Dear Friends,

Today’s devotional is the study notes on Isaiah 25-28, an exceedingly rich passage. Read through the notes with you Bible open seeing what it says and getting help understanding it from the notes. God bless you.

Because of Calvary,

John Janney      Grace Bible Fellowship Church

Adult SS Elective: Isaiah 25:1-28:29                                                                                                                                September 18, 2016

3. The Lord Deserves Our Song (25:1-12)

“The prophet’s song of thanksgiving…celebrates God’s victory over the enemies of his people as if it has already taken place…. The righteous are exhorted to look forward to the downfall of the capitals of the kingdoms of this world, namely, the centers of political and economic power, where ruthless tyrants rule. Isaiah provides a glimpse into God’s perspective of history as an assurance to the godly that Yahweh protects his people regardless of the intensity of their adversities. He will bring down evil and provoke their enemies to jealousy.” [VanGemeren, p. 490]

“The end of tyranny, This song breaks out unannounced…and by its reiteration of the word ruthless (3, 4, 5) it voices the special suffering and corresponding gratitude of the weak and hard-pressed. It is an OT Magnificat. Two of the characteristics of God’s working (‘wonderful things’, ‘counsel’; AV, RV) have already appeared in the names of the promised king (9:6), and will recur in 28:29. On the long maturing of his plans (long ago) a favorite emphasis in Isaiah, see on 22:11. The song accordingly celebrates not only the victory to come (when the enemy’s defenses will be down [2], his homage received [3], and his clamor silenced [5]) but the refuge already to be found in God while evil does its worst (4) ― its assault pictures in terms of nature’s extremes of driving rain (storm) and overpowering heat.” [Kidner, p. 648]

“In the imagery Isaiah is using, the pilgrims to Zion move through a ruined world, and their song dwells on the marvel of their rescue and the power of the Lord over all the power of the enemy ― ‘out of the depths of ruin untold, into the peace of thy sheltering fold.” [Motyer, p. 207]

1. He judges the world: ruin (25:1-3)
2. He saves His own: refuge (25:4-5)
3. He blesses His people: refreshment (26:9-12)

“The end of darkness and death. The feast (6) introduces a positive note into what is otherwise chiefly an account of ills removed. It has the note of achievement (for a feast is a celebration), of plenty (6b) and of shared delight (note the fivefold all in vs. 6-8)….

“The promise is one of the summits of the OT and the NT. In a single verse (9 cf. also Rev. 21:4) the last enemy is gone and the last tear shed.” [Kidner, p. 648]

“This passage is exquisitely beautiful. The poet Burns once said that he could never read it without being affected to tears. It may be added that nothing but the gospel will do this.” [Barnes, p. 402]

“Isaiah looks back to the covenant banquet of Exodus 24:11. Moses had promised the people that their exclusion from the holy mountain was temporary (Ex. 19:11), but the ascent by all Israel was never a practical option and the meal was enjoyed by the elders as representative of the whole. But on the true Zion (cf. Heb. 12:22-24) there is no element of representation; all come, all participate. These verses are the counterpart of 2:2-4. The nations gather neither to make offerings nor to serve (cf. 60:9-10) but to enjoy what the Lord has provided: the covenant sealed in the banquet. The contrast with the related passage (21:13-17) cannot but be deliberate: beset Gentiles needing the meager succor of bread and water are compared with all peoples and all nations at the Lord’s feast, without money and without price. The verses are divided into the two actions of the Lord on this mountain: the act of provision (6) and the act of destruction (7-8). The theme of universality is stressed ― all peoples (twice), all nations, all faces, all the earth. Note the sequence ― peoples (ethnic groups), nations (political entities), faces (individuals) ― and now all these become his people (8b).” [Motyer, p. 209]

“Moab…is introduced as the embodiment of pride (11b; cf. 16:6), perhaps especially the pride of little men. The manure, or dung pit, likewise expresses the indignity as well as the finality of judgment for the proud…” [Kidner, p. 648]

