Introduction. 

Chapters 28 –35 of the Book of Isaiah describe six “woes”, and these are interspersed with promises of restoration. 

As a prophet Isaiah spoke to three historical epochs. Principally in chapters 1 – 39, he delivered a message of condemnation and warning to his contemporaries. He pronounced Adonai’s judgment on the Israel of the eight century BC. This was judgment on their immoral and idolatrous lifestyle. He speaks principally of the threat from Assyria which conquered the northern kingdom and threatened Judah and Jerusalem. 

Chapter 28 is therefore entitled “Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem”. 

“Woe” of course is a word of warning of impending disaster. This is addressed to drunken leaders and to others. 

Verses 1 – 4. There is impending disaster as the Assyrians stand ready to take Samaria, the hilltop capital city of Ephraim. 

Verses 5 and 6. But mention of disaster is interspersed here with a promise of restoration. 

Verses 7 and 8. Here is outlined the sin of Ephraim and by implication Judah also. 

Verses 9 – 13. The religious leaders of Ephrain mock Adonai but He will send an invading force against them. 

Verses 14 and 15. The futility of their hopes of safety through alliance with Egypt is demonstrated. This woe to Ephraim was to serve as a warning to Judah. 

Verses 16 and 17. Judah’s leaders will fail but Adonai has the solution: “a cornerstone in Zion.” 

Verses 18 – 22. Judah’s leaders will fail to protect her. Their plans are futile and greater disaster than they ever imagined will come. 

Verses 23 – 29. “Listen to the teaching of Adonai”. The disciplining of His people by Adonai is compared with the work of a farmer. There would be a limit to the extent and length of time of Adonai’s punishment of His people. The timing of judgment and blessing rests in Adonai’s hands. 

Verse 1. 

“Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those who are overcome with wine!” 

Verses 1 – 4 of chapter 28, concern the impending disaster for Ephraim, and verse 1 commences this. The “crown of pride” refers to the city of Samaria but it is about to lose its beauty.  Blame is clearly placed on the leaders of the kingdom who are more interested in getting drunk than reaching a solution to their predicament. The word of scripture frequently denounces drunkenness and debauchery. 

Isaiah 5:11. 

“Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them! 

The “crown” was the walls of Samaria on the hilltop overlooking the lush valleys that lead to the Mediterranean. But the beautiful scene is ripe for the Assyrians to devour the city. This should be a lesson to the leaders of Judah. 

Amos 6:1,6. 

“Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, and trust in Mount Samaria, notable persons in the chief nation, to whom the house of Israel comes! … who drink wine from bowls, and anoint yourselves with the best ointments, but are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” 

Verse 2. 

“Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.” 

These powerful words of Isaiah are to wake them up to the impending Assyrian invasion. The “strong one” refers to the Assyrians whom Adonai will use to punish Ephraim. The Assyrian forces are likened to a “tempest of hail” that strips a plant of its leaves and “mighty waters” that wash away the stalks, leaving nothing behind. 

We can see the awesome might of Adonai’s wrath elsewhere. 

Isaiah 30:30. 

“The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, and the descent of His arm, with the indignation of His anger and the flame of devouring fire with scattering, tempest and hailstones.” 

Ezekiel 13:11. Woe to foolish prophets. 

“… there shall be a flooding rain in My anger … great hailstones shall fall; and a stormy wind will tear it (the wall) down.” 

Verses 3 and 4. 

“The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, will be trampled underfoot; and the glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valley, like the first fruit before the summer which the observer sees; he eats it up while it is still in his hand.” 

We see here the repetition of the description of the city given in verse 1.  

The Assyrian invaders stand ready to devour the city. 

Figs ripen before the end of the summer harvest (“the first fruit before the summer”). They are devoured immediately. The Assyrian conquest of Ephraim will be as rapid and complete. 

Verses 5 and 6. 

“In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His people, for a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and for strength to those turn back the battle at the gate.” 

In verses 5 and 6, Isaiah goes from talk of impending disaster to the promise of future restoration. The messianic age will be enjoyed by the remnant of Adonai’s people. In that age, in contrast to present conditions, there will be a spirit of justice which will prevail for the remnant. Adonai will be the “crown of glory” and will empower the leaders to execute “judgment” and to “turn back” the enemy at the city gate. 

Isaiah 30:18. 

“Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you: and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” 

Isaiah 10:20. 

