Isaiah 28:21-29
Isa 28:21
For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he
shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his
strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
Perazim is where the LORD fought against the Philistines
for David.
And David came to Baal-perazim, and David
smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before
me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place
Baal-perazim. (2 Samuel 5:20)
Then David commenced to chase the Philistines into the valley of Gibeon.
David therefore did as God
commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to
Gazer. (1 Chronicles 14:16)
These two battles allowed David to take control of Jerusalem.
Now the strange work and strange act is this.
David won a great victory and secured the city of Jerusalem which God
gave into his hands but now the same people which God secured are now going to
be judged because they have degenerated into sin.
On one hand he secured them in Jerusalem and now on the other hand they
will be judged.
Isa 28:22
Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made
strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even
determined upon the whole earth.
Now they are warned about mocking the message of Isaiah
which contains many judgments and are warned not to mock if the prophetic
warnings do not come to pass immediately.
If they mock, it will only cause the judgment of God to be made much
stronger upon them. Just as many
today are mocking at the fact that Jesus will return.
And saying, Where is the promise
of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as
they were from the beginning of
the creation. (2 Peter 3:4)
There will come upon Judah a consumption or destruction from which they will not
escape. Isaiah had heard this
directly from the LORD himself so that means it is sure.
On Judgment Day the entire earth is going to be purged as the unsaved are
taken to judgment and then the saved will be taken to Heaven and the earth will
be remade anew.
Isa 28:23
Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my
speech.
Now Isaiah is going to give them a parable of the
husbandman or the farmer. He is asking them to listen to the parable and to
hearken which means to listen intently and heed what is being said.
He is not only telling them to hear physically but to understand what is
being said.
Isa 28:24
Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and
break the clods of his ground?
Now Isaiah takes a lesson from agriculture to show that
God also has in mind restoration and not just judgment and destruction.
The plowman does not plow all day just to sow seeds but he does so that
he may expect a good crop for his efforts.
He knows which seeds can be planted in certain types of soil and he
plants accordingly. He breaks the
clods of ground. The clods are
lumps and chunks of ground which must be broken up to make the ground level for
planting. Sometimes the clods
contain weed roots and must be removed so the good crops are not strangled.
Isa 28:25
When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not
cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat
and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
Once the farmer had cleared the land and made it ready
for planting, he begins to plant the seeds.
Fitches were plants that was used for seasoning.
Cummin is a plant which contains fruit when it is fully matured and is
used both in whole and ground form.
It is from the carrot family.
Wheat, barley, and rye were planted in their appropriate places which would be
soil that was suitable for those types of crops.
Notice the barley was placed in a field which was appointed.
It is just like the believer who was appointed to salvation and placed in
the body of Christ.
And when the Gentiles heard this, they
were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48)
Ordained carries with it the meaning of “appointed.”
Isa 28:26
For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and
doth teach him.
God is the one who gives the husbandman the instructions
on how to plant and what to plant in what type of soil.
The discretion may also be understood as being careful in his planting
that he does not mix two types of seed.
That was also forbidden under the law.
Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard
with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the
fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. (Deuteronomy 22:9)
Each seed must be planted separately, according to its nature which would
be the type of seed. The LORD is
the one who teaches the husbandman how to plant and it is not something which is
done haphazardly which could also be in opposition to the law.
Isa 28:27
For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing
instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the
fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
This shows the different ways that the different seeds
are threshed which was beaten or separated.
The fitches and the cummin are both threshed differently.
The fitches and cummin were threshed
with a rod or a staff because they are small delicate seeds.
The cart wheel was a very heavy instrument consisting of three or four
rollers of wood or stone and the driver sits on it while a pair of oxen thresh.
It would crush the cummin and it would be of no further use.
Isa 28:28
Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be
threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it
with his horsemen.
The bread corn is bruised which means it is ground in a
mill and made into powder like flour.
The husbandman makes sure that the bread is not crushed or spoiled by the
cart.
wheels. He
is also very careful not to allow the horses or the oxen which pulls the cart to
destroy the bread.
Isa 28:29
This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which
is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.