“When these gracious promises shall be fulfilled, those who have trusted in them shall no longer be ashamed of their strong confidence, because it will be justified by the event, and they will have nothing left but to rejoice in the fulfillment of their hopes. This is our God, this is Jehovah; as if they had said, This is the God of whom we have spoken, and for trusting in whom we have so often been derided. We have waited long, but he has come at last, to vindicate his truth and our reliance on him.” [Alexander I, p. 417]

4. The Lord Secures His People (26:1-21)

“Here at last the people of the Lord are secure within the bulwarks of salvation, enjoying a faith-based peace (verses 1-4). Here at last is the ‘strong city’ in contrast to a city that is no more (17:1), forsaken cities (17:2), strong cities deserted (17:9) and a broken, cannibalized city (22:9-10). Security is not attained by associative strength or sturdy self-reliance; it is a matter for song (verse 1), i.e. a divine provision received with joy.” [Motyer, p. 212]

1. The City of God (26:1-4)

“The enduring city. At last our own city comes into view, over against its rival…. Our city is strong, not with brute force but with the saving activity (1b) of the living God, the Rock Eternal. So our enjoyment of this personal, unseen protection must itself be personal, in truth (2) and trust (3-4). These verses are a logical as they are beautiful, rooted in God. Perfect peace (lit. ‘peace, peace’) is his gift of well-being and wholeness to a mind not merely steadfast but steadied (the word is passive, as in the old version, ’stayed on thee’). The call to lifelong trust (4) is equally logical, basing out faith on God’s rock-like faithfulness and basing the ‘forever’ of our commitment on the eternity of his being.” [Kidner, p. 648-649]

“Jerusalem may fall, her walls may be destroyed till not one stone is left upon another; but still, ‘we have a strong city.’ In the salvation of God, we live and are safe. Our place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks. The eternal purposes of God shall guard the safety of his people.” [Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit XLI, (1895), p. 441-442]

“There is a perfect peace. Not hereafter, but now. Not for the few, but for all men, for me. It is a perfect peace. Not a fret is left, nor a fear. Not a single smallest cloud mars its sky. It is perfect because it is God, and my mind is stayed on Him.” [Wells, The Living Bible, p. 205]

“‘I do not know,’ Warren Seabury, an American missionary to China wrote: ‘I do not know what is before me, but I am building my nest in the greatness of God.’” [The Speaker’s Bible IV, p. 131]

“This is our city; by faith, we enter into the purposes and promises of God, and there we dwell in perfect peace. The adversary may thunder outside the walls; but what of that? He may threaten that he will capture the city; but how can he do so when the Lord is there? This is a sweet, sweet verse; may you all get the very marrow of it! ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.’” [Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit XLI, (1895), p. 442]

“Having emphasized in verse 3 that faith is the essential thing, Isaiah now turns to the persons who exercise faith, calling not for a once-for-all act of faith but an ongoing life of faith.” [Motyer, p. 214]

1. The City of Man (26:5-6)

“This is always God’s way, ― overturning the great and the proud, and casting down the mighty works of men, so that he who trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, soon finds himself in a pitiful condition. All the proud, who glory in their own power, shall be as when a city is battered down, and the very dust is trodden by ‘the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.’” [Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit XLI, (1895), p. 442]

“The Lord’s people are described in a way that rules out any contribution by them to his victory… They are the oppressed…and poor…, the ‘downtrodden’ and ‘feeble and resourceless’ (cf. 3:14; 10:2; 14:30).” [Motyer, p. 214]

1. The Realities of Life (26:7-9)

“Isaiah….is aware that it may be a long time before God’s purposes are fully realized on earth. In order to encourage the godly community to persevere in ‘righteousness’ and ‘faithfulness,’ he offers a prayer of wisdom, confidence, and petition.” [VanGemeren, p. 491]

