Scripture Text: Isaiah 28:1-31:9
Memory Verse: “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” —Isaiah 28:16
Introduction:
The name “Jerusalem” means “city of peace.” However, throughout history, it has been associated more with conflict than with peace. This very day, Jerusalem is a main concern in the Middle East. The psalmist exhorted us to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). Why pray for Jerusalem? Because when peace reigns in Jerusalem, peace will reign in the whole earth! (Isaiah 52:7; 66:12) Isaiah 28-31 expounds on a series of five “woes” that focus mainly on Jerusalem.
Interspersed with these judgments are promises of restoration and glory. Isaiah ministered God’s Words to Judah to stop trusting power politics and international treaties, that they might fully trust the Lord.
Isaiah 28-31 records four main pronouncements made to Jerusalem:
- God’s judgment on Ephraim (as an example to Judah) for their arrogance and drunkenness;
- Judah’s sin in mocking God’s prophet and rejecting God’s message;
- Judah’s deafness in hearing God’s offer of rest;
- Judah’s confidence that God would not judge them was a delusion.
Jerusalem watched the Northern Kingdom fall to the might of the Assyrians, but not even this brought them to repentance!
In Isaiah 29:1-14, God cries out through Isaiah to humble Jerusalem. Judah was known as God’s “lion.” But instead of hearing a roaring lion that would frighten its enemies, Judah would be only a whisper in the dust (Isaiah 29:4). Instead of their sacrifices being accepted by God, Jerusalem would become an altar, and its people would be the sacrifice. The rest of Isaiah 29 tells of God’s appeal to Jerusalem to depend on God’s wisdom, and not their own. Isaiah 30 is another rebuke of Judah’s rebellion, while Isaiah 31 is an appeal to Judah to trust Yahweh as their defense. What if Judah had listened and repented?
Studying the Word
- Although God brings calamity upon the proud and rebellious, what will the Lord mean to the small remnant of the faithful? (Isaiah 28:5-6; 4:2; 60:1)
- What is the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah 28:16-17? (Acts 4:8-12; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-10)
- What spiritual truth is revealed by the illustration of farming in Isaiah 28:23-29? (Deuteronomy 4:35-40; Psalm 25:12-14; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16)
- Why were the people of Jerusalem so ignorant of what was happening around them? (Isaiah 29:10-14; 56:10; Mark 13:35-36; Ephesians 4:17-24; 5:14)
- In light of God’s divine deliverance of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, discuss the irony of Judah wanting to turn back to Egypt for help. (Isaiah 30:1-5) What happened to Abraham when he went to Egypt for help? (Genesis 12:10-20) What happened when Isaac started for Egypt? (Genesis 26:1-6) When we trust in worldly things, are we not “trusting in Egypt” as the Israelites did?
- As referenced in Isaiah 31, the Hebrews had always had a weakness of trusting in the might of Egypt for help instead of trusting in God. How did God counsel the Jewish kings about trusting in Egypt, and how were they to remain true to the Lord? (Deuteronomy 17:14-16) How did Israel’s “wisest” king come to ignore this warning? (1 Kings 10:24-11:6)