Isaiah 28 FSI - HEAR, O EARTH

> [!title|noicon] **Isaiah 28 Notes** > \[[Isaiah 27 FSI|<Prev\]]   \[[Isaiah 29 FSI|Next>\]] > [[Isaiah 28|Verse list view]] > [Isaiah 28:1](Isaiah%2028.md#^1) note > > Ephraim is another name for Israel. And this chapter is a picture or example of how God deals with the Israel of today which are the local churches and congregations. So though this historical event we must seek to understand the spiritual meaning for ourselves, how does it apply to us, because the way God dealt with ancient national Israel is a spiritual pattern for the way He deals with us today. > > The time this occurred in history was when the Assyrians destroyed the 10 tribes to the north, the nation of Israel. Israel wanted the gods of the Assyrians and were impressed by their beautiful horses and garments and all of that, and that's what they wanted for themselves. And God said this nation that you are trying to emulate will be the very nation that destroys you. > > In verses 1-8 of this chapter we see the sad context of this, God speaks of them as being overcome with wine and strong drink, which spiritually indicates they are drunken on their own ways, on their own kind of a gospel. And as a result God is going to bring them under judgment. ^isa28-1 > [Isaiah 28:8](Isaiah%2028.md#^8) note > > Their tables are full of vomit and filthiness. What should be on the tables is the Bread of Life, the blood of Christ that we drink that we might have life. But instead it is defiled with vomit and filthiness, that which cannot bring any nourishment, it is that which has a stench, that which is awful. And that is what God says they have been feeding on in their drunken stupor. ^isa28-8 > [Isaiah 28:9](Isaiah%2028.md#^9) note > > God describes here and in verse 10 how He teaches us through His Word, it is a fundamental principle for how we learn from the Bible. We don't start out knowing all of the important doctrines of the Bible and have everything all figured out. We start out as a helpless little child ([Mk 10:15](Mark%2010.md#^15)) that listens very carefully, and then slowly on, step by step, begins to learn. A child doesn't typically learn about calculus and biology at 3 years old, of course. The child must start off with the basics -- how to count, what are the letters, there are certain things we do and do not do, how to say 'thank you' and 'please,' how to dress properly -- step by step as he or she emerges into the world. And that's how we start out, like babes that have just been weaned from the breast. We must stand very humbly before God and say, "Lord, I don't know, you teach me." ^isa28-9 > [Isaiah 28:10](Isaiah%2028.md#^10) note > > "For" -- this continues from verse 9 describing how God teaches us little by little, step by step. The word *precept* means *command* or *commandment*. As little children we learn what we do and don't do, particularly things little children will do because no one has taught them yet. We give them one commandment after another. This is even true of learning letters and math -- there are principles and precepts to grasp. And this is how we learn the Bible, here a little, there a little. We don't know it all at once, slowly on we gain that knowledge. > > When God teaches us, He doesn't just come to us with a whole lot of big doctrinal ideas that we can understand in a few minutes so that we know exactly where we are. True, when He saves us, that's in a moment, and He can save a little baby or an adult or someone on their deathbed so that they have a heart to receive the Truth. But once we become saved, it's bit by bit by bit, we learn a little more about this, a little more about that as the scriptures open up a little more each time concerning the Word of God in our life. > > "line upon line, line upon line" -- comparing this with [verse 17](Isaiah%2028.md#^17), the *line* indicates that our eye is unable to measure accurately so we must put a line down, a plumb bob, to give us guidance, to set parameters and to establish exactly how the building is to be built. So God is using this figure how the Bible is a series of standards by which we measure our conduct and life against the Word of God, to see how we're doing. And sometimes we might think we're doing quite well until we read the Bible and see how much sin and pride we have in our lives. Christ is the Standard, He is the Plummet, He is the Line that we are to follow, and that is the nature of the Word of God. So precept upon precept, step by step, there is a series of standards and commandments God establishes