Former Knowledge - Current Ignorance (Part 1)

Pastor Bill Farrow

Isaiah 28:9

⁹“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?

The prophet here complains of the wretched stupidity of this people, that they were unteachable and made no improvement of the means of grace which they possessed; they still continued as they were, their mistakes not rectified, their hearts not renewed, nor their lives reformed.

Isaiah 28:9

Whom will he teach knowledge? - What it was that their prophets and ministers designed and aimed at. It was to teach them knowledge, the knowledge of God and his will, and to make them understand doctrine, v. 9. This is God’s way of dealing with men, to enlighten men’s minds first with the knowledge of his truth, and thus to gain their affections, and bring their wills into a compliance with his laws; thus he enters in by the door, whereas the thief and the robber climb up another way.

What method they took, in pursuance of this design. They left no means untried to do them good, but taught them as children are taught, little children that are beginning to learn, that are taken from the breast to the book (v. 9), for among the Jews it was common for mothers to nurse their children till they were three years old, and almost ready to go to school. And it is good to begin betimes with children, to teach them, as they are capable, the good knowledge of the Lord, and to instruct them even when they are but newly weaned from the milk.

This verse might also be interpreted as a statement respecting another form of sin that prevailed among the people of Judah. That sin was contempt for the manner in which God instructed them by the prophets, and a disregard for his communications as if they were suited to children and not to adults. That “scoffing” was the principal sin aimed at in these verses, is apparent from (Isa. 28:14). One commentator supposes that these words are designed to describe the manner of teaching by the priests and the prophets as being puerile and silly, and adapted to children. Another supposes that the prophet means to signify that it would be a vain and fruitless labor to attempt to instruct these persons who were given to wine, because they were unaccustomed to sound and true doctrine. Others have supposed that he means that these persons who were thus given to wine and strong drink were disqualified to instruct others, since their teachings were senseless and incoherent, and resembled the talk of children. It seems that the true sense of the passage is that the prophet speaks of them as deriders of the manner in which God had spoken to them by his messengers. ‘What!’ say they, ‘does God treat us as children? Does he deal with us as we deal with infants just weaned, perpetually repeating and inculcating the same elementary lessons, and teaching the mere rudiments of knowledge?’ The expression, therefore, ‘whom shall he teach knowledge?’ or, ‘whom does he teach?’ is an expression of contempt supposed to be spoken by the intemperate priests and prophets - the leaders of the people. ‘Who does God take us to be? Does he regard us as mere children? Why are we treated as children with an endless repetition of the same elementary instruction?’

And whom will He make to understand the message - The Hebrew is ‘Hearing,’ or ‘report’ (Isa. 53:1). The sense is, For whom is that instruction intended? Whom does he wish to be taught by it?

Those just weaned from the milk?  Those just drawn from the breasts? … - Does he regard and treat us as mere babes? In modern parlance it would be something like “Whom does He think He’s talking to - babies?”  Quite bold talk for ones speaking to the God of the universe.