“Amidst the shakings of the nations and the storms of life, it is delightful to know that the scepter of universal power is in the hand of Infinite love. He reigneth, be the earth ever so unquiet.” [Samuel Thodey in Gray & Adams Bible Commentary III, p. 202]

1. The Blindness of Men (26:10-11) Cf. I Corinthians 2:14-16

“…The centerpiece of the oracle…is the impenetrable blindness of the wicked. No earthly experience can open their eyes to see the Lord, and it seems they are irretrievably bound for judgment. How does it come about, then , that there is such an entity as the Lord’s people who walk by his laws and desire and long for him (…verses 7-9)? Their peace with God (…verse 12a) is explained in verse 12b which is (lit.) ‘for indeed all our works you have done for us’.” [Motyer, p. 212]

“In seeking to enable the ‘inhabitants of the world’ to ‘learn righteousness’ the people of God have a hard task! The world is impenetrably unaware of God. In the sequence of the poem this unexpected section forms an essential bridge to work 12 (the sole work of God bringing people into peace) and verses 16-19 (the fruitlessness of God’s people in the world).” [Motyer, p. 216]

“Until men are changed in heart, and renewed in nature, they will not see God. If you could transport them to the land of uprightness, where there would be no sin to tempt them, yet even then they would not know the Lord. Still is our Savior’s message true, ‘Ye must be born again.’ O unconverted men and women, we look upon you through our tears, because you are incapable of everything that is good and right until the Lord in covenant mercy renews your hearts, and brings you to know him! Of the ungodly man it is truly declared, ‘In the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.’” [Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit XLI, (1895), p. 443]

“Continuation in ignorance and ignoring God can have only one outcome: it is a fact not a desire that they will, one day, see! The coming day will reveal a distinction between those who are the Lord’s people and those who are not. He will manifest his zeal for his people’s welfare (16-19), whereas those who remained obdurate in the face of testimony (7-9) and providence (10-11ab) will find that they are put to shame…. The contrast between your people and your enemies gives precise point to Isaiah’s teaching. The world continued in ignorance when it might have been instructed, following perverted moral choices when things were plain before them etc. They failed to recognize not only the greatness of the God who they were ignoring but also the nature of their relationship with him, which was one of enmity with eternal consequences.” [Motyer, p. 216]

“Fire does not simply denote war…or sudden death…but the wrath of God, as a sudden, rapid, irresistible, and utterly destroying agent.” [Alexander I, p. 424]

1. The Grace of God (26:12-15)

“The thought of the Lord’s zeal for his people, to be demonstrated climactically on the last day, prompts the recollection that his people owe everything to the fact that he has concerned himself with them. Verse 12, in this context, must refer primarily to spiritual blessings and verses 13-15 look back into history for examples of what the Lord has done for his people.” [Motyer, p. 216]

“By this deliverance of thy people from the service both of idols and idolaters….thou hast made an exhibition of thy power, justice, truth, and goodness.” [Alexander I, p. 427]

1. The Victory of God (26:16-19)

“As in Judges, the Lord did not reject his crushed people but brought them back within the constraints of his law.” [Motyer, p. 218]

“The benefit we often have by afflictions. They bring us to God, quicken us to our duty, and show us our dependence upon him. Those that before seldom looked at God now visit him; they come frequently, they become friendly, and make their court to him. Before, prayer came drop by drop, but now they pour out a prayer; it comes now like water from a fountain…” [Matthew Henry’s Commentary IV, p. 111]

“Like as a woman with child ― an image of anguish accompanied with expectation, to be followed by joy that will cause the anguish utterly to be forgotten.” [Fausset, p. 644]

1. The Wrath of God (26:20-21)

“The call to ‘open the gates’ with which the poem began (2) is matched here by shut the doors. Security in peace (1-4) is matched by security from wrath. The wording Go…shut recalls Genesis 7:1, 16 and the safety of the Noahic community in the flood. The picture of going indoors recalls Exodus 12:22-23 and the safety of the Passover community while judgment was in process.” [Motyer, p. 220]

