Isaiah 28:15 says, Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Isaiah said that the people of Judah seemed to think that since they had made a covenant with the other nations, which is referred to as a covenant with death, and that they were in agreement with those who could only lead them to hell, that they thought they were safe from destruction. They thought that when the overflowing scourge came to the country that they would be spared. Matthew Henry says that as followers of Christ we have made a covenant with our physical death, in that it can come at any time and we will still have everlasting life, but that we never become friends with death, which is what sin brings. We cannot look to anyone other than God for peace and security.
Verse sixteen adds, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Isaiah said that God was going to lay a foundation on tried and precious cornerstone in Zion. This foundation was to be based on God’s word in general and on the coming of Jesus Christ in particular. Jesus Christ alone is a tried and worthy cornerstone of salvation, and if we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, then we must build our lives on that cornerstone. This means that we are to be obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Verse seventeen continues, Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. Isaiah said that God was going to destroy all the lies that people were basing their faith on. They thought themselves to be safe, but God said when His judgment came that there would be no hiding place. When Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of salvation, returns to claim His church, all those who refused to accept Him will have no place to hide from His judgment.
Verse eighteen states, And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. Isaiah said that those covenants made with the people of the world that went against God and their covenant with Him were going to fail. The overflowing scourge would pass through, and the people of Judah would trodden down by it. We may claim to be a Christian today, but if we are putting our faith in the things of this world while denying the truth of God's word, then one day everything that we have attained will be destroyed, when Jesus Christ returns if not in this lifetime.
Verse nineteen adds, From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. They were also told that even though they thought themselves to be safe from the coming destruction that it would pursue them all day and night. There would be no escaping it. We may think that we are safe from the coming judgment of God because we don’t believe it is going to happen or because we have put our faith in some false god, but when His judgment comes, there will be no escaping it.
Verse twenty continues, For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. The analogy is made of a man trying to rest on a bed that is too short and too narrow for him. He cannot rest on a bed like this, and the people who were opposing God were putting their faith in something that was not large enough to give them peace. Nothing will ever be large enough to bring us salvation and spiritual comfort except for faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
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