stone represents God, or whether God lays the stone down in Zion. A messianic interpretation allows both viewpoints to be correct.
Isaiah 28:18-19, Covenant with death
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.
As often as it comes it will carry you away;
morning after morning, by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.
The idolatry and arrogance of the leaders of Samaria is called a covenant with death. (See the comment after verses 14-15; the covenant of death may be a treaty with Egypt. When it fails, there will be "sheer terror."
Isaiah 28:20-22, A short bed
The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—
to do his work, his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
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.
The bed the leaders sleep on is too uncomfortable; they have a reason to toss and turn and worry all night.
In Joshua 10:1-10 the Israelites win a battle in the valley of Gibeon. In 2 Samuel 5:17-25 David wins a battle in Baal Perazim. Both are ancient places where YHWH gave the people victory. But here the claim is that the God who gave victory at Gibeon and Perazim will do His "strange work", punishing Samaria.
Isaiah 28:23-28, A few farming questions
Listen and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?
Does he not plant wheat in its place,
barley in its plot,
and spelt in its field?
His God instructs him
and teaches him the right way.
Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,
and cumin with a stick.
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.
Isaiah urges his audience to listen. Does a farmer always do the same thing, all year round? Is every produce the same? No. The actions vary with the type of seed and the season. And so, too, YHWH may react differently in different times. Just because the people have been free so far, does not ensure future peace. "[T]he road ahead for Jerusalem is significantly different from that of Samaria," says Motyer.
Isaiah 28:29, Wonderful, magnificent
All this also comes from the LORD Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,
whose wisdom is magnificent.
Just as YHWH has given wisdom to the farmer, to deal with different seasons in different ways, so too do YHWH have a magnificent (yet painful) plan for Israel.
As Grogan points out, the actions of YHWH Almighty are described in ways that echo Isaiah 9:6.
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