Isaiah 28

Isaiah describes multi-dimensional. He names Ephraim in verse 1 but actually there is a shadow behind Ephraim that is under consideration. There is a proud crown and drunkards in Ephraim and it is like a fading flower of glorious beauty and its proxies are those who are overcome with wine, alcohol wine (v. 1). Isaiah has Lucifer in mind who despite of his beauty became proud and fell from heaven and his agents. By the time Isaiah wrote this, the Israelites were already since 723 BCE in Assyria. The “drunkards” are made by the Targum to be the “prince” but by Origen in 240 BCE in his Greek as “hirelings”. Isaiah saw that the Lord has a Strong an Mighty one, the Messiah, who is as a mighty storm of hail, a tempest of destruction to the evil and “He cast down to the earth with hand” (v. 2d). The Messiah has cast Lucifer out of heaven due to his evil and will in the Executive Judgment deal with all evil in finality and terminally. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim was really this Satan and with feet it will be trodden under foot. Origen in the Greek made the error in 240 CE to read “hand and feet” as one phrase because manuscripts were written continuously. The fading flower of the glorious beauty which is the chief of the fertile valley will be like a fig of summer which one grab and swallow (v. 4). In the Messianic Age the Lord will become a beautiful crown and regain what Adam and Eve lost through Satan’s actions (v. 5). As a result of Christ’s gain, there will “be a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people” (v. 5b). Christ who will sit in Judgment will have “a Spirit of Justice for Him who sits in judgment” the Investigative Judgment since 1844 (v. 6a-b). Before and during the Time of Jacob’s Trouble Christ the Warrior Messiah will be “a strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate” (v. 6b). During this trying times pastors and priests will drink wine and “they’re confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink” (v. 7a-e). The Hebrew makes a distinction between wine and strong wine and the Targum makes it wine and old wine. The Hebrew original says that the pastors are “staggering” but the Targum says they are “drinking”. The Hebrew further says they are “confused” but the Targum made it “undone”. They stagger because of the strong drink, says the original but the Targum made it, they have “gone astray” because of “old wine”. The Byzantine survived Septuagint says they are “mad” through the strong drink. Isaiah says that all the tables are full of vomit without [Phoenician word] a place (v. 8). The Targum sees it that the Judges are drunk with wine and the tables are as a result full of polluted and abominable food and not a place free of pollution. Oppression rules. Origen in 240 CE got carried away, maybe because of his own struggle with the Patriarch of Alexandria, and contrary to the original Hebrew inserted that “a curse shall devour them”. The question Isaiah asks is to whom the Messiah of v. 2d is going to teach knowledge and “to whom would He interpret the message?” (v. 9a-b).  The Byzantine Septuagint Greek changed the verse to ask “to whom have we reported evils?” The Word of God suffered in the corrupt Septuagint. The question in the original is made affirmative in the Targum who says that “the house of Israel, who were beloved above all nations, and cherished above all the kingdoms” were the ones with the knowledge of the message of the Torah. Isaiah continues to say that He would have loved to speak to informed people but it seems he had to call twelve disciples from fishing nets “weaned from milk” of the Word of God (v. 9c) those “just taken from the breast” of conversion (v. 9d). Christ the Messiah would speak to the unsaved world and wayward faithful through “stammering lips and foreign tongue” as we witnessed in Acts 2 with the gift of the Spirit in order to speak in many languages (v. 11). Christ would say to them “Here is rest, give rest to the weary” (v. 12) but the horrific part for Isaiah is that “they would not listen” (v. 12b). “So the Word of the Lord to them would be” (v. 13). Christ used a method of Bible study that is order on order, line upon line, here a little, there a little” but they would stumble on the Rock of Christ, backward, be broken, snared and taken captive in 70 CE (v. 13e). Order upon order the Targum has interpreted as the commandment. Line upon line was seen by the Targum as hope. Here a little was seen by the Targum as “a small thing in their eyes was my Sanctuary”. Because the Second Temple era people were scoffers when they Hellenized in Alexandria and made a covenant with Satan who is lover of death and with Sheol (v. 15) and they said that no evil will come over them (v. 15c) by that action they have made falsehood their refuge and concealed themselves with deception (v. 15d).  It is in Zion that the Lord Lord will bring the Messiah as noticed by Paul in Romans 9:33 and Peter in 1 Peter 2:6, “a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, the foundation, firmly placed” (v. 16a-c). The Septuagint thought that the foundations are of Zion but that is not what the original Hebrew and Targum had it. It is an addition and not part of the structure that is Zion. The structure is symbolical as the original and Byzantine Septuagint viewed it but the Targum ran the second mile to say the symbol indicates a personality of a king “strong and powerful and terrible. Now Isaiah came to the center of salvation: “He who believes will not be disturbed” (v. 16d). One needs to frame this in this chapter since it is the nexus around which the chapter spins. The Targum ran the second mile by changing it to “he that believes him”. The correct Targum translation reads “he that believes him in these (things)”. The comfort contained in the Targumic exegesis of a (Messianic) personality that will be the foundation of Zion is remarkably close to the New Testament exegesis which identified Jesus of Nazareth as that personality. There are some Byzantine Greek manuscripts that also read “he that believes in Him”. Isaiah says that Christ will make justice the measuring line of the Investigative Judgment and righteousness the level (v. 17). God did not compromise with evil, even with the life of His Son. With the coming great plaques in the Eschaton the refuge of lies will be swept away (v. 17c) and floods of water shall overflow the secret place (v. 17d). The evil’s covenant with Satan and death shall be cancelled and they will not escape the punishment (v. 18a-d). During the seven last plaques of the Little Time of Trouble preceding the Great Time of Trouble, “it will be sheer terror to understand what it means” (v. 19c). The Byzantine preserved Septuagint suffered in this verse from differences in vowel pointing of consonants, mistranslation and copying traumas. It was difficult times for copying for scribes. This Little Time of Trouble is described now by Isaiah as God’s “unusual task” (v. 21c) “His extraordinary work” (v. 21d). The Targum dates from after the Bar-Kochba period and tries to remove the anthropomorphisms of God in the Old Testament by substituting it with “Memra” or “Word” for His vengeance. The Targum reversed the meaning and made people doing the strange works and serve idols. Isaiah pleads with all scoffers of all generations not to carry on scoffing since he heard from the Lord Lord of Hosts [angels] “for consummation and destruction on all the earth I have heard from the Lord” in the Eschaton (v. 22c-d). Isaiah then used a farmer image to make his point that God will not continue His grace period and sowing of good news and kindness “for his God instructs and teaches him properly” (v. 26).  The Targum made the farmer a preaching prophet. It also elaborated the text as “and he is instructed unto judgment and his God teaches him”. But here is the salespoint: God will not continue forever “He does not thresh it longer” (v. 28d). “Indeed, he [a farmer] does not thresh it forever” (v. 28b). Isaiah is very impressed by God who informs him of these things and Who makes counsel wonderful and wisdom great since it gives each one changes until they stop breathing.

Dear God

Also we need to take stock of ourselves whether we are playing with God and with our status as remnant or people of God. Grant that we will believe with all our heart and minds and everything that is in us. Amen.

Koot van Wyk, (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Kyungpook National University, Department of Liberal Education, Sangju, South Korea; conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia