Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 28

Verses 1-29

THE COVENANT WITH DEATH

Isaiah 28:1—31:9

At chapter 28 the student arrives at prophecies which definitely come from the latter part of Isaiah’s prophetic ministry. Chapters 28-31 have their over-all setting in the period between 705 and 701 b.c., when, after the death of the Assyrian emperor, Sargon II, Hezekiah of Judah became the leader of a coalition in revolt against the Assyrians. Apparently what led the king to believe that his action could have a favorable result was his treaty with Egypt in which the latter promised assistance. What Hezekiah had refused to do in an earlier revolt, between 714 and 711 b.c., he now did. Isaiah was bitter in his denunciation of this action. Not only was Egypt not dependable (31:1-3), but it was the height of folly to enter into any treaty designed to avoid what God had purposed. Consequently, the treaty was indeed “a covenant with death” (28:15). Nothing could come of it but disaster (28:22; 29:1-10; 31:1-3). The rulers of Judah, an irresponsible group, mocked the prophet (28:7-14) and tried to corrupt him and his followers (30:10). In spite of his warnings the revolt went on, and as a witness against the rebellious people, Isaiah wrote down what the Lord had told him to say.

“The Bed Is Too Short” (28:1-29)

Chapter 28 can be divided into three sections. The first (vss. 1-13) appears to be a prophecy uttered in the early days of Isaiah’s prophetic ministry against Ephraim (Israel). It is here repeated in a later context as applied also to Judah in the period of 705-701 b.c. The prophecy is interrupted in verses 5-6 by a brief passage concerned with the glorious future beyond the present era of trouble—a feature which is characteristic of the editorial work in Isaiah throughout the book. The prophecy as a whole is directed against the ruling parties, who are characterized as drunken and therefore completely irresponsible (vss. 1-4). Verses 7-8 continue the picture of irresponsible leadership, asserting that the religious leaders also are so drunk that they cannot give any accurate word from the Lord. In verses 9-10 the same leaders of society and government are represented as talking about Isaiah’s counsel as though he were a schoolteacher instructing children. Verse 10 is not completely clear, although it seems to be a mocking reference to the procedures of a teacher with a class. In verse 13 the prophet turns the mocking words back upon the leaders in a prediction of their fall.

The next section of the chapter (vss. 14-22) deals directly with the Egyptian covenant. In verses 16-17 the prophet gives God’s word declaring what he has been doing in Jerusalem and what he intends to do. It is because of God’s activity, then, that the “covenant with death” is to be annulled (vs. 18). Verse 20 is an eloquent statement of the situation in Judah: “The bed is too short” and “the covering too narrow”; no one can sleep or keep warm on this kind of bed. The mention of Perazim and Gibeon in verse 21 appears to refer to victories of David over the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:20, see margin; 1 Chronicles 14:16).

The final section (vss. 23-29) uses the figure of a farmer at work in his field, emphasizing the God-given wisdom of the way in which a farmer carries on his work. The whole appears to be a kind of parable of the way God deals with people, but it is exceptional in that one must infer its lesson because no interpretation is included.