Isaiah 28:1 - Meaning and Application

The prophet first warns the kingdom of the ten tribes of the judgments that were coming because of their sins. These judgments were soon carried out by the king of Assyria, who ruined their land and took the people into exile. Ephraim got its name from fruitfulness, because the land was rich and its crops were excellent. It had many fertile valleys, and Samaria, built on a hill, stood at the top of those rich valleys. Their land was pleasant and prosperous, like the garden of the Lord. It was the glory of Canaan, just as Canaan was the glory of all lands.

But they made a bad use of their plenty. What God gave them to serve him with, they turned into fuel for their lusts. They became proud because of it. The blessings with which God crowned their years should have been a crown of praise to him, but instead they became a crown of pride to the people. Wealth often makes people self-important (1 Timothy 6:17). Their king, who wore the crown, was proud that he ruled such a rich land, and Samaria, their royal city, was known for pride. The prophet, speaking for the God who opposes the proud, boldly announces a woe against the crown of pride. If people become proud of their crowns, they should not think they can escape this warning. Anything a person is proud of becomes, in his own mind, like a crown. But pride leads to downfall.

They also gave themselves over to sensual living. Ephraim was known for drunkenness and wild behavior. Samaria, the top of those fertile valleys, was full of people who were overcome with wine, or, as the margin says, broken with it. Drunkards act foolishly, and no wonder, since they make fools and brutes of themselves while they sin. They let wine conquer them, and so they become its slaves (2 Peter 2:19). This captivity is especially shameful because they chose it for themselves. Some of these miserable slaves have admitted that there is no harder drudgery than heavy drinking. They are not merely overcome by wine, but by love for it. They are also broken by wine. Their bodies are damaged, their health is ruined, their work and estates suffer, and their souls are in danger of eternal ruin, all for the sake of a base desire. Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim. Ministers must bring the Bible’s general warnings home to particular people and places. We must say, “Woe to this person,” if he is a drunkard. There is a special woe for the drunkards of Ephraim, because they are among God’s professing people. That makes their sin worse, because they know better and should set a better example. Some understand the crown of pride to refer to the garlands worn by those who won drinking contests and boasted of their ability to drink more than the rest. They gloried in their shame.

God’s justice will take away the plenty they abused. Their glorious beauty, the abundance they were proud of, is only a fading flower. It is food that does not last. Even the richest harvest can become only a fading flower if God blows on it and withers it. He can easily take away their grain in its season (Hosea 2:9), and reclaim land that had been misused for false worship, those goods prepared for Baal. God already has an officer ready for the task, a mighty and strong one who can do the work, namely the king of Assyria. He will throw everything down to the ground with ease and power, with a hand they cannot resist (Isaiah 28:2). The crown of pride and the drunkards of Ephraim will be trampled underfoot (Isaiah 28:3). They will be left in shame and will not be able to recover themselves.

Drunkards often talk proudly and boast the most when they are bringing the most shame on themselves, but that only makes them more ridiculous. The beauty of their valleys, which they were so proud of, will be like a fading flower. It will wither on its own and carries the seeds of its own ruin. It will also be like early fruit, which is picked and eaten as soon as it appears. So the wealth of this world is not only likely to decay by itself, it is also easily taken by others, like first-ripe fruit that everyone eagerly wants (Micah 7:1). Thieves break in and steal. The harvest that the worldling boasts in is eaten up by the hungry (Job 5:5). As soon as others see the prey, they seize it and swallow up all they can get.

The prophet then turns to the kingdom of Judah, which he calls the remnant of his people (Isaiah 28:5), because it was only two tribes compared with the other ten. He promises them God’s favor, and says they will be under his care and protection when Ephraim’s beauty is left open to be trampled and eaten up (Isaiah 28:5-6). In that day, when the Assyrian army is wasting Israel, Judah might fear that its own house is in danger because its neighbor is on fire. But in that day of trouble and confusion, God will be to the remnant of his people everything they need and desire. This includes not only the kingdom of Judah, but also any of Israel who had kept their faithfulness and, likely, some who came to Judah to be protected by good King Hezekiah. When the Assyrian, that mighty one, comes into Israel like a storm of hail, a destructive storm, and like a flood of mighty waters overflowing the land (Isaiah 28:2), then the Lord of hosts, Lord of all armies, will set apart his people with special favors. He will especially help those who have shown a steady and singular devotion to him, and he himself will be what they most need.