so that we might know what true righteousness is and what God expects of our lives, and how far we fall short but then earnestly pray for forgiveness and correction in Christ as our Righteousness. It is to lead us to salvation in Him. ^isa28-10 > [Isaiah 28:11](Isaiah%2028.md#^11) note > > God will speak to them through someone with stammering, that is, with *mocking*, lips and another tongue. And we will see in [verse 13](Isaiah%2028.md#^13) that this is to *destroy* them. The word translated stammering here is translated mockers in [Psalm 35:15](Psalm%2035.md#^15), [16](Psalm%2035.md#^16)). Stammering is also seen in [Isaiah 33:19](Isaiah%2033.md#^19), which repeats what we see here in Isaiah 28, again meaning to deride or to have someone in derision. See also [Psalm 2:4](Psalm%202.md#^4) where it's translated *derision*, and [Proverbs 1:26](Proverbs%201.md#^26) where it's translated *mock*. > > Now here in Isaiah 28 we see the *first* fulfillment of the prophecy spoken of in [Jeremiah 5:15](Jeremiah%205.md#^15), [16](Jeremiah%205.md#^16) and [17](Jeremiah%205.md#^17) (see the important notes under verse 15 for the backdrop to all of this). God is ready to destroy the nation of Israel, the 10 tribes to the North, by the Assyrians. And in verses 1-8 of this chapter we see the sad context of this, God speaks of them as being overcome with wine and strong drink, which spiritually indicates they are drunken on their own ways, on their own kind of a gospel. In fact, this spiritually describes how they had played the harlot with the Assyrians, lusting after all of the earthly, pagan things that they had. And as a result God is going to bring them under judgment. > > In [2 Kings 18:26](2%20Kings%2018.md#^26) God makes the point that the Assyrian language was mostly not understood by the populace. But Israel had played the harlot with Assyria ([Eze 16:28](Ezekiel%2016.md#^28)). They wanted the gods of the Assyrians and were impressed by their beautiful altars and their horses and garments and all of that, and that's what they wanted for themselves. And God said this nation that you are trying to emulate will be the very nation that destroys you. So that's what God is describing in [verse 11](Isaiah%2028.md#^11) and here in [verse 13](Isaiah%2028.md#^13). And in 709 BC Assyria totally wiped out the nation of Israel as a historical illustration of what happens spiritually when God allows the kingdom of Satan to overrun his wayward people with false gospels and worldliness, it eventually destroys them. The very nation they envied and emulated, those that spoke a language they did not understand and had the strength and beauty that they lusted after, believing that their false gods brought them all of the nice things they wanted to have, that is whom God used to destroy them, to bring them into mocking derision. ^isa28-11 > [Isaiah 28:12](Isaiah%2028.md#^12) note > > Here we see what God's precepts in [verse 10](Isaiah%2028.md#^10) lead to: "This *is* the rest *wherewith* ye may cause the weary to rest; and this *is* the refreshing" -- there is a goal of God as we read and learn from the Bible. We learn about the wonderful salvation program because the *rest* spoken of here is personified by Christ Himself ([Heb 4:3](Hebrews%204.md#^3)). He has done all of the work in saving us, He is the one Who brought refreshment, He has brought us eternal life if we become saved as He brings the Gospel to us precept upon precept, as faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God ([Ro 10:17](Romans%2010.md#^17)). We find our rest in Him. > > But, sadly, we see here in the second part of the verse that they were not listening to the Word of God, "yet they would not hear." Verses 11-12 might be more clearly worded, "Yet they would not hear, therefore, with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people, to whom he said, This *is* the rest *wherewith* ye may cause the weary to rest; and this *is* the refreshing." > > This is seen also in [Hebrews 4:2](Hebrews%204.md#^2) how they did not enter into God's rest because they did not listen, they did not take God's Word to heart. So in [Isaiah 28:11](Isaiah%2028.md#^11) and [13b](Isaiah%2028.md#^13) God adds something else by which He is going to teach them. And now comes the horror story. Here God has laid down the rules: You are little children, you don't presume to know anything of yourself, you go to the Bible so that step by step you learn this and you learn that, you learn what the standards are and get to know exactly what the Gospel is teaching. We