Isaiah 28:1

The Bible says in Isaiah 28:1-8, “Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.”

Ephraim was one of the twelve divisions of Israel, and so we know that the Lord is still talking about the people of Israel and their terrible failings. In this passage of scripture the children of Israel have two great failings: pride and drunkenness. Isaiah 28:1 tells us that they had “glorious beauty.” Perhaps that was the reason for their pride. They regarded the things that they had accomplished as being a result of their own efforts instead of the blessings from God. It is very important to be thankful to the Lord for every good thing that He has done for you. Of course, He can take everything away in an instant. The Bible says in Psalm 100:1-5, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

The phrase “the fat valleys” refers to the abundance of the land. Israel had become a land of prosperity. But the people did not learn how to use their prosperity properly. They should have used it to do a greater good, but instead they became “drunkards.” The Lord called His own people “the drunkards of Ephraim.” The worse part of drinking alcohol is not the act of drinking necessarily, but is the consequence of drinking. There are two negative consequences to drinking that are mentioned here. It says in Isaiah 28:7, “But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.” To “err in vision” means to lose the ability to see what the future can hold, and therefore to fail to pursue that which is possible. God has a plan for each person: a plan for the future. Are you actively pursuing your future? If not, perhaps you “err in vision.” It says in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” More than perhaps anything else the abuse of alcohol and drugs will take away your desire to do what needs to be done concerning your future.

Having a vision and having the proper “judgment” are tied together. Judgment refers to evaluating possibilities and making the correct decisions. If you make the wrong judgment, then you will make the wrong decision, and you will have the wrong results. You will miss the vision and the dream that Jesus has for you and for your life. The goal in life is to do the right thing so that we can build towards the future in God’s plan for each of us. Anything that keeps us from making the right decisions about God’s plan must be avoided. Poor judgment will cause us to make the wrong decisions, and the abuse of alcohol or drugs will cause us to make the wrong decisions. No wonder it says in Proverbs 20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 28:9-10, “Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” As we saw in the previous verses in Isaiah, those who should have known the things of the Lord did not know them. It said in Isaiah 28:7 that the religious leaders (the priests and the prophets) “have erred” and “they are out of the way.” In contrast to those who should have known spiritual truth, but never arrived at knowing truth, the verses in Isaiah 28:9-10 tell us some very important principles on how a human being can truly become full of the knowledge of the Lord.

The first principle is that learning about the Lord needs to start at a young age, and the younger the better. That is why Isaiah 28: refers to “Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” That is basically the same thing that Paul said to Timothy in Second Timothy 3:15, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The ideal spiritual life is that a human being comes into the world, begins learning about the Word of the Lord as early as possible, and continues learning about the Lord and His Word. Jesus had the ideal human life. He is the only One that did because He is also God, but He is the example for all of us. It says about the boy Jesus in Luke 2:46-47, “And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.” And the Bible says about Him in Luke 2:52, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Maybe we have all failed in comparison to Jesus, but the same principle still applies. No matter how old you are now, make sure that you are into God’s Word, and growing in your knowledge of Him both now and for the rest of the time that you have upon the earth. The Apostle Peter wrote in First Peter 2:2, “As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby.”

Isaiah 28:10 gives the method that must be used for learning the Word properly: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line.” This verse paints for us a picture of building blocks. When you spend your life learning the Word of God, it is like constructing a great building, but this building is made one brick at a time; and therefore it takes time to do that. That is why the earlier you start learning God’s Word the better. It is never too late to start, but we are describing the ideal life. It is best to start as early as possible, and then to build upon your understanding of the Word of God as you go throughout life. Notice carefully that the Bible needs to be studied “precept upon precept.” Bible verses must not be taken out of context. It is a very dangerous thing to read one Bible verse on a particular subject, and then to come to some great conclusion as to how your life should be conducted. Remember that the concept for studying the Bible is “precept upon precept” and “line upon line.”

To get the whole picture of what God wants for Christians who live in the 21^st century, you must understand more fully the Word of God on a particular subject than just one Bible verse. There are a lot of issues involved. For example, it is important to know if the Bible verse comes from the Old Testament or the New Testament? Is the Bible verse written for Jews or for Christians or for both? Is the Bible verse a part of the law or not? Are there other Bible verses on the same subject that help clarify and expand the meaning of this particular verse? What is the exact meaning of the specific words that are used in the verse? What is the nearby context in the Bible passage and the overall context where the verse is used? Are there any symbolic meanings that should be considered in addition to the literal meaning?

In my lifetime I have seen many people forget to ask these types of important questions. Instead they often would quote just one Bible verse, and then make very bold and life-changing conclusions without fully examining the Word of God. That is a very unwise and dangerous thing to do, and it definitely does not follow the command to use “precept upon precept” and “line upon line.” Here is a very good example of not using precept upon precept and line upon line: Proverbs 23:13-14 says, “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.” An undiscerning person could use this verse and two or three others similar to it in Proverbs and try to make a very strong case that every parent should “beat” their children or else the children will go to “hell.” They could state very authoritatively that the Bible is God’s Word, and that every believer should obey the Bible; and therefore spanking must be observed by every good Christian parent. Thus it could be a very convincing argument and hard to argue against for those who believe in the Bible but have limited Bible knowledge on that subject. To prevent such misinterpretations or misunderstandings of God’s Word we are told in Isaiah 28:10, “precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line?”

It is essential that we consider the context. The biggest question to always ask about the overall context is this: Is this Bible verse in the Old Testament or in the New Testament? Of course, a verse in Proverbs is from the Old Testament. What is the biggest difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament? Of course, the biggest difference is law verses grace. It says in John 1:17, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Christians are no longer under law because of what Jesus has done for them. The Bible says in Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” And it says in Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Christians are not under the law. Many things that are written in the Old Testament are part of the law. So when looking at a verse from the Old Testament, the question must be asked: Is this part of the Old Testament law or not? Many verses in the Old Testament are spiritual in nature and apply to both believers in the days of the Old Testament and to Christians in our day and age; but other verses in the Old Testament are part of the letter of the law. Concerning the verses in the book of Proverbs on spanking children or “beating” them with a rod, it is important to notice that there are no verses in the New Testament that tell Christians to spank their children. The emphasis in the New Testament is on teaching the children. For example, it says in Ephesians 6:4, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Concerning the verses in the book of Proverbs about “beating” children with a rod, we should conclude that these verses are a part of the spirit of the Old Testament law. That kind of punishment is very harsh physical punishment. The law had many harsh physical punishments that were commanded to be observed by those who were under law. The Old Testament says in Deuteronomy 21:18-21, “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”

If you are going to take one passage from the Old Testament and use it in the upbringing of your children, then to be consistent you must take all passages from the Old Testament about punishing children, and apply them all to the upbringing of your children. I have heard some harsh teachings on the punishment of children; but in none of them have I heard anyone recommend that Deuteronomy 21:18-21 be followed today. The reason is because it is much too harsh in the age of grace in which we live. No such teaching is found in the New Testament for Christians to follow. The same thing should be understood about the verses on “beating” children with a rod. Christians should not kill their children for misbehaving, and Christians should not “beat” their children for misbehaving either. We live in the age of grace. Jesus did away with the harshness of the letter of the law.

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