Our reading today begins with the Lord addressing the city of Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel (Isaiah 28:1-4). Samaria had been made the capital of Israel when Omri had become king of Israel (1 Kings 16:21-24). He was the father of Ahab, who’s wife was Jezebel.
Who Or What Is Our Main Threat Anyway?
In these early verses of Isaiah 28, we receive a diagnosis of the spiritual condition of Israel, just before their defeat and exile by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.. Assyria, however, is in the background of Isaiah 28:1-4. It is the Lord and his judgement of the Israelites that are in the forefront. The message is clear: spiritually apostate Israel has to worry more of getting right with God than Assyria.
Because of Samaria’s pride, moral indifference and this-worldly indulgence (Is. 28:1,3), the Lord will overthrow this city and its kingdom (Is. 28:2,4). The unnamed instrument in these verses is the superpower Assyria. Behind this judgment is the single sin of Israel’s pride. But even more foundational to what is happening here is the Sovereign Lord, who is able to master the strongest forces of nature ((Is. 28:2) and the strongest forces of history (Assyria), to accomplish His purposes.
In Isaiah 28:5,6, we read of the surprising ways of God. Samaria’s judgment and disappearance has just been prophesied. But that will not be the final word in God’s dealings with Israel. A faithful remnant will return in repentance and faith (Is. 28:5,6). In the midst of God’s just judgment of Samaria, Yahweh God does not forget or rewrite his promises.
Isaiah is ministering to people in the northern kingdom of Israel, and people in the southern kingdom of Judah, who mock Isaiah’s ministry as childish (Is. 28:9-13). Isaiah keeps insisting that faith in God and His promises are the answer to even the most harshest problems and severest threats. But the people he is ministering to think this is so unpractical. Instead, they want to continue in their self-sufficient and self-indulgent ways.
Throughout the Book of Isaiah, the 2 kingdoms of Israel and Judah place their greatest trust in political and military alliances. They vacillate in placing their security in the hands of Assyria, Babylon or Egypt, depending on the expediency of the current situation. Isaiah, the true prophet of God, makes it clear that whatever you ultimately trust in the place of God will ultimately destroy you. It is no surprise that Assyria and Babylon end up being the chosen instruments of the Lord to bring Israel, and then Judah (in 586 B.C.), into exile.
The Israelites considered Isaiah’s ministry as childish and impractical. They didn’t have a willingness to hear and understand the Lord’s message. It was unintelligible to them. It was just a jumble of noises to them. If that is what they think of God’s word, then the Lord will bring to them the jumbled and unintelligible language of a foreign invading army (Is. 28:11-13)!
Undoubtedly, one of the key verses of the Book of Isaiah is Isaiah 30:15. They are as relevant to God’s people today as they were in Isaiah’s time:
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”
In Isaiah’s time, many professing believers thought this message from Isaiah was a refusing of facing life as it really is. But Isaiah insisted that that was not the case at all. What he was insisting on was to face life by taking God into account by trusting Him. By trusting military alliances with powers like Egypt (Is. 30:1-7), they were putting the Lord and His word behind their back (Is. 30:8-11). They were spiritually compromising their witness to Yahweh God as the Lord of the universe. They were trusting more in the flesh of man and the strength of horses and chariots than the Spirit of God.
Exuding The Right Aroma
As a result of this covenantal unfaithfulness on the part of God’s people, the covenant promises to them will be reversed. Instead of “five (Israelites) chasing a hundred and a hundred chasing ten thousand” (Lev. 26:8), a thousand will flee in Israel at the threat of one and all will flee at the threat of five (Isaiah 30:17). Throughout Isaiah’s vision, he is exhorting the people of Israel and Judah to put their full weight on God’s faithful strength and love. He sees the divided loyalties in the hearts of the professing believers. He sees this as the greatest threat to Israel and Judah, and not the superpower of Assyria and the emerging power of Babylon.
I think this is a very relevant word for us today. We live on a continent where we face the temptation of putting an inordinate amount of trust on the political process and human political leaders. Many people on different sides of the political divide talk of apocalyptic times coming if their politician doesn’t get elected. But we need to heed Isaiah’s message: anything or anyone we place our trust in more than the Lord will disappoint us and will eventually wreak spiritual havoc and destruction in our lives.
Politics and political leaders we choose are important, but they are not more important than the Lord. We are to be very careful not to compromise our witness to the Lord and the Gospel by how we behave in the political arena. We are to have the aroma of the crucified and risen Jesus (2 Cor. 2:14-17) and not the aroma of power politics, where we are willing to compromise our Christian testimony in exchange for winning at all costs. Political leaders come and go, but the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever.
QOTD: Do you fear God more than man?