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About Jesus Steve Sweetman Isaiah 28:1 - 13 Previous Section - Chapter 27:2 - 13 Next Section - Chapter 28:14 - 22 Woe
To Samaria
(ch. 28:1 - 13)
In verse 1 we see Ephraim
mentioned. Most all commentators
relate the words "majestic crown" in verse 1 to be We must remember that
Isaiah lived in Judah, the southern nation of the split nation of
Israel. It's debatable just when
chapter 28 was written or written about.
Some place the date just prior to 721 BC, just before Ephraim
fell to the Assyrians. Others
place chapter 28 through to 33 in and around 705 to 701 BC.
At the moment I lean towards the second date.
If the second date is
correct, that means Ephraim has already fallen to the Assyrians and the
Woe of judgment seen here is meant to be a warning to the southern
nation of Israel, Judah. Notice the word
"summit" in verse 1. We're
talking about a mountain here, the same mountain that we see the
Samaritan woman speaking to Jesus about in John 4.
For it was in this mountain where the Samaritans and those in the
northern tribes went to worship. These woes were directed
to the leaders of Ephraim, who according to verse 1, were acting and
ruling like drunkards. No
wonder their nation fell and the glory of Verse 2 speaks of a
strong and mighty one that belongs to the Lord.
This strong and mighty one would sweep across the land like a
powerful storm. This strong
and mighty one was the Assyrian army that devastated Ephraim in 721 BC.
We need to note here that
the strong one, that's Verse 3 states that the
majestic crown of Ephraim; that's As we've seen throughout
the book of Isaiah, in verse 5 we see the words "in that day".
These words always speak of a future day when God will restore
the remnant of His people Israel, from both the north and the south.
That day has not yet come. That
is obvious by what is said about that day.
On that day the Lord of
Host will become a crown of beauty.
The word "host"
in verse 5 means army. God
is the Lord of armies. God
has His own army. This is
not a social, political, or even religious thing to say, but it is what
the Bible says. We see God
having an army all the way through the Bible and it's not only an Old
Testament thing. We see the
army of God in the book of Revelation.
The army is the angelic army.
Then, when it comes to the end of this age as seen in the book of
Revelation, the saints who have died in the Lord are part of that army
as well. Note the word
"remnant" in verse 5. Again,
this prophecy, according to Prophetic Futurists, will be fulfilled when
Jesus returns to be the earthly King of Israel. A remnant of Israelis will
be saved out of the Battle of Armageddon.
The 7 year tribulation that ends this age will bring a portion of
Verse 6 speaks of a
spirit of justice from the one who sits in judgment.
The one who sits in judgment is Jesus and He will rule justly.
Finally, there will be a completely just ruler of Israel, and really, of the world. The last half of verse 6
speaks of people having strength who appear to turn back the enemy at
the gate. Being a Prophetic
Futurist, I can easily see this battle as the last great battle, the
Battle of Armageddon. Many suggest verses 7
through 13 are being addressed to the southern nation of I lean to this section
being directed to Judah. Verse 7 tells us that the
priests, like the leaders of Ephraim in verse 1, are drunkards.
Their thinking, visions, instruction, and judgments are all
distorted due to drinking an excess of wine and beer.
This is how low the priesthood got in both the north and south of
Israel. At this point I'd like to
say something about dinking wine and beer.
Isaiah is talking about getting drunk.
Actually, he is talking about a life style of drunkenness. He's
talking about priests being alcoholics.
All the way through the Bible we are warned about the problems
with the excesses of wine and beer.
That being said, nowhere in the Bible does it specifically state
that we are not to drink wine or beer.
It only warns us about what happens when we get drunk.
The Apostle Paul does tell us not to get drunk with wine
(Ephesians 5:18). He doesn't
tell us not to drink wine, just not to get drunk with wine.
He actually tells Timothy to drink some wine for his stomach
problems (1 Timothy 5:23). It
is clear to me that Jesus Himself drank wine.
I also believe He turned water into wine, not grape juice.
Those who drank His wine said it was the best wine they had ever
drunk. I can't believe these
people would think grape juice was better than wine.
Besides, the same Greek word translated as wine when Paul said
don't get drunk with wine is the same Greek word translated as wine when
Jesus turned the water into wine. Drunks vomit and this is
what we see in verse 8. All
the tables of these priests are drenched in their vomit.
It's a sickening picture. Isaiah in verse 9 is
simply saying these priests should not be teaching anyone in their
drunken state. They're like
babies, just babbling away. Verse 10 is hard to
translate because the Hebrew seems to be obscure.
It seems that Isaiah is simply making up words, talking baby talk
as we would put it. They're just talking nonsense. The prophet Isaiah
predicts that God would speak to His people with stammering lips and by
those of a foreign language. This
is not in reference to speaking in tongues as I've heard some
Pentecostals say. This is in
fact speaking of the foreign lips and language of the Assyrians when
they come to attack So, as verse 13 implies,
the priest spoke nonsense
This
wasn't God's original plan for either the northern tribes or the
southern tribes. As verse 12
states, all of Next Section - Chapter 28:14 - 22 Previous Section - Chapter 27:2 - 13
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