should always be examining to make sure we're faithful to the Word of God and haven't gone out of bounds, we're measuring what we've understood against the line or the plummet of what the Bible teaches. This is the ideal that God teaches, the Bible is the Standard. But if you will not hear (which He says they have not here in Isaiah 28), if you presume to know better than God and set up your own salvation program or set of doctrines out of your own minds, then the Bible is no longer your Authority, you are no longer allowing the Bible to guide you. You are not satisfied with the true Gospel. Then, as per [verse 11](Isaiah%2028.md#^11), God will speak them with with mocking lips to destroy them ([verse 13](Isaiah%2028.md#^13)). ^isa28-12 > [Isaiah 28:13](Isaiah%2028.md#^13) note > > The first part of this verse is a repetition to [verse 10](Isaiah%2028.md#^10). Again, we are to learn from the Word of God little by little, line upon line, so that we might understand God's salvation plan, so that we might learn how to live before God, so that we might seek all things to His glory, so that we might live obediently before Him. > > "that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken." -- But if you rebel against God and want something more physically glamorous and appealing (as when Israel went after the Assyrians and their gods and all of their earthly allurements), if you want something more exciting like special revelation and excitements from God, then this precept upon precept, line upon line will bring you to destruction and judgment instead. So instead of bringing rest and salvation as seen in verses 10 and 12, if you will not hear the Word of God then it will bring you to eternal death. And indeed we see physical "falling backwards" occurring in many churches today where they've concocted a false "gift of the Spirit," or being "slain in the Spirit," which is actuality a *judgment* upon them as they are admittedly being spiritually killed. See also [Jn 18:5](John%2018.md#^5), [6](John%2018.md#^6); [Gen 49:17](Genesis%2049.md#^17); [1 Sam 4:18](1%20Samuel%204.md#^18); [Ps 40:14](Psalm%2040.md#^14); [Isa 1:4](Isaiah%201.md#^4); [Jer 7:24](Jeremiah%207.md#^24) how falling or going backwards is always an indication of God's judgment, it is evidence of the wrath of God upon them. And this highlights just how terrible and how serious it is to be speaking in tongues today as the tongues are a part of this going backwards under the judgment of God and being spiritually slain, placed directly under the power of Satan. > > So we can learn through the historical event of this chapter how God deals with the Israel of today which are the local churches and congregations. We must seek to understand the spiritual meaning for ourselves, how it applies to us, because the way God dealt with ancient national Israel is a spiritual pattern for the way He deals with us today. And as churches and congregations in recent years have stopped truly listening to and following the Bible, as they were no longer satisfied with the true Gospel of the Bible alone and in its entirety, they began to look for some kind of excited manifestation from God instead. So they come to 1 Corinthians 14 and find their solution in signs, wonders and speaking in tongues. And this has left them wide open to being harassed by Satan. When they're praying in some so-called heavenly language, God does not accommodate them, but Satan accommodates them until it gets so bad that he has overrun the churches -- just as the Assyrians of the Old Testament, speaking a language that Israel could not understand, overran Israel of old. Just as Babylon carried Judah away captive and destroyed the temple, the house of God of that day. > > We see this from 1 Corinthians 14 itself, in the first half of [verse 22](1%20Corinthians%2014.md#^22). Tongues are a sign to those who do *not* believe. It is the same testing stone in our day that Israel and Judah faced in their day. They wanted to be like Assyria and Babylon and to have the altars and armies and so on of these nations that represent the kingdom of Satan, or the world in general, in our day. As worldliness and sin upon sin sets in, God brings a nation of another tongue against them to destroy them. But ultimately, as we see in the previous verse, [verse 21](1%20Corinthians%2014.md#^21), it is really *God* who is speaking to them, just as we see in [verse 11 here in Isaiah 28](Isaiah%2028.md#^11). That is, it is God who has brought this judgment upon them through those who speak in another