Dwell in the Word: Isaiah 28:1-13

Think on these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 28:1-13:

1. How does pride play a significant role in the judgment that Isaiah prophesies against Ephraim and Jerusalem in this passage, and what are the consequences of their pride?

2. What is the contrast between those who remain faithful to God (the remnant) and those who indulge in their abundance and pride in this passage, and how does God's perspective on them differ?

3. What message is conveyed through the idea that the people of Ephraim and Jerusalem reject Isaiah's message but will ultimately be compelled to listen to people with foreign lips and a foreign tongue delivering the same message, and what lesson can we draw from this?

Transcript:

We are back to words of judgment. Today, we once again see that this judgment is on Ephraim and Jerusalem. These judgments are to the people of God. These are not to outside people. And in fact, as we get to the end of this section that we've read today, we're actually going to see that God is once again going to use people from outside the Hebrew group of people in a way to judge them. But we see here that the problem is pride, don't we? We notice here in verse 1, The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim. Isaiah is saying, Look, you have a whole bunch of pride. You are nothing but drunkards. You're stumbling around. You are lost. You think that everything is wonderful because you have this abundance, but God is going to come and God is going to judge. Notice what we see in verse 5, In that day, the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory and a dietem of beauty to the remnant of His people. A remnant implies that there's not very many, right? A remnant implies that people have fallen away, but there are those who remain.

And so the idea here is that God is this to those who have remained faithful, to those who are holding out for Him and staying by Him. He is their crown of glory, not this crown of pride that he talked about at the beginning. But here we have this crown of glory, a dietem of beauty. And who is it to? Not to the drunkards who are stumbling around in their pride, but instead to those who are his remnant. And we see in verse 6, And a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment and strength to those who turn back at the battle gate. In other words, those who remain with God, those who consider what His commands are, they are the ones who will ultimately have glory, not these people who are relishing in their abundance. And we see here that there is this idea in the text from Isaiah that the people aren't listening to Him. We get this idea. They're saying, Oh, who's going to listen to you? We see this in verse 9. To whom will He teach knowledge? Who's Isaiah going to say this stuff to? To whom will he be the messenger?

To those wean from milk, just young children, those taken from the breast. This isn't for us. We're better. And here again, we see the pride. We're better. We need more than what you're saying. All you have is precept upon precept, precept upon precept. In other words, all you have is these rudimentary little things, all these other things. Here's a little, there's a little, nothing substantial enough for us. Isaiah, your words are nothing. But what does Isaiah say? This is a powerful message of judgment at the end of the day, isn't it? For by people of strange lips and with a foreign language, the Lord will speak to His people. Look, if you're not going to listen to Isaiah, here comes judgment. You will listen to the people who come from the outside. The Lord will speak to this people to whom he has said, This is rest, give rest to the weary, and this is reposed, yet they would not hear. He's telling them to put away their pride and to seek justice and to care for others. But no, we're going to do it our way. We and our pride are going to build ourselves up.

We are going to do what we want to do. But the message is going to be the same from thethese foreign people, these people of strange lips and a foreign tongue. It's going to be the same thing, the same message that Isaiah has been proclaiming to them. And the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go and fall back when we're broken and snared and not taken. This is a word of judgment. This is a word that they will not be able to come against. Regardless of whether it comes from the mouth of Isaiah or whether it comes from these people with strange lips and a foreign tongue, it is the word of the Lord. This is what is going to happen. It's so easy for us. Is it not to get lost in our pride? I would like to think that I am not like the people of Ephraim as I walk around this life, but there are times where I think we all stumble, where in our pride, we don't think we need the word of the Lord, or we hear the word of the Lord, but we know better.

We're like the people here who are like, I need more than just precept upon precept. I need more than just sound doctrine of who God is and what he has done for me. I need something else to ascend. Give me a better word. But the word that God has blessed us with in His scripture is not only sufficient, but it does this work. It stops us. It keeps us from becoming too prideful because it convicts us of sin. It causes us to turn to God and say, I need you. As we hear the word of the Lord each day, as we're reminded of the word that we have heard, may we in humility not be like these people, but may we be looking for the opportunity to hear that word, knowing that this is how God speaks. God speaks to us through His word and by the power of the Holy Spirit. May we be convicted of our sin. May we grow in holiness, and may we follow what God has called us to do.