“And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped from the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him that defeated them. But will depend on the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” 

Isaiah 11:4. 

“But with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth …” 

Verses 7 and 8. 

“But they also erred through wine, and through intoxicating liquor are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink; they are swallowed up by wine, they are out of the way through intoxicating drink; they err in vision and stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; no place is clean.” 

In these verses Isaiah returns to the sins of Ephraim (and by implication Judah) including drunkenness. Drunkenness has infected even the religious leaders of the nation. The result is false spiritual guidance of the people. When leaders wallow in filth, there is no hope for the nation.  

Proverbs 20:1. 

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” 

Isaiah 5:11. 

“Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxication drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them!”  

Hosea 4:11. 

“Harlotry, wine and new wine enslave the heart.” 

Verses 9 and 10. 

In verses 9 – 13, we see the religious leaders of Isaiah’s day mock the prophet (and thus also Adonai). But Adonai will send a foreign invader. 

“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” 

These words are spoken by the hardened leaders against Isaiah, the prophet of the Lord. The drunken leaders resent Isaiah and other genuine prophets. They say that they are being treated like infants by being reminded of the elementary truths of right and wrong. This is the drunkards’ response to the correct advice of the prophet. 

Jeremiah 6:10. 

“To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it.” 

2 Chronicles 36:15, 16. 

“And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” 

Nehemiah 9:30. 

“Yet for many years You had patience with them, and testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; therefore You gave them in to the hand of the peoples of the lands.” 

Verses 11 and 12. 

“For with stammering lips and another tongue, He will speak to this people, to whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest.” And, “This is the refreshing.” Yet they would not hear.” 

Whilst Isaiah was undoubtedly one of the most eloquent of preachers, yet he could not win the ears and hearts of those to whom he spoke. It was not the fault of the preacher The fault lay with the disobedience and stubbornness of those whom he addressed. Those drunk with wine and pride. 

Since the leaders of Ephraim would not listen to Adonai speaking to them in a straightforward way, He would send a foreign invader against them. They would become subservient to Assyrian taskmasters; the speakers of “another tongue”. Adonai had offered Ephraim the “rest” that can only come through obedience and faith; but they rejected it. 

Isaiah 33:19. 

“A people of obscure speech beyond perception, of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.” 

Jeremiah 6:16. 

“… ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said,” We will not walk in it.” 

Isaiah 30:15. 

“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and resting you will be saved: in quietness and confidence shall be your strength, but you would not.” 

Verse 13. 

“But the word of the Lord was to them, “precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” That they might go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and caught.” 

These leaders felt that they had no need of instruction in the word of Adonai. Yet their very lack of effort to understand would be their downfall. They should have learned from Adonai but now the “word of the Lord” would take the form of discipline at the hands of a foreign invader with “stammering lips”. In light of their rejection of the word of Adonai, the Lord imitated the mockery of the drunkards in the unintelligible jabber of the Assyrians which they could not understand. 

Verses 14 and 15.  

“Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, who rule this people who are in Jerusalem. Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge. And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” 

We have here a warning from Adonai to the rulers of Jerusalem. They are described as “scornful men”. They go beyond that which is bad; they despise that which is good. They have mocked Isaiah’s warnings. 

Psalm 1:1. 

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, not sits in the seats of the scornful.” 

Their “covenant with death” was their alliance with Egypt through which they believed they could save themselves from Assyria. But they should have learned from the tragedy which befell Ephraim. Their reliance on Egypt was ill-founded; it could not put them on good terms with death or Sheol. 

The “overflowing scourge” that is Assyria would come up against them. Their bragging about their safety meant that they were taking refuge in “lies” and “falsehood”. 

Isaiah 9:16. 

“For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by them are destroyed.” 

Ezekiel 13:22. Woe to foolish prophets. 

“Because with lies you have made of the righteous sad … you have strengthened the hands of the wicked …” 

Amos 2:4. 

“I will not turn away its (Judah’s) punishment, because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept His commandments. Their lies led them astray …” 

Verses 16 – 22. Judah’s leaders will fail. Adonai will provide the solution; a cornerstone in Zion. 

Verse 16.   

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.  Whoever believes will not act hastily.” 

Here we see, in response to the peoples’ scoffing at Isaiah ‘s warning, that Adonai promises to establish for them a future kingdom with a “sure foundation”. 

