PART THREE: THE ONLY SOURCE OF TRUE DELIVERANCE IS THE LORD OF HOSTS (28-39)
I. A SERIES OF SIX WOES AGAINST THOSE WHO DO NOT TRUST IN THE LORD (28:1-33:24) - There is general agreement among the conservative scholars that these prophecies were made during the reign of King Hezekiah. Isaiah's concern that Judah would tend to rely on Egypt is reflected in these chapters (through 35).
A. Woe To The Proud And Scornful Rulers of Ephraim And Judah (28:1-29)
1. Samaria's rulers boasted of security, but their fortress will be trodden under foot (28:1-6)
(1) Though not specifically named, Samaria appears to be in view here. Other prophets had described the Samaritans as heavy drinkers (Amos 4:1; 6:6; Hosea 4:11; 7:5,14). The city had been built and achieved its greatness under Omri, the father of Ahab.
(2) The Lord has called on an unnamed army (probably Assyria) to carry out His divine will: to humble this proud, arrogant and drunken people. The army will come upon the city like a combination of all the destructive forces of nature. This savage destruction will be carried out by the Assyrians, but controlled by the hand of God.
(3) The very things of which Ephraim boasted, would be cast down and trodden underfoot.
(4) From the invaders point of view, Samaria will be like the first fruits of spring, eagerly awaited and easily accessible. Samaria will be devoured by the invaders.
(5) Yet, a word of hope remains for a remnant (residue ). Upon the removal of those things human and worldly, there will be enough room in their lives for Jehovah to become their true crown, glory , and joy.
(6) Jehovah will support the remnant and they will be governed by His Spirit and Power, not that of heathen allies.
2. Jerusalem's rulers scorned God's warning of destruction because they had made a "covenant with Death" (28:7-22)
(7,8) The priests and prophets of Jerusalem are no better than their counterparts in Samaria. They go about their duties in a drunken stupor. Their conduct mocks true spiritual service, true religion, and the one true God. The drunkenness of the prophets also cause them to err in judgment and vision. The very table of spiritual food that these are charged to provide to the people is covered with their own vomit. No wholesome, spiritual, or godly teaching can come from such as these.
(9,10) The drunken priests and prophets will not take kindly to Isaiah's predictions. They will attack not only the messenger, but the message as well. They will perceive that Isaiah sees them as young babies, needing to return to the rudiments of religion. In their self-imposed drunkenness and ignorance they will scoff at and mock the true prophet of God and his message.
(11) As many do today, these drunken priests and prophets had "picked over" God's word, observing some of it, discarding some of it, and changing some of it to suit their fancy. The end result would be the destruction of their form of religion. Their positions would not even exist in the new Israel. Jerusalem would be destroyed because the people (and their leaders) had failed to respect Jehovah (Deut. 28:49,50).
(12) By being faithful and observing God's covenant, the people could have rest and refreshing. We will see that faith will cause the delay of the destruction of Jerusalem (ch. 37), but ultimately the lack of faith will cause its destruction (39:6).
(13) The very rudiments that the drunken priests and prophets said they did not need, would be the only way for the remnant to return to the Lord. Those that will refuse to learn from the school of Jehovah, will learn from the school of "hard knocks," however, this kind of learning is often "too little, too late."
(14) Now the prophet turns his attention to the scoffing political rulers of the city. Hezekiah, though faithful himself, had obviously surrounded himself with unbelieving and irreligious men.
(15) These rulers did not believe that judgment was coming their way. Their self-confidant approach to the problem would be their very downfall. They did not fear Assyria, neither did they fear God. In reality, they had much to fear from both!
(16) Here is another Messianic prophecy, somewhat similar to the one Isaiah had given Ahaz (7:14). This stone had been laid from before the foundation of the world. Peter identifies the stone as Christ (1 Pet. 2:3-8; 1:20). This stone is tried, precious, and a sure foundation. In Isaiah's day, this stone represented Jehovah (Gen. 49:24; Deut. 32:4; Isa. 8:14,15; Nah. 1:7). In Jehovah the people of the OT would find what He was working toward ­ the Messiah...(Hailey).
