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Isaiah 28 NIV
Woe to Ephraim
The tribe of Ephraim took precedence over that of Manasseh by virtue of Jacob's blessing ( Gen. 41:52; 48:1). The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas each of the other sons of Jacob was the founder of only one tribe. Thus, there were in reality thirteen tribes; but the number twelve was preserved by excluding that of Levi when Ephraim and Manasseh are mentioned separately ( Num. 1:32-34; Josh. 17:14, 17; 1 Chr. 7:20).
http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/ephraimthetribeof.html
It occupied the central and fairest portions of the land, and had Shiloh and Shechem within its borders. But now when Jerusalem became the capital of the kingdom, and the center of power and worship for the whole nation of Israel , Ephraim declined in influence. The discontent came to a crisis by Rehoboam's refusal to grant certain redresses that were demanded ( 1 Kings 12).
http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/ephraimthetribeof.html
We are still talking about the separated lands of Israel and Judea . Ephraim was a part of the northern kingdom of Israel and was among all of the 10 tribes that went down the tubes before the tribes of Judah and Benjamin which made up the southern kingdom and was in the line of David.
When the disruption took place at Shechem, at first only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David. But very soon after the tribe of Benjamin joined the tribe of Judah , and Jerusalem became the capital of the new kingdom ( Josh. 18:28), which was called the kingdom of Judah. It was very small in extent, being only about the size of the Scottish county of Perth .
For the first sixty years, the kings of Judah aimed at re-establishing their authority over the kingdom of the other ten tribes, so that there was a state of perpetual war between them. For the next eighty years there was no open war between them.
For the most part they were in friendly alliance, co-operating against their common enemies, especially against Damascus. For about another century and a half Judah had a somewhat checkered existence after the termination of the kingdom of Israel till its final overthrow in the destruction of the temple (B.C. 588) by Nebuzar-adan, who was captain of Nebuchadnezzar's body-guard ( 2 Kings 25:8-21).
The kingdom maintained a separate existence for three hundred and eighty-nine years. It occupied an area of 3,435 square miles.
http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/judahkingdomof.html
1 Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards,
to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley—
to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!
2 See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong.
Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind,
like a driving rain and a flooding downpour,
he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
3 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards,
will be trampled underfoot.
Through Isaiah the Lord is telling Ephraim and all of the tribes of the northern kingdom they will be destroyed for their disobedience.
4 That fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley,
will be like a fig ripe before harvest—
as soon as someone sees it and takes it in his hand,
he swallows it.
The enemies surrounding Ephraim and the northern kingdom will be eaten by the enemies much as one eats a fig.
5 In that day the LORD Almighty
will be a glorious crown,
a beautiful wreath
for the remnant of his people.
The Lord will appear in his power and might. Isaiah is seeing past the first coming of Jesus when he came as a servant and the Jews refused Him, but instead is looking at the second when He comes and the Jews wail for the one whom they have pierced.
6 He will be a spirit of justice
to him who sits in judgment,
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
He will be a righteous judge at the great white throne of judgment proclaiming the sentence of all of those who did not accept His ways but chose instead to accept the ways of the world which is of Satan.
7 And these also stagger from wine
and reel from beer:
Priests and prophets stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
they stagger when seeing visions,
they stumble when rendering decisions.
There will be many so called “Men of God” that will be among the unrighteous. Drinking and eating to excess to the point of gluttony or drunkenness is displeasing to God. It indicates a lack of self control. It’s the liberal attitude of “it feels good so do it”. They may be telling us what we should do when their own backyards are messed up. Sin is sin, be it drunkenness, gluttony, stealing, adultery. This is the point the prophet is making.
8 All the tables are covered with vomit
and there is not a spot without filth.
9 "Who is it he is trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining his message?
To children weaned from their milk,
to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is:
Do and do, do and do,
rule on rule, rule on rule [ a] ;
a little here, a little there."
When people do not understand God’s word, they can only see the “do’s and the don’ts”. When you get into God’s word, there is so much more. Reading His word is very eye opening and life changing. Once you begin to understand His word, you’ll never want to go back to sin again.
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues
God will speak to this people,
12 to whom he said,
"This is the resting place, let the weary rest";
and, "This is the place of repose"—
but they would not listen.
All of Israel was to become a resting place for the world, but because of sin it became a place full of vomit and filth.
13 So then, the word of the LORD to them will become:
Do and do, do and do,
rule on rule, rule on rule;
a little here, a little there—
so that they will go and fall backward,
be injured and snared and captured.
So then the Jews followed a rule here or doing such and such rather than turning themselves over to the Lord and developing a relationship with Him, they chose the ways of the world and a relationship with Satan.
14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem .
The Lord is talking to us as he talks to the ancient Jews.
15 You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death,
with the grave [ b] we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie our refuge
and falsehood [ c] our hiding place."
Our lie is that we live in the 21 st century and because of our science, nothing can happen to us; because of our statesmanship through the UN we will have no more war. Tell that to the Taliban, Alqaida , Iran and North Korea for starters.
16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
This precious corner stone whom the builders rejected is Jesus Christ. The world has rejected Him, but He is the one that is to be trusted. The Jews 2,000 years ago rejected and crucified Him. He’s coming back.
17 I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the grave will not stand.
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
you will be beaten down by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;
morning after morning, by day and by night,
it will sweep through."
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
21 The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim ,
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon —
to do his work, his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the LORD Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed against the whole land.
Verses 17 to 22 go together; the Lord will destroy those who do not come up to His standards. It’s like quality control in a factory. If a product does not come up to standard, then it is tossed aside for destruction.
23 Listen and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin?
Does he not plant wheat in its place, [ d]
barley in its plot, [ e]
and spelt in its field?
26 His God instructs him
and teaches him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,
and cummin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over it,
his horses do not grind it.
29 All this also comes from the LORD Almighty,
wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
Verses 23 to 29 tell us to pay attention to the ways of the Lord, he will instruct us. Come closer to Him through His Holy Word the Bible and talk to him constantly. You get some pretty good answers.
Footnotes:
- a. Isaiah 28:10 Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (possibly meaningless sounds; perhaps a mimicking of the prophet's words also in verse 13
- b. Isaiah 28:15 Hebrew Sheol ; also in verse 18
- c. Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
- d. Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- e. Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Have a Blessed Day in the name of Jesus,
Lee
A Watchman
If you would like to be added to his email list or simply thank him for his dedication and excellent work in bringing his Daily Bible Study to us everyday, please contact him at LeeWalker@bizspec.com.
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