Adonai contrasts Messiah’s reign as the only true refuge, with the false refuge of reliance on foreigners. Messiah will be the only true object worthy of trust. Those who trust in him “will not act hastily” i.e., they will not be put to shame. 

There are many instances in scripture when Adonai and Messiah are compared with rock, stones and foundations. 

Genesis 49:24. 

“… the God of Jacob … the Stone of Israel …” 

Psalm 118:22. 

“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”  

Ephesians 2:19 – 22. 

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built of the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” 

1 Peter 2:4 – 6. 

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious …” 

Verses 17 and 18. 

“Also I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plummet; the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it.”  

The promised future kingdom of Messiah will be soundly based on a system of justice and truth, which will contrast sharply with the refuge of lies pronounced by the rulers of Jerusalem (verse 15). 

Putting their trust in foreign powers will completely fail. Their lies will be destroyed and swept away by “hail” and “mighty waters”. 

The people will learn too late of the truth which Adonai had tried to bring them through Isaiah. 

Verse 19, 20. 

“As often as it goes out it will take you; from morning by morning it will pass over, and by day and by night; it will be a terror just to understand the report. For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself up in it.” 

The Assyrian army trampled through Israel many times, plundering as they went. Any word of their approaching would cause sheer terror. 

The falsehood of the promise of security and comfort through alliance with Egypt would become clear (the bed that is too short and the cover that is too narrow). This was an ill-advised strategy, inadequate for the defence of Jerusalem. 

Verse 21. 

“For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon – that He may do His work, His awesome work, and bring to pass His act, His unusual act.” 

At Mount Perazim, Adonai gave David victory over the Philistines. 

2 Samuel 5:20. 

“So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there, and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” 

In the Valley of Gibeon, Adonai gave Joshua victory over the Amorites. 

Joshua 10:8. 

“And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.” 

These two battles show Adonai defeating His enemies. Just as He defeated the Philistines at Mount Perazim and the Amorites at the valley of Gibeon, He will do so against any who mock Him even Jerusalemites. 

Adonai’s judgment on Israel was an “unusual act” (or one could perhaps say “alien”). Adonai rarely struck out in wrath at His people, even in their sin. He normally had long patience with His people in their error. 

Verse 22. 

“Now therefore do not be mockers, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard from the Lord of Hosts, a destruction even upon the whole earth.” 

Adonai will rise up in judgment on His own people, and they are advised not to scoff as so doing will lead to the increase of their bondage. And they should take heed, for Isaiah has been informed of the outpouring of Adonai’s wrath on the whole world; a destruction greater than they can imagine. 

Isaiah 10:22. 

“The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.” 

Daniel 9:27. 

“And on the wing of desolation will be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” 

Verses 23 – 25. Listen to the teaching of Adonai through Isaiah. 

“Give ear and hear my voice, listen and hear my speech. Does the ploughman keep ploughing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods? When he has levelled its surface, does he not sow the black cummin and scatter the cummin, plant the wheat in rows, the barley in the appointed place and the spelt in its place? 

“Black cummin” may be the herb “caraway” used for flavouring. 

This farming analogy underlines the lesson of judgment from verses 18 – 22. As the farmer does his different task in order, each for its own reason and as needed for preparation, so Adonai adapts measures for His purposes. First may come mercy. Thereafter there may be judgment, followed by punishment. But His purpose was not to destroy His people; after preparing the soil the farmer carefully plants seed and tends them. 

Adonai carefully selects the disciplinary measures for each situation. He uses the gentlest possible touch for each occasion; allowing no greater affliction than can be endured. 

Verses 26 – 28. 

“For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him. For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin; but the black cummin is beaten out with a stick, and the cummin with a rod. Bread flour must be ground; therefore he does not thresh it forever, break it with a cartwheel, or crush it with his horsemen.” 

“God teaches him”: farming knowledge is God-given such as the best way to thresh various types of grain and other crops. The farm worker uses extreme care to beat out the caraway with a light stick, and he strikes the cummin with a heavier flail. For the wheat he uses a wheel just heavy enough to avoid crushing the grain. 

These acts are compared with Adonai’s care in His way of disciplining in every situation. 

Verse 29. 

“This also comes from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.” 

As we see Adonai’s way in the physical world of farming is best, we should also acknowledge that His way in spiritual matters and life in general is also the best. There would be for Israel a limit on the severity and length of punishment. The timing of judgment and blessing rest solely in the hands of Adonai; the source of all good counsel.