Isaiah 28:1-29

28:1 | In this first in a series of “woes” against those who had disobeyed God, Isaiah cites the rulers of Samaria (the crown of pride), the capital of the northern kingdom (here called Ephraim), for their failure to heed God’s Word and for looking to other means for protection.

28:10-11 | The transliteration of precept upon precept, line upon line is tsav latsav, tsav latsav, qav laqav. These short syllables represent babbling and mimic the stammering speech of the Assyrian invaders.

28:16 | A tried stone is a fine-grained stone used for carving statues. There is no surer foundation for the Christian faith than Jesus (Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:4-8).

28:17 | To lay a foundation of trust in God is not enough; the walls must rise in justice and righteousness. As a good builder always tests his work with the plumb line, so God measures the lives of His people with the measuring line of justice – how one treats the poor, the fatherless, and the orphans.

28:21 | At Mount Perazim God broke through Israel’s enemy’s army like a flood (2 Sam. 5:20), and in the Valley of Gibeon He defeated the enemy with hail (Josh. 10:10-11). The Lord would rise up for battle again, but this time He would judge His own people, not their enemies. This is called His unusual act.

28:23-29 | Isaiah interrupts this message of woe with a word of comfort. God is like a plowman (farmer) who had to crush his crops to get the desired results. Cummin is an aromatic herb that had to be beaten out with a stick, not threshed, because its seeds were so small. Various crops required different handling so no one step (plowing, turning, planting, or threshing) could be done continuously. In the same way, God would bring punishment, but not forever.