Passage:Isaiah 28
Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem.
1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the verdant valleys, To those who are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, Will be trampled underfoot;
4 And the glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the verdant valley, Like the first fruit before the summer, Which an observer sees; He eats it up while it is still in his hand.
5 In that day the LORD of hosts will be For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people,
6 For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean.
9 “ Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.”
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the LORD was to them, “ Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,” That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.
14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, or we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
Journal:
God is running out of patience with His children. The church of God [the nation of Judah in this instance] is ineffective. What are the signs of an ineffective church?
1. Apparently, the leaders attempt to escape their own reality through drunkenness. [28:1 "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim . . . who are overcome with wine." 28:3 "The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim . . ."] Effective leadership requires clear thinking and a reliance on ultimate truth. There is a disdain for truth as one attempts to escape its reality.
2. Apparently, when truth actually is confronted, there is a further disdain for its source. [28:9-11 "'Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.' For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people . . ."] The people mock Isaiah, the Lord's spokesman and prosecutor, and are in no need for his wisdom. Judah is exhibiting a childishness toward God and a rejection of His authority. There is a willful exchange of the temporal nature of revelry for the eternal nature of truth.
3. Apparently, rebellion and self reliance march hand in hand, as a trust in self replaces a trust in God. [28:15 "Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, or we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves."] Self reliance is the outcropping of pride, and it is on this ledge that man loses his footing. One can avoid dismay only by a reliance on that which never falters or gives way. It is in Christ that the Church of God advances, and it is in self that the march of man falters.
Thus, we see the first of six woes expressed by God through Isaiah in this section. It is the woe shown in the mark of a fallen church. The church that has fallen in Ephraim, in Jerusalem, and down the street.
Heard 'Round the House: I'll put this one under the category of a woman's place is in the home. Yesterday, Luke and Anna are having some conversation that I don't recall exactly but that somehow deals with the roles of boys and girls and an argument over who should be doing what. It ends on this note, which may indeed get Anna out of the kitchen for life:
Luke [age 12]: Obviously, Anna, you must be gender challenged.
Anna [age 8]: I am not ginger challenged.
