Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,
he casts down to the earth with his hand.
3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trodden underfoot;
4 and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer:
when someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it is in his hand.
5 In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory,
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
6 and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 These also reel with wine
and stagger with strong drink;
the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
8 For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.
9 “To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11 For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
13 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 backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.
A Cornerstone in Zion
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers,
who rule this people in Jerusalem!
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement,
when the overwhelming whip passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
17 And I will make justice the line,
and righteousness the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be beaten down by it.
19 As often as it passes through it will take you;
for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim;
as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused;
to do his deed—strange is his deed!
and to work his work—alien is his work!
22 Now 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.
23 Give ear, and hear my voice;
give attention, and hear my speech.
24 Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?
Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and put in wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and emmer as the border?
26 For he is rightly instructed;
his God teaches him.
27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28 Does one crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it forever;
when he drives his cart wheel over it
with his horses, he does not crush it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom. Isaiah 28 ESV
Isaiah 28
…17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord,… Ephesians 5: 17-19
34But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare. 35For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”… Luke 21: 34-36
1-4. Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim - Ephraim is used to represent the northern kingdom, and pride and drunkenness go hand in hand. The prosperity they are proud of, the success they have attained, it is all being drunk away. I have seen this in my family, an uncle who I can barely remember without a beer in his hand. I went from hard drugs and alcohol, to quitting the drugs but keeping the liquor, it was legal, sort of. It seemed like it took the edge off for me at first, and I could say things that I would not normally be brave enough to say sober. But, if someone didn't like what I said, then blame it on the drink. I have woken up in strange beds, on the lawn being licked by a neighbor's dog, and wondering all the while how I was missing half a tooth. I have been so sick with alcohol that I begged God to take away the pain, but as a dog returns to his vomit, so did I. I wanted to do the things that God said not to, and drink emboldened me. There was a multitude of warnings around me, my neighbor had so many DUIs that he could no longer drive, and I had lied to the police not once but several times that I was the designated driver, and they let me go without a test. When I moved back to Florida, to get away from some of my acquaintances, I still brought that thirst with me and bragged about things that God would not condone. It wasn't long after being back that I was drinking at lunch when we were on the road, then at dinner, then to the bar for mixed drinks and then beer if we made it back home. I ended up with a bleeding ulcer and hacking blood, fighting, fornicating, and having the same sort of friends I had left. I remember the doctor telling me I would have to quit for 3 months to get rid of the ulcer, and all I could think was what about tonight? I had plans that included drinking, or there would be no point in going. It wouldn't be as fun, how do you hit on girls sober, or punch someone you don't know without any substance to blame it on? It's sad, but all the things I had ever done, or seen done, that I blamed on alcohol, if that was really the root, then why didn't I just walk away?
Will be like the first ripe fig before summer - When we get accustomed to instant gratification, to the comforts of success, more spare time, there is a danger that we will not be moderate. We will drink into our future, lose what we have worked hard for, forget that hard work and diligence are the true and noble necessities. Parents will leave off from the duty of training their children for the excesses of social entertainment, cocktail parties and bar hopping. There is a saying, "what you do in moderation, your children will do in excess." What will we neglect?
i. The importance of appreciating the value of delayed gratification has been measured in what has been called the marshmallow test. A researcher gave this choice to a four-year-old: “I am leaving for a few minutes to run an errand and you can have this marshmallow while I am gone, but if you wait until I return, you can have two marshmallows.” Researchers at Stanford did this test in the 1960s, and a dozen years later they found that the kids who grabbed the single marshmallow tended to be more troubled as adolescents, and the one-marshmallow kids also scored an average of 210 points less on SAT tests. Learning to delay gratification is important! - Enduring Word
5-6. In that day the Lord of Hosts will be a crown of glory - Though the revelers mock and yell, laugh and sneer, the days of drunken glory, the comradery of fools fades away. Those that feel outside, belittled now, but have traded present notoriety for humility, they will not be disappointed for sojourners look to eternal glory.
