Isa 28:1-8 The Lord Shall be for a Spirit of Judgment to Him That Sits in Judgment - Discussion

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The Lord Shall Be For a Spirit of Judgment to Him That Sits in Judgment

Isa 28:1  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!
Isa 28:2  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.
Isa 28:3  The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
Isa 28:4  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.
Isa 28:5  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,
Isa 28:6  And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
Isa 28:7  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.
Isa 28:8  For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

This is a prophecy of the judgment of our proud, carnally-minded flesh. It is our rebellious carnal mind, which is enmity to God... not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be", which is the"glorious beauty" of the flesh which is "a fading flower" on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine". Therefore anyone who teaches others that the kingdom of God will be populated with heavenly citizens who will be possessed of bodies of 'spiritual flesh' will not be ruling over and judging the kingdoms of this world. The false doctrine of "spiritual flesh" is an unscriptural phrase, if ever there has been one!

"The pride of life" is the essence of our flesh. It is the last and most insidious of the three all encompassing categories of sin:

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

As we constantly point out, these three all-encompassing sins were inherent in the flesh of Eve, who came out of "the first man, Adam", who is "of the earth, earthy":

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Here are a few verses which show the lie which is this insidious false doctrine of 'spiritual flesh':

Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

A "raised... spiritual body" does not want "the pride of life" in a corruptible body of "flesh and blood [which] cannot inherit the kingdom of God", and that is the very message of the first four verses of our study today:

Isa 28:1  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!
Isa 28:2  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.
Isa 28:3  The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
Isa 28:4  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.

Here is the New Testament summation of these four verses:

1Pe 1:24  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

What is the opposite of "the glory of man as the flower of grass"?

1Pe 1:25  But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

As 1John 2:16 informs us, "the pride of life" is of this world, and it is integral to being flesh and blood. Later in this same prophecy of Isaiah, we read:

Isa 40:6  The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
Isa 40:7  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
Isa 40:8  The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

"The crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim" is "the pride of life", and pride is as natural to our flesh as breathing air. It is "the pride of life" which intoxicates all men who have not yet been humbled and dragged to Christ by the Father:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [G1670: helkuo - drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The naturally proud heart of mankind cannot possibly humble itself and come to God without being humbled and dragged to God against its own natural will.

That is why we are told, "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."  Nowhere are we ever told,"There is a spiritual natural body." Neither are we ever told, "There is a natural spiritual body." Instead we are specifically told by Christ Himself the same thing we read here in 1Corinthians 15:44, but He puts it in this way:

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

A "spiritual body" is capable of appearing in any physical form as is expedient for any situation, but it can do so only because "it is... a spiritual body". It is the fact that Christ appeared as "flesh and bones" which has confused those who are ordained to that deception.

It is the fact that a spiritual body can show itself in any form which fits the needs of the moment that is the point Christ was making in both the following situations:

Mar 16:12  After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.

Later that same day Christ appeared to His disciples as Himself in the form with which they were all familiar, and for their lack of faith He was still in possession of His wounds. He appeared to them in a room with the doors locked, yet He appeared as "flesh and bones", simply because that was the form needed for that situation at that particular moment:

Luk 24:39  Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Joh 20:19  Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:20  And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

Christ was "raised a spiritual body" capable of appearing "in another form" as "flesh and bones".

When we check the Hebrew, we discover the book of Job tells us the same thing:

Job 19:26  And, though, after my skin is struck off, this followeth, yet, apart from my flesh, shall I see GOD: (REV)

Most of the literal translations understand this verse to say “from my flesh… from out of my flesh… without my flesh”, etc. Here are several examples of the various ways this verse is translated to mean “without my flesh”, which is much more in line with all the New Testament verses tell us.

Here is how several of the literal translations, and even some which are not literal, translate this verse:

(CLV) And behind my skin I will stand erect, And from my flesh I shall perceive Eloah,

(Darby) And if after my skin this shall be destroyed, yet from out of my flesh shall I see God;

(JPS) And when after my skin this is destroyed, then without my flesh shall I see God;

(LITV) and after my skin has been struck off from my flesh, yet this, I shall see God,

(Rotherham) And, though, after my skin is struck off, this followeth, yet, apart from my flesh, shall I see GOD:

(RV) And after my skin hath been thus destroyed, yet from my flesh shall I see God:

(YLT) And after my skin hath compassed this body , Then from my flesh I see God:

If indeed this verse refers to the resurrection the dead, then there can be no doubt about how it should be translated because:

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

This is the word translated ‘in’ as “in my flesh” in the King James, and this is Strong’s definition:

H4480
min minn y minne y
min, min- nee’, min- nay’
For H4482; properly a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses: – above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over, since, X then, through, X whether, with.

“Yet in my flesh I shall see God” is not the best translation for this verse. This particular verse is actually a prophecy of seeing "the invisible God" in the realm of the spirit as Christ made clear to Philip:

Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Christ was obviously not speaking of physically seeing either Himself or His Father. He is rather speaking of "the eyes of our understanding being enlightened" as we are all told in these verses:

Luk 10:23  And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see.

