It Starts Small

We continue through the book of Isaiah. In today’s section of scripture, we see God’s feelings for His people. We also see reasons for judgment and hope.

Isaiah starts the chapter 28 speaking to Ephraim. Notice what the Lord calls them, the “crown of pride.”  They began beautifully, but they have been reduced to drunkards. All throughout the Word of God we see Him speak about being a drunkard and drinking alcohol.

¹⁸ And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:

Ephesians 5:18

There are many debates among the body of Christ about drinking. We could spend many days here speaking about it, but for the sake of our study, we continue.

Isaiah then continues in verse 2. He mentions that God Himself will come like a storm. God intends to break the pride of Ephraim. We see Ephraim has two issues: pride and drunkenness.  Noteworthy is that God uses an image of a liquid to judge those overcome with a liquid. Because of their choices, Ephraim will be cut short. They could have been so beautiful for a long time. Now, however, they will not have the opportunity to thrive.

This should strike our hearts about the implications of pride and drinking. It destroys the beautiful future the Lord has for us.

While Ephraim is a crown of pride, the Lord is a crown of glory.  

Think about those two descriptions. Pride. Glory. How do they contrast each other?

Isaiah says the Lord will be the beauty and righteousness that Ephraim failed to be.

Then Isaiah repeats for the fourth time Ephraim’s sin of drunkenness.  This emphasis should not be taken lightly. God is having to start over with the newer, younger generation because the current generation is so lost in sin.  Being in a right relationship with God takes multiple steps and must be built from the ground up. But they refused to listen when God spoke plainly. Therefore, He will now speak to them in a way that they cannot understand.

The law was very straightforward. It was very strict. This was so that Israel, if it looked back in the word, would see their error.  God’s message is straightforward.  

I think Isaiah gives the very definition of Pride: the inability to hear the simplicity of the Word and refusal to obey.

Israel and Judah are trusting in their ways of sin. They were taking rest in these ways. They believed these ways would carry them through, even through death.  The prideful Jews have trusted in their wickedness. They believe their ways will deliver them from death.  They trust that they have woven enough lies that nothing can reach them.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Let us pause and reflect upon these words in our own lives. Are we mirroring the lives of Israel and Judah? Is pride a factor in our lives?

God will respond to the lies of man. He will establish a foundation. This foundation has been tested, tried, and proved to be secure. The cornerstone is a reference to Christ.

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.

Psalm 118:22

This Jesus is

the stone rejected by you builders,
which has become the cornerstone.

Acts 4:11

Once established, this cornerstone, or Christ, will destroy all lies with His truth.

The prideful trust their lies will protect them from what will destroy them. God boldly declares that He will dissolve any intentional contract with the power of death and hell (Satan). No lie, no false religion, will protect one from the judgment of Christ. One must believe in Him. One must accept His ways. This is the only way to pass from judgment into adoption into the family of God.

But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,

John 1:12

Isaiah gives us a warning we must hear in our hearts.

²² So now, do not scoff,
or your shackles will become stronger.
Indeed, I have heard from the Lord God of Armies
a decree of destruction for the whole land.

²³ Listen and hear my voice.
Pay attention and hear what I say.

Isaiah 28:22-23

When God sends a warning, do not mock Him, but take heed. The plowman, the harvester, and the baker are all examples of the order which God has ordained. The implication is a rhetorical question. If God gives order to the mundane things of life, does He not also have steps and actions for man? Every type of person, the righteous, the faithful, the sinner, will each be treated according to his kind.

DO you resent God’s guidelines and see them as nothing but pointless rules?

Are there ways you honor Him with only your lips but not with your life?

DO you see the Hope in the Then and Now and Tomorrow?

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