October 5, Isaiah 28
For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people, to whom he has said, "This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose"; yet they would not hear. - Isaiah 28:11-12
Isaiah's prophecies remind me of what we learned in school about alloys. Do you remember? An alloy is a mixture, a combination of two metals or a metal and some other substance to make it stronger or more useful. So brass is a combination of copper and zinc, and steel is iron with a little carbon added. So Isaiah's prophetic words are in many places an alloy or blend combining warning and promise. He described awful consequences that were coming to Israel and Judah as a result of their stubborn disobedience, and interwove the threats with invitations to repent and promises of blessings.
Chapter 28 is a good example of such an admixture of God's stern warnings of approaching disaster with loving calls to repentance and promises of blessing. Through Isaiah's words, God warned the drunken, prideful leaders of Israel (Ephraim) that the Assyrians were coming. Their invasion would be like a mighty hailstorm with destructive winds and raging flood waters. The Assyrians would tread Israel and her leaders under their feet and hungrily consume them like first-ripe fruit. But in the next line or breath, Isaiah reassured the faithful remnant of God's people that they would not wear the drunkards' wreath- crown of shame. Instead, the Lord would be their crown of glory and beauty, of justice and strength.
The disgusting drunk religious leaders of Israel had led the people into their ruined condition. Instead of listening to God's words through Isaiah, they mocked Isaiah's prophecy, saying that he spoke to them as if they were newly weaned babies who could only understand simple phrases. Isaiah told them that since they would not hear the warning and invitation God gave them, they would hear the Assyrians' harsh, hateful and indecipherable words. Even the people of Judah who were not yet as far gone as Israel mocked Isaiah, boasting of their security in their covenants and alliances. The LORD sent them a word of warning combined with a beautiful promise about the true secure foundation he would lay in Zion--the true, tested cornerstone of Messiah. Their present confidence would be short-lived when the enemy came for them. The sheer terror of the invading force would rob them of their rest and destroy their false pride. He warned them not to scoff, lest they make their coming bondage even worse.
Isaiah used an illustration from farming to assure them that what he had spoken was true and would surely come to pass. The simplest of farming people understood the processes of sowing and reaping. God had taught them the steps to follow to grow and reap different crops. If they didn't follow God's design, their crops would fail and they would have a poor harvest instead of a rich one. God warned his people that their refusal to listen and turn was leading to an unwanted bitter harvest. Isaiah assured them that these words were from God, whose counsel was wonderful and wisdom was excellent.
Does our day-to-day conduct and attitude make us more like the proud, drunken Israelites who refused to listen and scoffed at God's call to repentance? Or are we more like the faithful remnant who did hear and heed God's words and would be blessed for it? We make the choice daily in multiple circumstances of life to honor and obey God, or ignore and refuse his counsel. The seed we're sowing will produce a harvest of blessing and reward, or misery and regret. When harvest time comes, will we be weeping or rejoicing?
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used bypermission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—October 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
Comments