Isaiah 28 JUDGMENT ON SAMARIA The next six chapters of Isaiah are a series of five prophecies concerning woes that were going to come on the unbelieving people of Israel. The decline of the moral and spiritual condition of the northern tribes is used as a warning to the people of Judah. When the Assyrians were about to conquer and destroy the northern ten tribes as a nation (Ephraim), strangely the people continued to live as if their ungodliness, excessive, licenscious lifestyle would never be disrupted. Prosperity was as dangerous a deception then as it is today. When all seems so good and favorable without the interference of God in life, people can get very used to sin.
The Assyrians would not keep the covenant they made with Ephraim and Judah, Isaiah prophesied. The time would come when the Assyrians would turn on them and conquer the northern kingdom and subjugate the southern kingdom. The “bed” that was “too short” was Egypt whose aid could not stand against the violence of the Assyrians. In spite of Isaiah’s preaching the people of Judah paid not attention to the moral standards of God’s law or even what a common- sense kind of life should be.
Even the prophets and priests, the religious leaders, joined the population in excessive drinking. It is still a deception when those today who take the place as religious leaders, join the people of their congregations in wild parties, sexual immorality even to same-sex partners and other perversions that have been made legal by ungodly government members. The laws of men that are made to suit the lifestyle of wicked people do not excuse people from the ultimate consequences of sin.
The carnal prosperity and self-glory of the northern Jews; was in contrast to the “Lord of hosts” standing in His moral glory. He would be recognized by a few true believers who did not join in with the attitudes and actions of the majority of the population. Those few people would be given power by God to remain righteous and true to the Lord. They would be victorious when the battle for the souls of men was waged. It was not, and will never be, popular to stand out from the people as one who is committed to righteousness and morality when others want us to join them. A child of God who has the desire to please the Lord Jesus Christ, will have to stand up for their convictions and not yield to the pressure to conform to the secular norms that do not please their Lord.
The king of Judah mocked Isaiah’s warning as if it were coming from someone who was like a child. To Ahaz and those with him in leadership, Isaiah’s warning was of no account. They considered themselves to have grown up and were real men who knew all that was needed to run the nation. As far as those leaders were concerned, “precept upon precept; line upon line; here a little and there a little” was the way children who know nothing learn. But by the disaster that would come upon them which Isaiah predicted in his prophecy, they would learn their bitter lessons. Pride, complacency, pleasure seeking and apathy in the face of danger, have consequences that cannot be avoided. When that mindset is allowed in us, we are far away from God and inevitable results over which we have no control, will come. Then it is too late to change and avoid the consequences of their sins.
When they finally realized the alliance, they made with Assyrian wasn’t worth the paper it was written on, it was too late to make any changes. When people make an agreement with “hell,” there is no reason to think it will be honored. The devil is a deceiver and a liar. Those who follow him are the same. Deception and lies characterize the interests of hell, and one who makes “lies” their refuge, will find themselves conquered by that which Satan sends upon them. The Lord’s people are not immune from falling for such deceptions when they are made by false teachers and prophets who make claims that are not scriptural.
God’s foundation, and the basis of Israel’s safety was the Person and work of the Messiah. True Israel and the true church are built upon that “tried Stone,” that “precious Cornerstone,” that “sure Foundation.” There are no cracks or faults in that Precious Cornerstone that is of far greater value than the whole world. It is He who makes the difference between heaven and hell for sinners. To believe on Him preserves a person from being “put to shame” and from being excited or alarmed when the foes of God’s people attack. The false foundation of the worldly wise will be swept away, and the alliances men make with deceptive men is a false refuge. Such agreements are a “covenant with death.”
David defeated the Philistines at Mount Perizim and that is where the Lord would defeat His own covenant children who ignored, rejected and despised Him. That “strange act,” that unusual act, was caused by the disobedience of the people to their own Lord. How sad but necessary is the chastening hand of the Lord upon His own people. For those who are believers who are away in heart from Him, that action is a blessing that can lead to recovery. Those who know what is right but reject divine authority, will be punished and lost to God forever.
This sermon/prophecy contains certain principles of life that any farmer knows. A farmer plows his ground, but not just for the sake of plowing. He does that so he can have a prepared seed bed for the seed to be planted. But planting is not an end in itself, any more than plowing. The farmer is plowing and planting in view of a harvest that will meet needs and satisfy hunger. He uses whatever tool is suitable and needed to produce the desired results. That is why God had to use the “plow” of the Assyrians to break up the smug complacency and fallow ground of Israel. Let us never think we are immune from the chastening hand of God, who uses whatever means He chooses to correct us and change our misbehavior into obedience and righteousness. “Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth.” The pruning process of the orchardist is to produce more, and better, fruit. It is a blessing in the end when the “peaceable fruits of righteousness” follow the times of testing and trial.