…36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. 38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.… Hebrews 11: 36-38
7-13. These also reel with wine - The priests were in Jerusalem and this is probably Isaiah's main audience. These priests and prophets are stumbling blocks, leading men astray. They can't give sound judgment as they are stumbling and out of control. These are not fruits of the Holy Spirit, and when we do not approach God in the way prescribed, then we are no better off than Aaron's sons with their strange fire.
i. This makes the idea of being “drunk in the Holy Spirit” especially unbiblical and offensive. The Holy Spirit does not depress us; He has the exact opposite effect. The Holy is a stimulant, and He moves every aspect of our being to better and more perfect performance. Of those who act silly or crazy claiming to be “drunk in the Holy Spirit,” the most charitable thing to say is that they are simply acting in their own flesh, because they certainly are not being led by the Holy Spirit of God. - Enduring Word
Precept upon precept - They did not like his coming to them with the law of God. The prophets were like children saying blah, blah, blah, as if Isaiah were Charlie Brown's teacher, and too, that he was singing to the choir, they already knew what the Bible said, but thought themselves mature beyond it.
“Many commentators have been puzzled by verse 10 and have wrestled to make sense of the Hebrew. The truth of the matter seems to be, as the NIV margin suggests, that it is not meant to make sense. Isaiah’s words had hardly penetrated the alcohol-impregnated atmosphere that surrounded his hearers.” (Grogan)
iii. “Thus this good prophet became the drunkard’s song. Any man may be witty in a biting way, and those that have the dullest brains have commonly the sharpest teeth to that purpose.” (Trapp)
He is not condemning them for having a drink; he is reproving them for being drunk and out of control, proud and dishonorable to their station. If he was delivering the word of God correctly then they weren't just rejecting him.
For by people of strange lips - If you won't hear it from your countryman in your own dialect, then those who God will change will still hear it precept upon precept, as it is written, but from foreigners. This had near future implications in Judah's being taken into captivity by the Babylonians, but also a future prophecy to be fulfilled in Acts. In Babylon they would be mocked for their beliefs much like they were mocking Isaiah.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Acts 2: 1-8
14-22. We have made a covenant with death - It is a sane thing for the wicked to fear death, but they did not have this fear. They were proud, so some probably thought that it would pass over them, that they had met the bar of their own making, as those that believe another gospel. For others, much like today, and how I must admit I tried to be, they took solace in death as no longer being. It is a popular idea in our culture, no heaven, no hell, no regrets, for they believe they have proven to themselves or someone with a higher IQ than them has removed any doubts as to an afterlife. But, for the drunks alcohol was never the root, as the truth was never the root for the fearless here. It is that ugliest of all sins, the causation, pride. "For we have made lies our refuge."
A stone, a tested one - The opposite of the lies they had built their beliefs upon. The Word would become flesh and dwell among us, walking precept upon precept, fulfilling the law.
…41“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.” 42 Jesus said to them, “ Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’ 43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.… Matthew 21: 41-43
…5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” 7To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”… 1 Peter 2: 5-7
This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support his church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A corner stone, binding together the whole building, and bearing the whole weight; precious in the sight of the Lord, and of every believer; a sure foundation on which to build. And he who in any age or nation shall believe this testimony, and rest all his hopes, and his never-dying soul on this foundation, shall never be confounded. The right effect of faith in Christ is, to quiet and calm the soul, till events shall be timed by Him, who has all times in his own hand and power. Whatever men trust to for justification, except the righteousness of Christ; or for wisdom, strength, and holiness, except the influences of the Holy Ghost; or for happiness, except the favour of God; that protection in which they thought to shelter themselves, will prove not enough to answer the intention. Those who rest in a righteousness of their own, will have deceived themselves: the bed is too short, the covering too narrow. - Matthew Henry
Against the whole land - In the 2 links above we see God working on Israel's behalf, a marvelous and alien work, but when His people are guilty of the same sins as those He drove out before them, they must expect His same judgment against sin. God does not change, does not stop being holy, and He will judge sin regardless of the camp.
23-29. Does he who plows for sewing, plow continually - You till the ground till it is good to receive the seed, removing the rocks, and enriching the loam, but though He judges now, this is not His intent forever towards His elect.
And emmer as the boarder - Had to look this up, emmer is a Eurasian wheat used mainly for fodder and cereals. There is reason for hope; God has a purpose even in our trials.
“He used the proper instrument and procedure at the proper time to accomplish His purposes among His stubborn people.” (Wolf)
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