“V. 20 reproduces the same pattern of salvation within judgment as was seen when the Lord shut Noah in the ark and when Israel in Egypt was directed to take refuge from the destroying angel (Ex. 12:22). The judgment (21, 27:1) is a all-embracing as in 24:21 where ‘the powers of the heavens’ corresponds to Leviathan here (cf. ‘the dragon and his angels’ in Rev. 12:7-9).” [Kidner, p. 649]

“There is never a flood for the wicked without an ark for the righteous. Never shall a storm sweep over the earth till God hath prepared a great rock wherein his people may be hidden.” [Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit XLII, (1896), p. 167]

“Dew has a wide metaphorical coverage but, very significantly, it is linked with the manna of Exodus 16 (verses 13-14; cf. Nu. 11:19), the divine gift which canceled the threat of death (Ex. 16:3)…. Death is darkness, life is light (Jb. 3:16; Pss. 49:19-20; 56:13-14), the light of salvation (Ps. 27:1). The association of light and life (Ps. 36:9-10) and dew and life (Ho. 14:5-6) is noteworthy…. Here, as dew descends, so he will come to his dead, bringing heavenly refreshment and vitality; with the light of his presence he will impart the light of salvation….

“We need to recall that 25:7-8 looked forward to the abolition of death itself. In this regard, the terms of the present verse go beyond the figurative to the literal and declare a full resurrection, including the resurrection of the body. Within the progressive revelation of the Old Testament, only Daniel 12:2 is comparable.” [Motyer, p. 219]

5. The Lord Conquers the Beast (27:1-13)
6. The Conquered Beast (27:1)

“The word…’serpent’ occurs in Genesis 3:1 and doubtless for that reason is used here.” [Motyer, p. 222]

“Even leviathan, that crooked serpent; hard to come at, difficult to find, he shall not escape the sword of the Lord.” [Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit XLII, (1896), p. 167]

“Note…the triple description of the Lord sword as fierce (…’harsh, severe, unsparing’), great (enough for any task) and powerful (enough for any foe)…” [Motyer, p. 221]

1. The Fruitful Vineyard (27:2-11)
2. Its present state (27:2-6)

“Isaiah developed his vineyard poems (5:1-7) into an eschatological picture… Though the vineyard had been destroyed because of its utter worthlessness, God remains faithful to his people. Because the leaders were responsible for the ruined vineyard (3:14), the Lord himself assumes responsibility for its care. He watches, waters, and protects it. He will make war against anyone (‘briars and thorns’, v. 4) who opposes his people. He prevents those conditions which he had previously permitted to ruin the vineyard (5:6). He is not angry, but desires reconciliation with even hostile opponents.

“His purpose for the vineyard is success on a grand scale. The root must be well established before the blossoms will produce their fruit in ‘all the world’ (v. 6). The kingdom of God gradually extends, as God’s new people are grafted in. These new people are expected to conform to God’s justice and righteousness.” [VanGemeren, p. 491]

“Here is the end to which God has been working…. God’s wrath is no longer against his vineyard, only against the briers and thorns (that is, his people’s enemies) which overran it in 5:6; and even these antagonists he would rather reconcile than destroy. The fruit (6) which will benefit the world is interpreted in 5:7 as justice and righteousness. Note the reminder, as in 37:31, that morally as well as physically, root is the precondition of fruit.” [Kidner, p. 649]

“This vineyard is a delight (2); is under the Lord’s constant provision and protection (3); enjoys peace with God (4a); is free of the intrusive or corrupting (4b); and offers peace with God to all, even thorns if they will…. Verses 4-5 are an Isaianic mixed metaphor: hypothetically ‘battling’ with weeds (4) develops into the war-peace motif of verse 5.” [Motyer, p. 222]

