Yeshayahu 28
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A Deal With Death?
Isaiah now criticizes the people of Israel for gluttony and drunkenness. They are like inferior, spoiled fruits; G-d will come down on them like a powerful storm. The drunkards will be cast down and walked on. Then, G-d will be a crown of beauty for the rest of His people, who are righteous. G-d will teach justice to the judges and He will be a source of strength to those who fight the battles of Torah. These people may also have been misled by wine, becoming corrupt and causing injustices. Their tables are full of sacrifices to idols, which are repulsive. Who can be taught the wisdom of G-d? Are small children, who are too young to understand, the only ones not corrupted? We must re-teach the nation as we do children: little by little, a piece at a time. The words of the prophets are like a foreign language to them; they can't understand. G-d told them that this was real rest, but they wouldn't listen. The word of G-d will be the law to them; they will stumble, fall and break. Therefore, listen to G-d and don't look down on His word. They may say "We made a deal with death (idols) and the coming troubles will not affect us," but it's not true.
G-d says, "I have laid a cornerstone in Jerusalem," (Rashi says this means that He has already established the Moshiach). "Those who believe will have faith, though it will take a long time. I will make justice and righteousness My tools. The 'deal' you think you made with idols will be null and void - you will be swept away by the very troubles you thought to avoid."
There is now a list of things that will befall Israel in enemy hands: harsh decrees, sheer terror for those who hear them, and more work to be done for the oppressors than can be accomplished. G-d will take action, doing strange things to deliver Israel into their enemies' hands, just as He does miraculous things when he redeems them from trouble. (Possibly, the strange thing is the very fact that He delivered Israel into their enemies' hands at all!)
Do not belittle, Isaiah says, because G-d has decreed total destruction on the land. Does a farmer plow forever and never sow? Of course not. Similarly, the prophets will not warn you forever without action ever being taken. G-d sends prophets and if the people refuse to listen to them, He will admonish the people. G-d gives, through Isaiah, further allegories of sowing cumin and planting grain - all of these are His ways of trying to nudge the people back onto the proper path.
Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz