Isaiah 28:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him.

NIV: His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.

NASB: For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

CSB: His God teaches him order; he instructs him.

NLT: The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding.

KJV: For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.

NKJV: For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him.

Farmers plant as God's design and common sense require (Isaiah 28:24–25). This produces the most abundant and healthiest plants. The farmer does it this way because he has been taught the right way to do it. In fact, Isaiah says God is the one who teaches the farmer this. Clearly, the Lord has not published written instructions for best farming practices. Instead, the farmer seeks out and follows the ways that he has learned fit best with the design of God's creation. He has learned from the Lord, ultimately, how to work the ground in accordance with how the Lord has made the ground to work. He doesn't resist God's ways; he submits to them.

Jerusalem's leaders would have understood this concept within the framework of farming. Isaiah's greater point is that his people have not followed the same wisdom when leading the nation. Instead, they resist God's clear instructions about how to be strong and successful (Isaiah 28:16). They attempt to do so in their own way (Isaiah 28:15; Isaiah 30:1–2). How many of us are guilty of similar foolishness (Isaiah 53:6)?

Isaiah 28:14–29 describes God's warning to the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah. They are trusting what Isaiah calls "a covenant of death." They are sheltering from the coming Assyrian invasion under a "refuge of lies." Because they have not trusted the foundation the Lord has laid, He will work against His own people. Using a parable, Isaiah tells Judah's leaders to notice how the farmer follows the Lord's instructions to get the best crop.

Samaria, the capital of Israel, also called Ephraim, is the beautiful crown on the head of the rich valley below. Her leaders are proud and drunk. The Lord will send the Assyrians to trample the crown and send the people into exile. Israel's religious leaders mock Isaiah, but they will hear the Lord's message from the Assyrians. Isaiah warns Jerusalem's leaders not to mock his warning to them from the Lord about the same fate. Their covenant with death will fail. The hailstorm of the Assyrians will beat them down. The Lord's counsel is wonderful.

Isaiah 28 begins a new section following the previous four chapters about Israel's glorious future with the Lord as her king. Now, though, the Lord is sending the Assyrians to judge His own people, first in Ephraim, which is Israel, and then in Judah. The beautiful capital city of Samaria will be trampled like a wilted wreath. Israel's religious leaders mock Isaiah but will hear the Lord's message from the Assyrians themselves. Isaiah warns Jerusalem's leaders not to scoff at his message. Despite Judah's agreements with other nations, the Lord will send the overwhelming scourge to wash away their refuge of lies. The next three chapters of Isaiah (29—31) predict siege and distress for Jerusalem but also promise that God will destroy Judah's enemies and bless them if they return to Him.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).

Accessed 8/20/2025 9:31:19 PM