“There are three distinct lessons in the text. The first, that fury is not in God; the second, that He does not want to glorify Himself by the death of sinners (‘Who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle?’); the third, the invitation (‘Take hold of my strength, that you may make peace with me; and you shall make peace with me.’).” [Thomas Chalmers, “Fury Not in God,” in John MacArthur, Jr., The Love of God, (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1996), p. 173]

“The invitation to come to me for refuge/’take hold of my stronghold’ is to the hypothetical ‘weed’, the opponent of the vineyard, hence indicating that vineyard membership is open to all co-equally.” [Motyer, p. 222-223]

“‘I think…I can convey the meaning of this passage, so that every one may understand it, by what took place in my own family within these few days. One of my little children had committed a fault, for which I thought it my duty to chastise him. I called him to me, explained to him the evil of what he had done, and told him how grieved I was that I must punish him for it. He heard me in silence, and then rushed into my arms and burst into tears. I could sooner have cut off my arm than have then struck him for his fault: he had taken hold of my strength, and he had made peace with me.’” [Rev. R. Toller in Gray & Adams Bible Commentary III, p. 207]

1. Its gracious God (27:7-11)

“These verses set forth two modes of apprehending the afflictions and sorrows of life, and help us in estimating the distinction between the modes. I. The distinction between judgments and chastisements. In a sense we may say that judgments are ends in themselves, and chastisements are means to a higher end…. II. The purpose of judgment apprehended as chastisement. Apprehended as only judgment, our mind is overborne by our calamity. Apprehended as chastisement, the mind is started with new and trustful thoughts. The trouble may at first crush, but soon we learn to accept it calmly.” [R. Tuck in Gray & Adams Bible Commentary III, p. 207]”

“The divinely nurtured vine fills the earth so that the whole world becomes the Lord’s vineyard. That this was always the Lord’s intention for his people but was previously frustrated by their sin and its just punishment is shown in Psalm 80. But now the Lord is at peace with his people and invites every erstwhile enemy into peace.” [Motyer, p. 223]

(A) Past forbearance (27:7-8)

“No; God smites his people, but he never smites them as he does their enemies. He smites his people, as old Trapp says, with the palm of his hand, as a man may smite his child; but he smites his enemies with his fist, as one would dash his foe to the ground. There is a great difference between the chastisements of God’s people and the righteous judgments that fall upon the wicked.” [Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit XLII, (1896), p. 168]

“The water of affliction is not to drown us, but to wash off our spots.”  [Thomas Watson, The Lord’s Prayer, (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1692), p. 175]

(B) Future atonement (27:9) Cf. Isaiah 6:5-7; 52:13-53:12

“But how will the people of the Lord come into the Eden-restored of verses 2-6?… The Lord has never been as harsh with Israel as he has been with its foes (7); scattering…rather than destruction has been its portion (8). This same divine forbearance will yet be shown in a work of atonement to which Israel will respond by rejecting all false religion (9).” [Motyer, p. 223]

“The Lord will pay the atonement price for the inner reality of the sinful nature, but this divine act will also bring about the removal of his sin…, he actual wrong-doing…. We find Isaiah using here the vocabulary (sin, ‘iniquity’, ‘atonement’) of his own experience. The ‘full fruit’ of atonement is borne in sole loyalty to the Lord, evidenced by the destruction of all that belongs to false gods…. When the full atonement has been made, the worship of the Lord himself will no longer require sacrifice, so that the very altar of the Lord will be totally removed as if its stone became (lit.) ‘like pulverized limestone.’” [Motyer, p. 224]

“The Jews were wholly cured of idolatry in the time of their captivity.” [Gray & Adams Bible Commentary III, p. 207]

(C) Final victory (27:10-11)

“Israel ‘is not a discerning people,’ but continues to be blind and deaf to God and his calling (27:11). But a day is coming when the deaf will hear and when the blind will see, when ‘those errant of spirit will know understanding’ (29:22-24).” [Watts, “Isaiah,” Word Biblical Themes, p. 5]

