Read Isaiah 28.
Woe to the northern kingdom of Israel!
The people prided themselves in their prosperity. But having rejected
God, they became like a fading flower. The LORD would use the Assyrians
to trample upon them without mercy. Meanwhile, the people and their
leaders were depicted as drunkards, staggering, confused, and unable to make
right decisions.
They even mocked Isaiah's clear message from the LORD as being too simple,
formulaic, and rote. They rejected what God was saying to them as being
childish, like teaching the ABC's (vv.9-10). But when a person will not
listen to God's word, He will send a stronger messenger to teach them. If
they refused to repent of their sin, then He would have an ungodly, foreign
power instruct them about accountability and judgment. They will "be
broken, and snared, and taken" (vv.11-13)
In great contrast to the fading glory of Israel, there will come a day when the
LORD will sit on the throne and be a "crown of glory" to His people
(v.5).
Woe to the southern kingdom of Judah!
The leaders of the south were no better. They, too, had rejected God and
His word. Openly, they had committed their lives to false gods, to lies,
and trusted in them to protect them (vv.14-15). In short, they tried to
build their lives and the nation on a foundation of sinking sand.
In great contrast, the LORD said, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a
foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure
foundation: 'Whoever believes will not be in haste.'" (v.16)
New Testament believers cannot read verse 16 without thinking of Jesus.
The Apostle Peter quoted Isaiah in 1 Peter 2:6 and applied it to Jesus.
The Apostle Paul wrote: "So then you are no longer strangers and
aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the
household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ
Jesus himself being the cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:20)
There are only two ways to build a life: trust in the shifting false beliefs of
this world, or trust in the sure foundation of Jesus.
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