In Isaiah, chapter twenty-eight, verses one through twenty-nine, Isaiah returns to his own day to prophesy concerning Israel (called Ephraim) and Judah. He denounces their sin, apostasy, and reveals God’s coming judgment. Yet the judgment will be no more severe than necessary to purify God’s chosen people and bring forth a holy remnant.
Isaiah, in verse seven, describes Israel’s iniquity in terms of the despicable and shameful conduct resulting from their use of intoxicating wine. Both the people and religious leaders had traded truth and righteousness for vomit and gross disorientation. Their drunken debauchery demonstrated a clear rejection of God’s commandments. The righteous should be filled with the Spirit rather than with intoxicating wine.
If the Israelites refused to hear Isaiah in verse eleven, God would force them to listen through the military might of a foreign power, like the Assyrians, who spoke a language they could not understand. Because they rejected the prophet’s word, as in verse thirteen, God would now use the message to harden them, therefore ensnaring their judgment and capture.
The people were choosing their own way by worshipping other gods, as in verse fifteen. They felt secure in their agreement with these demonic powers, thinking these powers would provide immunity from harm; in reality, however, they were making a covenant with death.
The stone is the Lord Himself in verse sixteen; faith in Him alone provided hope for salvation. The New Testament declares that the ultimate fulfilment of this verse is found in Jesus Christ; On Christ as the foundation, God is building a new people, whose commitment must be to righteousness and justice. Hear my voice is the message from verses twenty-three to twenty-nine. God would act in such a way that He would bring forth a righteous remnant from the crucible of judgment.