1. The Holy Feast (27:12-13)

“Nothing can hinder the return of the tribes of Israel from Egypt and Assyria, because the Lord himself has ordained it… This is his harvest (v. 12; cf. Rev. 14:15)…. This word found partial fulfillment in the restoration from exile (539 B.C.). The New Testament extends the symbolism to God’s worldwide harvest when Jesus returns (Matt. 24:31; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16). The trumpet blast marks the end of man’s rule and the introduction of the full reign of God on earth.” [VanGemeren, p. 491-492] Cf. Zechariah 9:14

“Harvest home.… The point is God’s perfect harvesting of his true people, so that ‘not one is missing’  (cf. 40:26-27)….  The NT will show the gospel’s call having already this double effect to sift and to save (1 Cor. 1:23-24), among Jew and Gentile alike.” [Kidner, p. 649]

“Egypt, to which country many had fled in the time of the captivity.” [Gray & Adams Bible Commentary III, p. 208]

1. A Message for the Wavering (28:1-35:10)

“From the vision of divine purposes (chapters 13-27) Isaiah turns to the reality of divine power. It is the task of chapters 28-37 to demonstrate that the Lord does actually rule world history and that, therefore, his as yet unfulfilled promises and purposes are sure.

“At two climactic points in chapters 13-27 (19:24-25; 27:13), Isaiah predicted the gathering of Egypt and Assyria into full membership of the Lord’s people: the first and the contemporary oppressive superpowers would alike come under the sway of the Lord as king. To Isaiah’s contemporaries this must have seemed both marvelous and unlikely ― that aliens should become members, inveterate enemies friends, and imperial powers quietly submissive! Isaiah, therefore, offers the greatest of his interim fulfillments, a period of history in which divine sovereignty over Judah, Egypt and Assyria would be demonstrated before their very eyes. As far as the three nations were concerned, each would be determined on its own way but the outcome would be what the Lord willed, and that by direct divine action. As we shall see, the occasion is that of the ‘Egyptian alliance’…in the days of Hezekiah. Judah is seen willfully refusing the way of trust in the Lord for trust in Egypt; Egypt is revealed as blustering and ultimately ineffective; and the Assyrian army, bending its colossal power to punish the rebels, is destroyed by the (an) angel of the Lord.

“In the first section (chapters 28-29), though the material is woven round the episode of the Egyptian alliance, neither Egypt nor Assyria is named and Isaiah’s purpose is to elucidate the principles involved in the situation and in the Lord’s dealings with his people… Then in chapters 30-32 Isaiah comes to grips with Egypt and Assyria by name, but the more plainly he engages the history the more easily he moves into eschatology…placing the Messianic kingdom side by side with the downfall of Assyria (31:8-32:1; cf. 10:33-11:1ff). In chapters 33-35 the acts of God in history become the pattern of his eschatological acts…, and in chapters 36-37 the firm rock of history is offered as a secure foundation for the hopes just outlined. It is as if Isaiah were saying, ‘See what he has done. Now trust him, for he will yet do all he has promised.” [Motyer, p. 227]

“Is the Lord really sovereign on earth? Does he rule even the superpowers? Consequently, is faith a practical policy for life? Isaiah answers directly…. When the Lord intervenes it is no longer of significance whether Egyptian promises and Assyrian threats are real. The God of Israel is Lord indeed. This is the theological conviction of chapters 28-35 and the proved reality of chapters 36-37.” [Motyer, p. 39]

“The material in these chapters is loosely connected by the word woe (28:1; 29:1, 15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1)…” [VanGemeren, p.v492]

1. The Lord Warns Jerusalem (28:1-29)

“In verses 1-13, the prophet addressed the northern tribes (Ephraim) and indicted them for drunkenness (vv. 1-8) and an unteachable spirit (vv. 9-13). The religious leaders told Isaiah not to talk to them like children (vv. 9-10); after all, they knew the Law! But God would talk to them through the Assyrian whose tongue Israel would not understand. If God’s people will not listen to His voice from the Word, they may have to listen to foreign voices that speak no peace and show no love….