tongue, through those who speak in a derisive, mocking, stammering lip that they will not understand. This is thus the sign that they are under the wrath of God because they would not hear His Word. > > So God also effectively teaches through His judgments. And sadly, those who come under that judgment learn the lesson too late. But for some God uses that means to bring a person into Truth. Similarly God sometimes uses chastisements to bring us into Truth. But the teaching here is that if you will not listen to God, if you will not hear His Word that should lead you to Truth and salvation, then He will bring you into the confusion of tongues that you do not understand, your doctrine will become a completely false gospel with Satan at its head which cannot bring salvation but will instead bring you into judgment. You will fall backward and be broken and snared and taken as Satan (Assyrian, Babylon) comes in to rule over you. Compare this with [Isaiah 14:13](Isaiah%2014.md#^13), [14](Isaiah%2014.md#^14), [15](Isaiah%2014.md#^15) where we see Lucifer, that is Satan, determined to rule as if he is God within the congregations, but God will bring him down to judgment. ^isa28-13 > [Isaiah 28:14](Isaiah%2028.md#^14) note > > Remember that Jerusalem identifies spiritually with the churches and congregations in the New Testament. And here God is telling the scornful rulers to *listen* to Him, He has something very important to say. Of course, that's the nature of the whole Bible, it is *very* important. But we don't listen by nature, so God is telling them to hear. And whenever one does not listen to God's Word, they are being *scornful* of God, they are scorning His Word in favor of their confessions or their constitution or whatever they have set forth as truth that isn't from the Bible. And the rulers are those who have the spiritual oversight of the congregation, those who have an enormous responsibility. ^isa28-14 > [Isaiah 28:15](Isaiah%2028.md#^15) note > > Normally the word covenant has to do with the Gospel itself, the Covenant of Grace -- it's the same word as *testament*. So it identifies with the Word of God. And a covenant has to do with an agreement, an alliance or a league. Now God's covenant comes altogether from the mind of God, it is completely His agreement whereby His people are saved through the death and resurrection of Christ, completely by the action of God, as Christ became our Substitute in paying for our sins. > > As perverse as humanity is by nature, people are not satisfied with God's covenant that depends entirely upon the mercy of the sovereign God. That means if God isn't merciful it's too bad for me, and people don't like the fact that God names those whom He plans to save. And then they want some kind of credit for salvation. So the entire human race has made an agreement with death, and we see that practically in the multitude of philosophies, religions, ideals, lifestyles and what have you -- in every way that people have concocted to live out their lives to please themselves and to adhere to their own concepts and standards of right and wrong, of good and evil, so that all is well. But it's an agreement with death and the grave -- with Satan himself -- and a complete repudiation of God. And this agreement is something that the people hide under, as verse 15 says, "we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves." > > But here God is specifically referring to the rulers of the congregations ([v14](Isaiah%2028.md#^14)) that have made their own kind of a covenant, an agreement with death and hell, or the grave. He isn't addressing the entire human race that has done this but is particularly focusing on those who have the responsibility of oversight in the churches, how they, too, have gone aside after their false gods and their false gospels that are ultimately out of their own minds, from the mind of Satan and of the world. > > Now the language of this verse is written as though they are admitting to this. And, of course, no one would actually admit this. No one is going to say that whatever they are following or whatever principles they hold are all a big lie or it's all false. But deep in their hearts, subconsciously, even spiritually, they know it's a lie because God has created us in His image so that we know there's a God we must answer to. But they have deceived themselves through their own lies to believe all is well in their detestation of God as long as they can live however they want in opposition to Him. They falsely believe judgment will not come upon