The Covenant with Death (Isa. 28)

We have come to the fourth and final section of the first part of Isaiah. Alec Motyer calls the first 37 chapters "the Book of the King," because the focus is on the house of David and the city of Jerusalem.

The first section (chapters 1-6) set forth the basic problem: the sin of Judah and Jerusalem, and the coming judgment.

The second section (chapters 7-12) spoke of the dying house of David, and the promise of a future deliverer who would arise from Jesse's stump.

The third section (chapters 13-27) broadened the horizon, and spoke of the judgments against the nations, concluding with the vision of the two cities: the city of man and the city of God.

Now in the fourth section Isaiah returns to the present, in order to demonstrate that God is truly the Lord of history. You may trust God's promises about the future, because of what you see in the present.

Chapters 28-35 are woven together by six woes.
28:1 Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
29:1 Woe to Ariel
29:15 Woe to those who hide from the LORD
30:1 Woe to the stubborn children
31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
33:1 Woe to the destroyer

These six woes parallel the six woes of chapter 5 – the parable of the vineyard. The harvest of stink fruit is revealed here as a lack of faith in the LORD's ability to save.

The theme of this entire section is Judah's proposed treaty with Egypt in the face of the Assyrian threat.

Isaiah 28 is quoted three times in the New Testament. Peter and Paul both thought that Isaiah 28 speaks clearly to our situation as well! So listen to how Isaiah speaks of the alien works of God...