“Then Isaiah denounced the sin of Judah (vv. 14-19), which was trusting in false gods (vv. 14-15)…. God is seeking a harvest and knows exactly how to handle the soil and the seeds (vv. 23-29). God’s people may not enjoy the plowing and threshing, but the results are worth it.” [Wiersbe, With the Word, p. 468-469]

“When God’s people reject his word (9-13) and covenant (14-15), destruction follows (18-22), held within divine purposes.” [Motyer, p. 228]

1. The Example of Samaria (28:1-22)
2. What they became (28:1-6)

“This section…comes from a time before the fall of Samaria when the enemy of Israel was already on the horizon. Assyria is likened to ‘a hailstorm and a destructive wind’ and ‘a driving rain and a flooding downpour’ (v. 2)…. The northern kingdom is likened to a ‘fading flower’ (v. 1) because the beautiful and fertile valleys characteristic of Ephraim would soon be overrun by Assyrian troops. The agricultural advantages of the northern kingdom were significant. It had excellent soil, large valleys, and finely terraced hills on which the people were able to farm and enjoy their olive groves. With all of the advantages of the northern kingdom the people had become independent and proud…. The beauty of Ephraim, like a ripe fig, will be enjoyed by foreigners.” [VanGemeren, p. 492]

“Gill’s lively paraphrase is: smitten, beaten, knocked down with it as a hammer, and laid prostrate on the ground, where they lie fixed to it, not able to get up.” [Alexander I, p. 445]

“The drunkards of Ephraim…. Vs. 1-4 catch the outward beauty of that affluent city set on a hill, but see it as a garland on a drunkard’s brow (1b) ― a rich metaphor for glory that is incongruous and (4a) quickly fading. The second of these aspects is re-emphasized by the hailstorm threat of v. 2 (a reference to Assyria) to be taken up in v. 17, and by the ‘ripe plum’ metaphor (as we should put it) of v. 4b. In a single paragraph Isaiah epitomizes the warning of Amos to this pleasure-loving, drink-sodden city (cf. Am. 2:12; 4:1; 6:6). Characteristically, the clouds part for a moment to show the true crown (5) adorning the true Israel, the remnant… Notice that the spirit of justice…and strength (6…) is the LORD himself, present and active within his servant.” [Kidner, p. 650] Cf. Amos 4:1; Hosea 7:5

“How fearfully the vice of drunkenness had spread is seen from the fact that even priests and prophets were addicted to it, and that not only in their private life, but they even performed their official functions in a state of intoxication.” [Nagelsbach in Gray & Adams Bible Commentary III, p. 210-211]

“Pride is the deeper sin but dissoluteness also is culpable.” [Motyer, p. 229]

“The hill of Samaria (1 Ki. 16:24), with its terraced vineyards and fertile valleys, is seen as a garlanded reveler whose time has all but run out (1). The Lord has in hand an irresistible foe (2-3) and Samaria will be gobbled up with the same alacrity and unthinkingness as a passer-by picked and swallows a first-ripe fig (4)…. “So ripe is Samaria for picking, so destined for total disappearance!” [Motyer, p. 229-230]

“But a better day has yet to dawn (5-6), on which the Lord will be the true crown of his people and their city will be impregnable.” [Motyer, p.  229]

“Oh, that we were all invested with this crown of holiness, dignity, and beauty. How many are content with the gilded coronets and fading chaplets of the world. You remember the scene in the ‘Pilgrim’s Progress,’ part ii…the man raking straw while one held a glittering crown over his head. Make Christ your boast. The crown of pride shall be hurled to the ground, the garlanded revelers shall sink in their own corruption, the honors which men so eagerly seek are as a fading flower, but this crown shall sparkle forever on the believer’s head (Dan. xii.3; s. xc.17).” [William Guthrie in Gray & Adams Bible Commentary III, p. 210]