This greatly increases the value of God’s promises. When God covenants to be all-sufficient to his people, he takes on himself everything they could rightly desire. He will give them all the honor they need, not only to save them from shame, but to give them respect and reputation. He will be a crown of glory and a beautiful diadem to them.

Those who wore the crown of pride looked down on God’s people and trampled on them. The people of Ephraim had become a byword among drunkards, but God would act for Judah in such a way that it would be clear he favored them. That favor would be their crown of glory, because no people can have greater honor than to be owned by God. He would also work in them by his grace, so that his image would be renewed in them. That would be their diadem of beauty, because no person can have greater beauty than holiness. Those who have God as their God have him as a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty, for they are made kings and priests to him.

God would also give them the wisdom and grace needed to carry out the duties of their station. He would be a spirit of judgment to those who sit in judgment. The counselors would be guided by wisdom and good sense, and the judges would rule with justice and fairness. It is a great mercy to any people when those called to public trust are fit for their work, when those who judge have a spirit of judgment and government.

He would also give them the courage and boldness needed to go through the hardships and opposition they would face. He would be strength to those who turn the battle at the gate, whether they are attacking enemy cities or defending their own gates against besieging enemies. The strength of soldiers depends on God just as much as the wisdom of rulers does. Where God gives both, he is a crown of glory to that people. This may well point to Christ, and the Chaldee paraphrast takes it that way: “In that day the Messiah shall be a crown of glory.” Simeon calls him the glory of his people Israel, and he is made by God for us wisdom, righteousness, and strength.

The prophet then complains about the sins found among the people of Judah, as well as the many corrupt people among them. There are drunkards in Jerusalem just as there were drunkards in Ephraim, and that should make God’s mercy toward Judah even more admired. He has not ruined Judah as he did Ephraim. When mercy spares us in a special way, that puts us under a special duty of gratitude.

Ephraim’s sins were found in Judah, yet Judah did not suffer Ephraim’s ruin. They had gone astray through wine. Drinking too much is itself a serious mistake, because people think it sharpens their mind, but it ruins their judgment and deceives them. They think it helps health and digestion, but it actually harms the body and speeds up disease and death. It also leads to many errors in belief and conduct, because it clouds the mind and weakens the conscience. To keep supporting their sin, people then adopt false ideas and shape their thinking to protect their lusts.

Some were likely drawn into idol worship by their love for the wine and strong drink that was served at idolatrous feasts. So they went astray through wine, just as Israel joined itself to Baal-peor because of its desire for the daughters of Moab. Three things make this sin worse. First, those guilty of it were the very ones who should have warned others against it and taught them better, so they ought to have set a good example. The priest and the prophet were swallowed up by wine, meaning their calling was lost in it. Priests were under a special law to be temperate (Leviticus 10:9), and as rulers and magistrates they were not to drink wine (Proverbs 31:4). The prophets were like Nazarites, and as men whose duty was to reprove sin, they should have stayed far from the sins they condemned in others. Yet many of them were trapped in this sin. What a shame, a priest, a prophet, a minister, and drunk. Such a disgrace brings dishonor to their office.

Second, the effects of this sin were deeply harmful. Not only did their example do harm, but the prophet, when drunk, erred in vision. False prophets often showed themselves for what they were when they were drinking. The priest stumbled in judgment and forgot the law (Proverbs 31:5). He staggered in his mind as much as in his body. What wisdom or justice can be expected from people who sacrifice reason, virtue, conscience, and all that matters to the base craving for strong drink? Happy are you, O land, when your rulers eat and drink for strength, and not for drunkenness (Ecclesiastes 10:17).

Third, the disease had spread widely, and most of those who kept any kind of table were infected. All tables were full of vomit. See how ugly the sin of drunkenness is, and how offensive it is to human society. It is crude and disgusting enough to sicken those who see it, because the tables where people ate were filthy with the mark of this sin. Their tables were full of vomit, so the victor should not boast in his crown, but rather be ashamed of it. It is a bad sign for any people when drunkenness becomes a national sin.