A hodge-podge today from Isaiah 27 and 28.

Isaiah 27 opens with a short paragraph on Leviathan:

In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. (Isaiah 27.1, ESV)

And once again, I wasted time thinking about Leviathan, something only a few verses of scripture mention, and none of us really understands. “Punish Leviathan” here in Isaiah could mean that Isaiah is using Leviathan as a metaphor for the nations wreaking havoc on Israel: Assyria and Babylon. And the “dragon that is in the sea” could be Satan.

Turns out I wrote about Leviathan last April and concluded it was primarily a distraction. I need to remember lessons learned!

On to Isaiah 28, which has several lessons. The first is about the dangers of alcohol:

Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he casts down to the earth with his hand. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot; and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer: when someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in his hand…These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. For all tables are full of filthy vomit, with no space left. (Isaiah 28.1 – 4, 7 – 8, ESV)

I know alcohol is fashionable these days. I just read a piece on why we should use real wine in our Communion celebrations, and it included the sentence, “All the evangelicals I know now drink—and so do their parents, who once abstained.” I guess he doesn’t know us…

Alcohol may be fashionable and OK in moderation, but according to Isaiah, it can get ugly. Solomon agrees:

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. (Proverbs 20.1, ESV)

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.” (Proverbs 23.29 – 35, ESV)

And right after Isaiah’s diatribe on “the drunkards of Ephraim,” we have this nugget:

To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. (Isaiah 28.9, 10, ESV)

How does God teach us?

• Precept upon precept
• Line upon line
• Here a little, there a little

Gradually. One thing at a time. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Daily time with God. Bible study. Reading good books. Paying attention to sermons… And, as always:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1.22, NIV)

PS There’s one more important lesson from Isaiah 28. Stay tuned.