them, as they say, "when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us...." > > So we must ask ourselves the question, "What is my covenant? What agreement am I following? Is it out of my own mind? Was it created by my church and the church fathers? Or am I *really* trusting the Bible?" > > Now, notice that God begins this verse with *Because*: "Because ye have said...." God is completely aware that this is the nature of humanity, that we would try to set up our own kind of a covenant and agreement whereby we could face life, but that it would be totally futile and never bring salvation. And *because* of this, He has provided the only Way of salvation in the next verse, verse 16, which begins with *Therefore*..." ^isa28-15 > [Isaiah 28:16](Isaiah%2028.md#^16) note > > This verse begins with *Therefore*, in response to the previous verse (verse 15) that began, "*Because* ye have said..." That is, because people by nature want to go their own way and follow their own paths that lead to death, and because they have all been in agreement with this, therefore, or yet, God will set up His own salvation plan for His elect that will succeed. And the very centerpiece is the foundation Stone for Zion. Zion is another name for the heavenly Jerusalem that we belong to when we become saved, we become its eternal citizens. And the foundation Stone is the Lord Jesus Christ: [Ps 118:22](Psalm%20118.md#^22); [Acts 4:10](Acts%204.md#^10), [11](Acts%204.md#^11). > > Psalm 118:22 and Acts 4:10-11 are speaking about how Christ was rejected by national Israel. And had they not rejected Him, He could not have become our Savior. He had to be crucified, so they had to reject Him so that it might lead to His crucifixion. And He was rejected from the beginning, being born in a lowly stable in a manger. So in their rejection of Him they were used of God that He would become the Head of the corner, the chief Cornerstone of the Foundation ([1 Cor 3:11](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^11), [12](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^12), [13](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^13), [16](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^16), [17](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^17); [Eph 2:20](Ephesians%202.md#^20), [21](Ephesians%202.md#^21), [22](Ephesians%202.md#^22)). > > In days past a cornerstone would be used to determine the elevation and the alignment of a building to the area around it. And it was a *tried* stone to make sure it was strong and durable enough to support the structure. This is similar today when we utilize and *test* concrete to make sure it can endure a certain amount of pounds per square foot. > > Now in [Acts 4:11](Acts%204.md#^11) and other verses we see that Christ is the chief foundation of the body of believers, of the kingdom of God. And there is no other foundation that man can lay apart from the Lord Jesus. And likewise Christ is a *tried* stone, that is, He was tested. We see how Satan tempted or tried Christ in the wilderness for 40 days, attempting to have Him rebel against God. And in multiple instances the people and the religious leaders tested Him, hoping He would stumble in some way, again to see if He would be faithful to the Word of God or not. > > Christ was tested in all points like we are (see [Hebrews 4:15](Hebrews%204.md#^15)). And just as God set up a testing program for Adam in the Garden of Eden, so He set up a testing program for Christ as the "last Adam" ([1 Cor 15:45](1%20Corinthians%2015.md#^45)). Satan appeared as the wisest and craftiest of beings to test Adam and Eve and succeeded in causing them to fall. That was THE big trial, and in Adam all of us have fallen. Then we have a parallel situation with Christ Who had taken on a human nature so that He was like us, but without sin so that He was like Adam who also was initially without sin. So God immediately set up a testing arena for Christ in the wilderness for 40 days where we find Satan operating, He had to be tested in every point as we were tested even from the Garden of Eden. But Christ did not fail the test, Satan was unable to conquer Him through the 40 days testing nor through all of his emissaries who tried to get him to fall. He is the tried Cornerstone, under the most difficult conditions imaginable He has passed all of the tests to be absolutely dependable as the foundation of the Kingdom of God. This is the kind of assurance God is giving us here in Isaiah 28 that He is a *tried* stone. > > Looking again at [verse 