Isaiah 28:1 says, Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! This is a warning to the ten tribes of Israel of their coming defeat by the king of Assyria. They were prosperous at that time, but it wasn’t going to last. Those who do not acknowledge God and His authority in the world may be rich in material things, but one day they are going to lose it all. If it doesn’t happen before then, it will happen when Jesus Christ returns to claim those who are His. It is not the powers of the world that we need to be concerned with, but our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Verse two adds, Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. Isaiah reminded the people of Israel of the power of God. They had grown rich while outside of God’s will, but God was still the One with all the power. People may grow rich outside of God’s will, but it will be but a brief richness, no matter how long it lasts. If we begin to value the things of the world more than our relationship with God, we are setting ourselves up for a fall.
Verse three continues, The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: The people of Israel were proudful people, even though they had turned away from God. They were putting their faith in themselves and not in God. We profess ourselves to be a Christian nation, but if we turn away from God, no matter how powerful we may be in this lifetime, none of those things gained outside of God’s will are going to last. We may even take pride in calling ourselves a Christian nation, but if our actions are not in accordance with God's laws, then one day He will take it all away.
Verse four continues, And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. This is a continuing warning about how fleeting the riches of the earth are. The people of Israel may have grown fat from abundant harvests, but this was going to change. This area was abundant in good crops, but the people had started to think of them as their right to have and had stopped giving God the glory and praise for them. As followers of Jesus Christ, we should never begin to glorify ourselves instead of giving God the glory and praise.
Verse five states, In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, These promises applied to the people of Judah. Isaiah said when this day of restoration came that God would be the crown for the glory of the people. Their restoration would come because of the glory of God and not of their own merit. We are restored to a relationship with God because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. This was done for our benefit, but it was done for God’s glory.
Verse six adds. And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. Isaiah said that God would give those who judged His wisdom, which is the only true wisdom, and He would also give strength to those who fought against the forces of evil for His glory. As we engage in spiritual judgment and warfare today, we need to rely on God to give us the wisdom and strength to do so.
Verse seven continues, But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. Isaiah said that the people, even the priests and the prophets had erred by indulging in strong drinks that clouded their judgment. Once more, I will say that taking a drink of alcohol is not necessarily a sin but allowing it to make you intoxicated is. It seems that too often the objective of drinking is to get drunk, and this will never be acceptable to God.
Verse eight concludes, For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. Being drunk led to filthiness on the table. I hate to think about what a mess it would be if those we are eating with vomited on the table because they were drunk. I personally can also see this as a warning against ‘vomiting out’ the filth of the world as we sit at the Lord’s table and the Lord’s table should be wherever His people gather to eat, whether as a family or a congregation. We need to be careful that we don’t bring the filth of the world to our table.