(17) Justice and righteousness will be the ruler and plumb-bob, the standard, by which the people must live. A straight and perpendicular wall built on a firm foundation will withstand the tests of time, nature and man (Mt. 7:24,25). Contrast this with the ruler's covenant with death and agreement with Sheol, which will be utterly swept away. A century later, in Ezekiel's day, the false prophets, priests, and rulers were still hiding behind unsound walls of their own device (Eze. 13:8-16), that the Babylonians would lay low.
(18) Because the rulers were corrupt, the nation would suffer. They would put their faith in their rulers and pay the consequences: scourged and trodden down.
(19) From (2 Ki. 18:13) we can see the extent to which the Assyrians overcame Judah - to Jerusalem's very neck (8:8). It would reach the walls of the city, but would not conquer it (ch. 37). The message that the prophets and priests had mocked (v.9), would become well understood by all the people as Assyria (men of strange lips and stammering tongue) captured city after city.
(20) The rulers of Judah will find their covenant and agreement of lies too short and too narrow for protection when the overflowing scourge passes through (Hailey). Compare their mistake to that of their descendant's at the trial of Jesus. Further still, compare their mistake to all who refuse the protection of God through Christ today.
(21) God will perform His strange work. Strange, because He must work it against His own people, who have become His foes.
(22) In light of what Isaiah has already said, he warns the scoffers to change their attitude to one of faith. The people must reject the rulers and turn to God. If not they will fall under the decree of destruction which the prophet had heard directly from the Lord Himself.
3. A parable from the farm teaches that God's work is carefully and purposefully planned (28:23-29)
(23,24) The prophet calls on the people to hear and understand the following parable. The farmer realizes he must plow and plant to make a crop. To just plow and harrow, without planting would be worthless and a waste of time.
(25,26) Planting must be done according to the various characteristics of the seeds. The field was laid out and planted according to the common wisdom (supplied by God) that was known to the Husbandman.
(27) This common wisdom was also applied to the threshing, using the appropriate tool to thresh each crop.
(28) The farmer can tell when the threshing is complete, he will not over-thresh the grain or it will be unfit for making bread.
(29) This wisdom in farming comes from the place all true wisdom comes from - God (Eph. 1:11). The Lord has also been plowing, planting, and threshing according to His wisdom and counsel. As the farmer was working towards a successful crop, so the Lord has His own divine purposes to accomplish. [TOP OF THIS PAGE]
B. Woe Against Ariel (Jerusalem) Whose Religion Is Only An Outward Form (29:1-14) - The theme of this chapter concerns the unhealthy spiritual condition of Judah and the consequences of those conditions. While the Assyrian threat is mentioned, the overall teaching of this section involves man looking beyond the words of Jehovah to His deeds. Zion will be brought low, but not destroyed. Jehovah will work out His eternal purpose through man.
1. Jerusalem will be afflicted but later delivered (29:1-8)
(1) Under the leadership of the drunken prophets, priests, and rulers, the city has become faithless, its religious life empty. The exact meaning of Ariel is not clear. However, we know that is refers to Jerusalem-Zion (Eze. 43:15 - "altar hearth"). The time frame suggested here could be longer than adding one year to one year and letting the feasts come around just once. The context of the chapter seems to suggest the entire period from Isaiah until the Messiah.
(2) Since the time of David the land had been filled with idols, the temple had been defiled by Ahaz, and he had offered human sacrifice. Even with Hezekiah's reformation the city was still in a sorry spiritual state. Jehovah will purge the city to make it an acceptable altar-hearth once again.
(3) This distress against the city is from Jehovah. Its destiny lies in His hands.
(4) The exalted will be brought low. Sennacherib's siege would begin this process which would continue with Babylon, Persia, Syria, and finally culminate with Rome. Their low spiritual condition would bring about their destruction, not the other way around!
(5) Ariel will be brought low, but Jehovah will not let the heathen multitudes utterly destroy her. He is able to displace physical nations and spiritual deceptions.