1. Why they became that (28:7-13)

“Having described Samaria the prophet goes on to say ― but the people of Jerusalem are no better.” [Gray & Adams Bible Commentary III, p. 210]

(A)  The Word Despised (28:9-10) Cf. Isaiah 6:9-10; 53:1

“The Hebrew of v. 10 is a jingle, almost the equivalent of our derisive ‘blah blah’…” [Kidner, p. 650]

(B)  The Word Replaced (28:11-12)

     “His Very well then (kî) picks up their scornful For (kî verse 10), as he foresees the ‘message’ they will hear (11) and contrasts it with the simple message they refused (12)…. When the simple intelligibility of the word of God is refused, divine judgment falls in the shape of the unintelligible (cf. 1 Cor. 14:20ff.).” [Motyer, p. 232]

“…Make nonsense of God’s sense and you will get your fill of it from Assyria (11) and your doom from the words that were to save you (12-13)…. Paul’s quotation of v. 11 in 1 Cor. 14:21 is thus a reminder, true to this context, that unknown tongues are not God’s greeting to a believing congregation but his rebuke to an unbelieving one (cf. C. Hodge on 1 Corinthians.” [Kidner, p. 650]

“According to the true interpretation of Isa xxniii.9ff….the drunken Israelites are mocking in their cups the teaching of God through His prophet, as though it were only fit for an infant school; in anger therefore He threatens to give His lessons through the lips of foreign conquerors (11), in whose speech the despisers of the mild, plain teaching of His servants (12) shall painfully spell out their ruin… God spoke to Israel through the strange Assyrian tongue in retribution, not to confirm their faith but to consummate their unbelief. The Glossolalia may serve a similar melancholy purpose in the church.” [G. G. Findlay, “The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament II edited by W. Robertson Nicoll, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, n.d.), p. 909-910]

(C)  The Word Enforced (28:13)

“They chose not to heed (12d), now they must go the way they have chosen, but they will find it to be ‘stumbling’ and full of hazards, backwards nor forwards. The power in which they chose to trust will be broken and they will end snared, with no hoe left of escape, and captured.” [Motyer, p. 232]

iii. What was the result? (28:14-19)

“The sure foundation and the refuge of lies. As in 8:11-15, but now in a setting of reckless confidence, covenant and cornerstone are in contrast…. Their version would have been, no doubt, ‘Nothing can touch us; our alliances are watertight.’ God knew their real enemy and their professed friends. The cornerstone promise, with that of 8:14, is quoted in Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:6; cf. Ps. 118:22. In 8:14 it explicitly signifies the Lord, but here the Lord lays the stone; the two statements meet in Christ, as the NT makes clear. Rom 9:32-33 expounds the implications of the faith clause (cf. 7:9), the one who trusts will never be dismayed. The Heb. is lit. ‘will not be in haste’ ― since haste implies anxiety and confusion….

“Among the profusion of metaphors, those of storm and flood have appeared in v. 2 to signify the Assyrians…the scanty bed and blanket (20) say the last word of resources that miserably fail…. God who swept away David’s enemies will now sweep away David’s kingdom.” [Kidner, p. 650]

1. What should we learn? (28:20-22)

“Those that do not build upon Christ as their foundation, but rest in a righteousness of their own, will prove in the end thus to have deceived themselves; they can never be east, safe, nor warm; the bed is too short, the covering too narrow; like our first parents fig-leaves, the shame of their nakedness will still appear.” [Matthew Henry’s Commentary IV, p. 122]

1. The Ways of God (28:23-29)
2. The work of sowing (28:23-26)
3. The work of reaping (28:27-29)