Joh 12:40  He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Rom 11:10  Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

How does "God... given them the spirit of slumber"? He gives it to them through the great red dragon "that old serpent the devil, which deceives the whole earth" (Rev 12:9).

The same apostle who was used of God to write Rom 11:8 was also inspired to tell us:

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

So we are admonished:

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

What Job is telling us is that we will all see God "apart from [our] bodies" in our new spiritual minds, and in time in our new spiritual bodies, which is the same thing Paul tells us:

Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Peter tells us clearly that neither Job nor any of the prophets of the Old Testament fully understood the spiritual meaning of the things they were writing:

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

The prophets have "enquired and searched diligently" concerning the  grace that should come to us, and the angels also desire to look into the things we see. They all desire to see what we see, but they were not given spiritual eyes to see or spiritual ears to hear the things of the spirit which we have been given:

1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

"The natural man receives not the things of the spirit" and "the holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual", so it is so very easy for the Lord to hide His words right out in plain sight. The Truth is right here for anyone to see, "but the natural man receives not the things of the spirit", and he has been given "eyes that see not and ears that hear not".

All the Old Testament people who saw Yahweh were all carnal minded men, and they were really seeing Christ, and they could all say with Job:

Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.

Here are but a few of those who ‘in their flesh, saw God’.

Gen 18:1 And the LORD [Hebrew: yahweh] appeared unto him [Abraham and Sarah] in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Jdg 13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

Of course none of those who ‘saw God’ anywhere in the Old Testament ever saw the form or ever heard the voice of God the Father because we are made to know that by Christ Himself:

Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Joh 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

Christ tells us that He came to “reveal… the Father” to a select few:

Mat 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

In so doing, Christ also revealed to us that He Himself was the “I Am” of the Old Testament, whom the Jews all thought was the Father Himself:

Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

So it is Jesus Himself who is talking with and dealing with Satan on behalf of His Father, working in the life of Job, and it all "happened to [him] and it is written for our admonition".

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [Greek: tupos - types]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

All these judgments of God upon Israel typify His judgments upon us "in that day", meaning in our day of judgment:

Isa 28:5  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,

"That day" being our day of judgment, it is "in that day [that] the Lord of hosts... shall... be for a crown of glory and for a diadem of beauty" to His elect. But there is more which will take place 'in that day':

Isa 28:6  And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

This is a repeat of the promise given us in the beginning of this prophecy, in chapter two, which also concerns this same day of judgment:

Isa 4:2  In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
Isa 4:3  And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
Isa 4:4  When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
Isa 4:5  And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
Isa 4:6  And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

The "beautiful and glorious... Branch of the Lord" of Isaiah 4 is the "glory and... diadem of beauty " of Isaiah 28. This is the same "branch" revealed to us earlier in chapter 11:

Isa 11:1  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isa 11:3  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
Isa 11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Isa 11:5  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

This is speaking of "the Lord and His Christ". "The residue of His people" in chapter 4 is those "who remain in Jerusalem" in chapter 28. "The spirit of judgment to him that sits in judgment, and strength to them that turn the battle to the gate" is what "washes away the filth of the daughter of Zion, and purges the blood we shed in Jerusalem... from the midst thereof."

It was you and I who slew the Lord, and it is you and I who must first be judged:

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

"Turning the battle to the gate" refers to watching and guarding the gate of New Jerusalem and repelling the leaven of the Pharisees, the Lord's enemies, who are constantly attempting to assault Christ and His Christ, "Jerusalem above the mother of us all" (Gal 4:28).

In other words, all of this is Christ and His body, His temple, His Christ. Since "as he is so are we in this world", we also must "fill up in [our] bodies that which is behind [Greek: lacking] of the afflictions of the Christ" for His body's sake, which is the church (Col 1:24).

1Jn 4:17  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

There is, there always has been, and there  will continue to be a dire need "for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate" for this simple reason:

Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

And this is the consequences of having no one to protect the Lord's flock:

Isa 28:7  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. Isa 28:8  For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

As I have said so many times, there are just two men being dealt with throughout scripture. The first is our old man, whose father is that old serpent the devil and Satan, who enthrones the beast within us all. The other is our new man, Christ in us, who is more than willing and more than capable of "turning the battle to the gate" within ourselves, and then, only after we have been that false priest and false prophet who have "gone out of the way... [and have] err[ed] in vision, stumbled in judgment," and have defiled the temple of God with all of our false doctrines and have had the kingdom of our old man destroyed, along with all the lies which are the foundation of that dying kingdom, will we then be given the power to "judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and... smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips slay the wicked."

That is why the Lord has called all of His elect. We are not called simply to be saved, rather we are called to become saviors on Mount Zion and to judge the house of Esau, the Old Testament type of our old man.

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

In our next study we will see some of the details of how our father the devil deceives us in preparation for dragging us out of our deception and bringing us to "godly repentance, not to be repented of".

Here are the verses for our next study:

Isa 28:9  Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
Isa 28:11  For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
Isa 28:12  To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Isa 28:13  But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Isa 28:14  Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
Isa 28:15  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:
Isa 28:16  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.
Isa 28:17  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.
Isa 28:18  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.