(6) Who is to be visited? Here it seems to be upon the multitude of thy foes. The prophet employs the destructive elements of nature to describe Jehovah's power (Jer. 4:23-26). None can withstand such force.
(7) The prophecy includes all nations that would war against Jerusalem. With the coming of the day, these enemies will vanish like a bad dream.
(8) Anyone that tries to stand in the way of God's purposes and destroy His truth, will awake from their dream as well. Then they will find out that they are doomed.
2. Form religion was the cause of Jerusalem's affliction (29:9-14)
(9) The people just do not get it. The prophet tells them to go ahead and be ignorant. They are in a condition of spiritual drunkenness and seemingly happy to be that way. Isaiah says, "do what you want to do!"
(10) Their condition is a result of their behavior (drunkenness) and God giving up on them (sending a deep sleep ) (Ro. 1:28; 2 Thess. 2:10-12). Blindness has been sent upon the so-called prophets and seers. This leaves the blind to lead the blind.
(11,12) This spiritual blindness is like being illiterate. The books are sealed and cannot be opened. There are those that cannot read and those that can, but refuse.
(13) Part of the spiritual darkness that the people were in was caused by hypocrisy. Their worship was lip service and not from the heart. The consequences of this heartless formalism is that they have no spiritual perception - they cannot read the book. While the heathens worshipped their idols openly, Judah had hidden its idol worship under a cloak of hypocrisy. In Jesus' day he found similar false worship among the scribes and Pharisees especially (Mt. 15:9).
(14) Flagrant hypocrisy has its consequences. The wise will be made ignorant. The false worshipers will be rejected. Man's wisdom apart from God's wisdom is bound to fail (1 Cor. 1:19).
C. Woe To Those Who Try To Hide Their Plans From God (29:15-24)
1. Any attempt to exclude God from the plans of man is to turn things upside down (29:15-16)
(15) The prophet has been consistent in his warnings concerning Judah making alliances with other nations - he condemned it every time. Later (ch. 30), he will condemn such an alliance with Egypt. Man thinks he can hide his counsels from God like he hides them from other men, but Isaiah points out that God is all-knowing and all-controlling.
(16) Man turns things around that do not suit him. Nevertheless, the creature did not make the creator (Ro. 9:20). The evolutionists of today takes a similar tactic when they say, "we were not created, we just happened."
2. God has plans of sanctification and renewal for the future (29:17-24)
(17) If conditions are going to be turned around, then Jehovah will be doing the turning. Here it is possible that the turning of Lebanon into a fruitful field represents the difference between spiritual (productive) and physical (uncultivated) Israel.
(18) When Lebanon becomes a fruitful field, the eyes of those previously blind will be opened to read and comprehend the Lord's word. This is in stark contrast to those in (vv.11,12).
(19) Those who endure affliction will be made joyful. Both the poor in goods and the poor in spirit will rejoice in their God, when the Messiah comes.
(20) These blessings for the poor will appear because three foes of righteousness will be defeated: the terrible one, the scoffer, and all they that watch for iniquity. Jehovah will overcome and His cause will gain victory.
(21) The three opponents are like attorneys for the plaintiff. They try to trap a man by either direct accusation or cross-examination, they try to ensnare a man who reproves wickedness, and they hinder legal justice on a technicality or pretense. The are not interested in justice and righteousness, but only a judgment in favor of their client - Satan Himself.
(22) Jehovah redeemed Abraham by removing him from his family and environment which worshipped idols and might influence him to return to those ways. Jacob, Abraham's descendent, will bring forth a people of whom his predecessor can be proud. Spiritual Israel will fulfill the promise made to Abraham.
(23) Jacob will view his true spiritual descendants and recognize God's hand at work. The physical nation had failed, so a remnant among that nation will have to carry on the birthright.
(24) The "new church" is neither perfect or sinless, but its people have come to an understanding. The spiritually blind and deaf, as well as the complainers (the Hebrew word indicates "malicious slanderers"), can now understand. Why? Because they have received instruction of Jehovah (Isa. 54:13).