Dwell in the Word: Isaiah 28:14-29

Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Isaiah 28:14-29:

1. How does the passage from Isaiah highlight the folly of the people of Jerusalem who believe they have made arrangements and covenants that will protect them from God's judgment, and what does God's response reveal about His sovereignty and wisdom?

2. What is the significance of the agricultural imagery used by Isaiah in verses 27 through 29, and how does it convey the idea that God's judgment is tailored to the nature of the people's actions and attitudes?

3. How does this passage emphasize the importance of not scoffing or disregarding God's warnings and judgments, and what message does it send about the discipline of the Lord as a sign of His love and desire for His people to return to Him?

Transcript:

Again, we get an idea that the people are hearing these judgments from the Lord through the mouth of the prophet, Isaiah, but they've decided what differences does it make. Notice what it says here. Hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem. They're like, God isn't going to do anything to us. We're fine here. We've seen how God has judged other places, and that's not going to happen to us. We notice here in verse 15, they say, We've made a covenant with death, and with Shayol, we have an agreement. When the overwhelming whip passes through, it will not come to us. In other words, we've made agreements here with people who will protect us. The idea here is this idea with death that they are not going to be affected because they've got other plans, they've got other agreements. They don't need God. When this happens, it ain't going to hurt us. But notice what God says. God says, I'm the one who laid a foundation in Zion. It's not you. A stone that's been tested, a precious cornerstone, something that will not move. This isn't going to change, folks.

I'm the one who did this. Why are you relying on yourselves? Why are you making plans with other things? He says that justice will be the line and righteousness the plumb line. This will be the standard, and everything will be swept away. It will be overwhelmed. Notice, verse 18, Your covenant with death will be annulled, and your arrangement of shayol will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it. Nothing is going to spare them. Now, we get an indication that this scoffing is the standard here, because he repeats himself with verse 22, Therefore, do not scoff lest your bonds be made strong, for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land. Here's your second chance to listen. Don't scoff at what I'm going to say. I know you think that maybe what I'm saying isn't going to come to pass as a prophet, but it is God has spoken, and He has spoken clearly. So don't scoff. Don't set your feet, basically. That's what He's saying when it says, Lest your bonds be made strongly. Don't set your feet here.

Don't scoff. Don't make this worse than it already is. So we get this imagery. It's agricultural imagery. I've highlighted, if you're watching a video here, verses 27 through 29. The idea that Isaiah is putting forth here is different crops are harvested in different ways. Yes, you've looked out people of Jerusalem and you say, Well, that's not going to happen to us here. We won't be judged in that way. We're strong. We've made these covenants. We've taken care of the problem. It's not going to happen here. But what is Isaiah's point? What is God speaking through the... What is God? Isaiah. Look, a farmer doesn't take care of every crop the same way. We know this to be true. It's harvest season. You don't see the farmers out cutting corn with the beanhead. You don't see them out cutting beans with the cornhead. That's just not what happens. That's not how these things happen. And so the idea that Isaiah wants these people to understand is, you don't think this is going to happen to you because you've fortified yourself against it, but God judges in multiple ways. He sees who you are. He sees what you're doing.

He is going to harvest in the way that is fitting for the crop that he has. Notice what it says at the end. This is a humbling thing. This also comes from the Lord of Hos. He is wonderful and counsel and excellent and wisdom. In God's wisdom, He does things different ways. This goes back to what we've been seeing throughout this. Remember what I have been saying over and over. This judgment from God, it comes across as harsh for us, but remember, it's because he loves his people. He knows how to discipline His people. If God didn't care, He just give them over. Read Romans 1 sometimes. That tells you what the worst judgment that God has is that He gave them over. The God said, Fine, you can have what you want. I won't discipline you, basically. So here comes God. He is set on disciplining His people, isn't He? He's going to do it as it is necessary based upon who they are and what they've done. We see that here, and it's another reminder for us. I know I keep coming back to this application, but it keeps on popping up for us here in Isaiah.

The discipline of the Lord is good, and so may we have wisdom. May we understand that God is wonderful and counsel. He is excellent in wisdom, and we are not. And so may we be willing to understand that if we are being disciplined, that if we are being convicted of our sin, it is best to turn away from it because God is doing this for us. The Holy Spirit is at work in us for our good, and God loves us. He hasn't given us over. So may we pray continually that we would be convicted of sin, and may we hear God's word and know that we not only need to repent, but know that God comes and He forgives us, that He desires us to come back to Him, to return to Him. Remember those famous words, those call the confessions that you hear me read so many times, return to the Lord your God for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding instead fastly. Love. May we remember that good news as we are convicted of our sin. May we remember that we can turn to God and that because we are in Christ, we have a full confidence that He will forgive our sins.