The LORD Will Bring Down Pride and Give a True Foundation

28:1 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed, the withering flower, its beautiful splendor, situated at the head of a rich valley, the crown of those overcome with wine. 28:2 Look, the sovereign master sends a strong, powerful one. With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, he will knock that crown to the ground with his hand. 28:3 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards will be trampled underfoot. 28:4 The withering flower, its beautiful splendor, situated at the head of a rich valley, will be like an early fig before harvest – as soon as someone notices it, he grabs it and swallows it. 28:5 At that time the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people. 28:6 He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions, and strength to those who defend the city from attackers. 28:7 Even these men stagger because of wine, they stumble around because of beer – priests and prophets stagger because of beer, they are confused because of wine, they stumble around because of beer; they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, they totter while making legal decisions. 28:8 Indeed, all the tables are covered with vomit; no place is untouched. 28:9 Who is the Lord trying to teach? To whom is he explaining a message? Those just weaned from milk! Those just taken from their mother’s breast! 28:10 Indeed, they will hear meaningless gibberish, senseless babbling, a syllable here, a syllable there. 28:11 For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue he will speak to these people. 28:12 In the past he said to them, “This is where security can be found. Provide security for the one who is exhausted! This is where rest can be found.” But they refused to listen. 28:13 So the Lord’s word to them will sound like meaningless gibberish, senseless babbling, a syllable here, a syllable there. As a result, they will fall on their backsides when they try to walk, and be injured, ensnared, and captured. 28:14 Therefore, listen to the Lord’s word, you who mock, you rulers of these people who reside in Jerusalem! 28:15 For you say, “We have made a treaty with death, with Sheol we have made an agreement. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by it will not reach us. For we have made a lie our refuge, we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” 28:16 Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says: “Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 28:17 I will make justice the measuring line, fairness the plumb line; hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place. 28:18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; your agreement with Sheol will not last. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, you will be overrun by it. 28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you; indeed, every morning it will sweep by, it will come through during the day and the night.” When this announcement is understood, it will cause nothing but terror. 28:20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. 28:21 For the Lord will rise up, as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself, as he did in the Valley of Gibeon, to accomplish his work, his peculiar work, to perform his task, his strange task. 28:22 So now, do not mock, or your chains will become heavier! For I have heard a message about decreed destruction, from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land. 28:23 Pay attention and listen to my message! Be attentive and listen to what I have to say! 28:24 Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time? Does he keep breaking up and harrowing his ground? 28:25 Once he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter the seed of the caraway plant, sow the seed of the cumin plant, and plant the wheat, barley, and grain in their designated places? 28:26 His God instructs him; he teaches him the principles of agriculture. 28:27 Certainly caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge, nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin seed. Certainly caraway seed is beaten with a stick, and cumin seed with a flail. 28:28 Grain is crushed, though one certainly does not thresh it forever. The wheel of one’s wagon rolls over it, but his horses do not crush it. 28:29 This also comes from the Lord who commands armies, who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Isaiah warns Ephraim and Jerusalem that their pride, drunkenness, and false security will not save them. The LORD will judge their lies, but he will also be a sure crown and foundation for the remnant who trust him.

This passage begins with a warning to Ephraim. Their former glory is fading, and the Lord will bring it down like a storm. What looked strong was really weak, because it was built on pride and drunkenness.

Then the focus turns to Jerusalem. Even the priests and prophets are drunk and unable to do their work rightly. They have mocked God’s word, so the Lord says his message will come to them as hard judgment. Since they refused to listen clearly, they will hear his voice through severe and confusing discipline.

The rulers of Jerusalem also trusted lies. They thought their agreements and plans could protect them from judgment. But the Lord says he himself is laying a stone in Zion. This stone is his chosen foundation. The one who trusts him will not panic.

God’s justice is the measuring line. He will sweep away every false refuge. Their lies will fail, and judgment will come. Yet the Lord is not acting carelessly. The farmer’s example at the end shows that he deals wisely and in the right way. His judgments are measured, purposeful, and full of wisdom.

• God opposes pride and false security.
• Drunkenness blinded the leaders who should have guided the people.
• Refusing God’s word brings harder judgment.
• The rulers of Jerusalem trusted lies instead of the Lord.
• The Lord himself provides a sure stone in Zion.
• The one who trusts God’s provision will not panic.
• God’s judgment is wise and measured, not random.

• Warning: Pride and drunkenness bring downfall.
• Warning: Mocking God’s word leads to judgment.
• Warning: False refuge will be swept away.
• Promise: The Lord will be a crown for the remnant.
• Promise: The one who trusts God’s foundation will not panic.
• Command: Listen to the Lord’s word.
• Command: Do not mock.

The Lord removes corrupt confidence so his people will depend on him alone. He judges lies, but he also preserves a remnant and gives them a true foundation. In the larger Bible story, his appointed stone in Zion points forward to the secure rule and trustworthiness of God’s chosen king, while first speaking to Judah’s own need to trust the Lord in Isaiah’s day.

Do not trust pride, politics, or self-made safety. Listen to God’s word with humility. Build your confidence on what the Lord has set in place, not on lies that cannot hold.

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