16](Isaiah%2028.md#^16), Christ is also the *precious* stone, meaning He is exceedingly valuable. He is One-of-a-kind, He the *only* precious Stone. He is of inestimable value, there is nothing that we can compare His value, He is the very Essence of being a precious Stone. > > And Christ is the *sure* Foundation. In [Psalm 78:69](Psalm%2078.md#^69) the same Hebrew word is translated *established* and it is something that is established forever, the new heavens and the new earth will exist forevermore into eternity future. So Christ is the Foundation that is sure forevermore unto all eternity. > > "he that believes shall not make haste" -- Those who believe in Christ shall not make haste. In [Psalm 70:1](Psalm%2070.md#^1), the non-italicized haste is the same Hebrew word we find here in Isaiah 28:16. It's found again in [Psalm 70:5](Psalm%2070.md#^5) to indicate our intense desire for salvation before we are saved and have begun to really fear the Lord: "Make no delay, Oh Lord, have mercy and save me!" Yet God encourages us to wait upon Him. So on the one hand there is this tension in our lives in our desperate need for salvation, but on the other hand we know that God has a perfect timetable for those He has planned to save and that we need for Him to give us the patience to wait upon Him, because He has to do all of the work altogether. So when Christ becomes our foundation Stone, our precious and tried Stone and everlasting Foundation, we shall not make haste. Once we are saved and have truly become a child of God so that the Spirit dwells within us, God is there, we are secure in the kingdom of God and the building is as solid as the foundation. But we must be built on the Foundation that is the Lord Jesus through His Word, on the Rock, not on our own faulty doctrines which is like building on sand and would cause the house to come crashing down. ^isa28-16 > [Isaiah 28:17](Isaiah%2028.md#^17) note > > In verse 15 God describes the false "salvation programs" built on the desires and the imaginations of humanity whereby they think they have worked out their own plans to get right with God (even though it means suppressing all the Truth of God and completely redefining God to fit their own image), but it leads to eternal death. They made lies their refuge. Then in verse 16 God lays out the true salvation plan, that it *must* be built on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Cornerstone, as the complete Foundation ([1 Cor 3:11](1%20Corinthians%203.md#^11)). He made provision to pay for the sins of those He planned to save. That is the key to salvation, the key to Truth and to getting right with God. And Christ is the only One Who can and did do this. He is everything and we must give Him all of the glory. This is the only way to have reconciliation with God. > > Now here in verse 17, God is infinitely perfect in His righteousness and justice, and we were created to perfectly serve Him. The false hope of humanity is that God will somehow forgive and overlook them by their own worth, by their own actions, by their own beliefs, by their own assessment of good and evil, without Christ. But sin is complete anarchy, it is insurrection, it is the worst rebellion against God. So in God's complete justice He demands that humanity answer to His standard. He makes judgment the line and righteousness the plumb bob or plummet by which He measures our conduct, and if we cross it one iota then we are in trouble with God. [Hebrews 4:12](Hebrews%204.md#^12) - [13](Hebrews%204.md#^13) indicates just how serious this situation is with God. We cannot hide from God -- He has a permanent record of every idle word, every wrong thought, every evil deed that every human being has ever committed. It is so precise and detailed and deep into our personality that God knows every sin in us before it even manifests itself in thought or action. So there will be no one standing before God outside of Christ who will be without sin and no human-devised plan will circumvent this, as we see in the second half of the verse: > > "and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place" -- Hail is used in the Bible to indicate the wrath of God, as we saw in one of the plagues upon Egypt ([Ex 9:18](Exodus%209.md#^18), [19](Exodus%209.md#^19), [20](Exodus%209.md#^20), [21](Exodus%209.md#^21), [22](Exodus%209.md#^22), [23](Exodus%209.md#^23), [24](Exodus%209.md#^24)). God warned through Moses that He was going to do it, and so it happened. So He says here in verse 17 that He is going to do this and He will. His pronouncements *will* come True. This has already come true for the believers through the wrath of God upon Christ for our sins if we are saved. And thus it will absolutely come to pass upon the unsaved themselves outside of Christ as their refuges of lies are swept away. > > The "hiding place" in this verse refers to their "refuge of lies" -- it is their own ideas, their own delusions by which they feel safe under false pretense. They are hiding in their refuge of lies that will be swept away by the hail and overflowed by the waters of judgment. This *will* happen -- God is not just jesting, He is not playing games, He isn't simply intimidating or putting on pressure, He is declaring the Truth. When He says that terrible judgment is going to fall, it's going to fall. The thought of this verse continues in verse 18. ^isa28-17 > [Isaiah 28:18](Isaiah%2028.md#^18) note > > Again God is teaching, as in verses 15-17, "Your plan, however thoughtful or great or wonderful you thought it was -- the fact is, it will be neutralized, it will not stand, it is built upon the sand, it will not have any substance, you will not have any protection. You will not be safe from eternal damnation and death. You are guilty and are under the wrath of God." They are going to be destroyed. > > Now remember from verse 1 that God is speaking to His people, to the drunkards of Ephraim who represent the churches and congregations in our day. While the Bible teaches that judgment will fall upon the world at large, it is sadly not limited to them, He is warning His own people first, those who have this message in the Bible. Those who are not truly and completely and wholly in Christ and fully trusting in His Word will not have Him as their true Refuge. ^isa28-18 > [Isaiah 28:19](Isaiah%2028.md#^19) note > > Once judgment begins, and unfortunately it *has* already begun within the house of God, the drunkards of Ephraim (v1), prior to falling upon the world at large, it shall take you. > > "for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night" -- See [Lamentations 3:22](Lamentations%203.md#^22), [23](Lamentations%203.md#^23), where the phrase "every morning" is used in the context of salvation. Once we have become saved, then day by day, morning by morning, God is always caring for us -- every day is a new day. But for those who come under the judgment of God, they are going to come under a situation where morning by morning, day by day it will continue on and on with no cessation ([Rev 14:11](Revelation%2014.md#^11)). It's a continuous thing that does not end, when God's judgment falls there is *no* mercy. [Deuteronomy 28:16](Deuteronomy%2028.md#^16) all the way through verse 68 are an illustration of just how terrible the wrath of God is. And in the context of our present verse, see [Deuteronomy 28:67](Deuteronomy%2028.md#^67) -- where it's like saying, "Oh what a terrible day, maybe tonight will better." But then when the night comes, "Oh, it's a terrible night, maybe tomorrow will be better." But it never gets better, it's a continual thing day and night. The destruction of judgment is perpetual, there is no easement, no surcease, there is no limiting of it in any way, it goes on and on. > > "and it shall be a vexation only _to_ understand the report" -- The Hebrew word translated *vexation* means trouble or terror: "it shall be a terror just to understand the report." As we understand the message and the awfulness of the wrath of God it will bring terror, it should make us tremble before God, we should be shaking before Him. ^isa28-19 > [Isaiah 28:20](Isaiah%2028.md#^20) note > > The Gospel program has to do with finding *rest* from our sins in Christ ([Mt 11:28](Matthew%2011.md#^28); [Heb 4:3](Hebrews%204.md#^3), [11](Hebrews%204.md#^11)). God spiritually equates labor with the heavy burden of trying to be right with God through all of our faulty efforts and ideas in our fallen state. And the rest that Christ gives is the *only* rest that is altogether perfect and sufficient. But the bed of a lies, the refuge of lies spoken of in verse 17, will fall short. > > Likewise, in the second phrase, we need to have the covering of Christ in order to be safe with God, we need to be clothed or warmed with the robe or covering of His righteousness. And only He can cover us perfectly 100% -- our covering cannot just cover some percentage of our sins. But if we have any other kind of a gospel or plan for our lives, it will be an insufficient covering, we will still be exposed. ^isa28-20 Tags: #Old_Testament #Isaiah #Gods_judgment_on_His_people