Isaiah 28

The name “Jerusalem” means “city of peace,” but throughout its history it has been associated more with conflict than with peace. Even today, Jerusalem is a focal point for concern in the Middle East. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” admonished the psalmist (Ps. 122:6). Why pray for Jerusalem? Why not pray for London or Moscow or Rome? Because when there is true peace in Jerusalem, there will be peace in the whole world (Isa. 52:7; 66:12); so we had better take the psalmist’s words to heart.

Chapters 28—31 record a series of five “woes” (28:1; 29:1, 15: 30:1; 31:1) that focus primarily on Jerusalem. A sixth “woe” is found in 33:1, and interspersed with these “woes” of judgment are promises of restoration and glory. Isaiah is attempting to get the rulers of Judah to stop trusting “power politics” and international treaties and start trusting the Lord.

Like all devout Jews, Isaiah loved Jerusalem, the Holy City, the City of David, the place of God’s dwelling (Ps. 122; 137). But Isaiah saw storm clouds gathering over the city and announced that trouble was coming. It was time for the nation to turn to God in repentance.

He began his message by announcing God’s judgment on Ephraim (Isa. 28:1–6). Surely their neighbor’s fall would serve as a warning to the people of Judah and Jerusalem! If Assyria conquered Samaria, then Judah was next on the list. The northern kingdom was proud of its capital city, Samaria, that sat like a beautiful crown (or wreath) at the head of a fruitful valley. But their arrogance was detestable to God, for they thought their fortress city was impregnable. Samaria reigned in luxury and pleasure and had no fear of her enemies.

The Lord was also appalled by their drunkenness. To the Jews, wine was a gift from God and a source of joy (Judg. 9:13; Ps. 104:15). The law did not demand total abstinence, but it did warn against drunkenness (Deut. 21:18–21; Prov. 20:1; 23:20–21, 29–35). The prophet Amos denounced the luxurious indulgences of the people in both Judah and Samaria (Amos 6:1–7), and Isaiah also thundered against such godless living (Isa. 5:11–12, 22).

A government official in Washington, D.C., once quipped, “We have three parties in this city: the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and the cocktail party.” Indeed, Washington, D.C., ranks high on the list of cities noted for alcohol consumption. Many people don’t realize that alcohol and nicotine, America’s favorite legal narcotics, do far more damage than all the illegal drugs combined. According to Dr. Arnold Washton, alcohol and nicotine kill 450,000 people annually, while illegal drugs kill about 6,000 (Willpower’s Not Enough, Harper & Row, 1989; 13). This does not make illegal drugs acceptable, but it does help us put things in perspective. What hope is there for our affluent, pleasure-loving society that gives lip service to religion and ignores the tragic consequences of sin and the judgment that is sure to come?

Samaria was proud of her beauty, but that beauty was fading like a cut flower (28:1, 4) that could never stand before the coming tempest. God was sending a storm across the land, and their proud city would be destroyed by wind, rain, hail, and flood—the Assyrian army! Conquering Samaria would be as easy as plucking a fig from a tree! On that day of judgment, Samaria would learn too late that Jehovah, not Samaria, is the “crown of glory” and “diadem of beauty” (v. 5) and that He is a God of justice (vv. 5–6). The reference here is to God’s deliverance of Jerusalem from Assyria, even when the enemy was at the very gates (chaps. 36—37).

Perhaps the people of Judah rejoiced to hear Isaiah announce the fall of their rival kingdom, but their celebration was short-lived; for the prophet announced that Judah was guilty of the same sins as Samaria and therefore was in danger of judgment (28:5–8). The priests and the prophets, who should have been examples to the people, were staggering drunk around the city and carousing at tables covered with vomit. Their counsel to the people did not come from the Spirit of God but from their own drunken delusions (see Eph. 5:18). They not only swallowed wine, but were “swallowed up on wine” (Isa. 28:7). This reminds us of the Japanese proverb: “First the man takes a drink, then the drink takes a drink, and then the drink takes the man.”

But pride and drunkenness were not Judah’s only sins; they also mocked God’s prophet and rejected God’s Word (vv. 9–13). Verses 9–10 are the words of the drunken prophets and priests as they ridiculed Isaiah. “He talks to us as though we were little children,” they said. “He keeps saying the same things over and over again and uses the vocabulary of a child. There is certainly no need to take anything he says seriously!”

Society today often takes a similar attitude toward God’s servants and God’s Word. People are so intoxicated by intellectual pride that they laugh at the simple message of the gospel presented by humble witnesses (1 Cor. 1:18–31). The prophet Amos was ejected from the king’s chapel because he was a simple farmer and not a member of the religious elite (Amos 7:10–17). Evangelist D. L. Moody was often laughed at because his speech was not polished, but God used him to bring many thousands to the Savior.

What was Isaiah’s answer to this supercritical crowd of religious drunks? “If you will not listen to my simple speech in your own language, God will speak to you with a language you do not understand. He will send the army of Assyria, whose language is foreign to you.” This happened to both Ephraim and Judah. The Assyrians completely destroyed the southern kingdom in 722 BC; and in 701 BC, after devastating the land of Judah, they came to the very gates of Jerusalem.

This leads to Isaiah’s third announcement: God offers His people rest (Isa. 7:4; 8:6–8), but they will not obey (hear) His Word (28:12–20). The prophet had given them a plain message that everybody could understand, but they rejected it. Their faith was in their political alliances and not in God (vv. 15, 18). In the days of King Ahaz, they made a secret treaty with Assyria, and in the days of King Hezekiah, they turned to Egypt for help (30:1–5; 31:1). But these “covenants with death and the grave” were destined to fail because God was not in them. The enemy would come like a flood, a storm, a whip (scourge), and there would be no escape. Ephraim would be destroyed, and Judah would be saved by the skin of her teeth. The bed they had made (their alliances) could not give them rest (see 28:12), and the covering they made (their treaties) would not cover them (see 31:1).

Their only hope was in the tried and true foundation stone (28:16), the “Rock of ages” (26:4; 8:14; 17:10). This is definitely a reference to the Messiah and is so interpreted in the New Testament (1 Peter 2:4–7; Rom. 9:33; Mark 12:10; see Ps. 118:22). If they had faith in Jehovah, they would not be rushing here and there, trying to forge alliances, a practice that only leads to shame and failure (Rom. 10:11). A solid rock is better protection than a flimsy covering of lies!

Isaiah’s final announcement was that their confidence that God would not judge them was a delusion (Isa. 28:21–29). “But God defended His people in the past!” they argued. “What about David’s victory over the Philistines at Mount Perazim [2 Sam. 5:17–21], or Joshua’s victory over the Amorites at Gibeon [John. 10]?” But Joshua and David were godly leaders who trusted Jehovah and obeyed His Word. What Isaiah’s scoffing opponents did not realize was that God would do a “strange work”: He would use the enemy to fight against His own people! Just as a farmer has different tasks to perform and must adapt himself to each task, whether plowing or threshing, so God must do the work that is necessary to bring about His eternal purposes. He knows just what tool to use and when to use it.

Jerusalem watched the northern kingdom fall to the Assyrians, but this judgment did not bring them to repentance. When we start saying to ourselves, “It can never happen to me!”—it is sure to happen!