Israel’s Prophesied Cornerstone
(Part 3)

Pastor Bill Farrow

Isaiah 28:18-19

¹⁸Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it.  ¹⁹As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report.”

Isaiah 28:18

Your covenant with death - (see the note at Isa. 28:15).

Will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand - The word rendered ‘shall be disannulled,’ properly means “to cover, overlay;” then to pardon, forgive; then to make atonement, to expiate. It has the idea of blotting out, forgiving, and obliterating - because a writing in wax was obliterated or “covered” by passing the “stylus” over it. Hence, also, the idea of abolishing, or rendering as nothing, which is the idea here. “When the overflowing scourge” (see the note at Isa. 28:15). Secondly, They boasted of a covenant with death, and an agreement with the grave; but it shall be disannulled, as made without his consent who has the keys and sovereign command of hell and death. Those do but delude themselves that think by any wiles to evade the judgments of God.

When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it - Thirdly, They fancied that when the overflowing scourge should pass through the land it should not come near them; but the prophet tells them that then, when others were falling by the common calamity, they should not only share in it, but should be trodden down by it: "You shall be to it for a treading down; it shall triumph over you as much as over any other, and you shall become its easy prey.’’ 

There is in this verse a great intermingling of metaphor, not less than three figures being employed to denote the calamity. There is first the scourge, an instrument of punishment; there is then the idea of inundating waters or floods; then there is also the idea of a warrior or an invading army that treads down an enemy. All the images are designed to denote essentially the same thing, that the judgments of God would come upon the land, and that nothing in which they had trusted would constitute a refuge.

Isaiah 28:19

They are further told (v. 19)  that it shall begin with them; they shall be so far from escaping it that they shall be the first that shall fall by it: "From the time it goes forth it shall take you, as if it came on purpose to seize you.’’ Further, that it shall pursue them closely: "Morning by morning shall it pass over; as duly as the day returns you shall hear of some desolation or other made by it; for divine justice will follow its blow; you shall never be safe nor easy by day nor by night; there shall be a pestilence walking in darkness and a destruction wasting at noonday.’’ And again that there shall be no avoiding it: "The understanding of the report of its approach shall not give you any opportunity to make your escape, for there shall be no way of escape open; but it shall be only a vexation, you shall see it coming, and not see how to help yourselves.’’ Or, "The very report of it at a distance will be a terror to you; what then will the thing itself be?’’

As often as it goes out it will take you - It shall not delay, or be hindered, or put back. As soon as the judgment is sent forth from God it shall come upon you.

For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night - Continually; without intermission. It shall be like floods and tempests that have no intermission; that are repeated every day, and continued every night, until everything is swept before them.

It will be a terror - It shall be an object of alarm, of agitation, of distress - “to move oneself;” to tremble with alarm; to be troubled (Eccl. 12:3; Dan. 5:19; 6:27; Heb. 2:7). Here it means that the calamity would be so great that it would fill the mind with horror only to hear of it. For similar expressions denoting the effect of hearing a report of the judgments of God, (see 1 Sam. 3:11; 2 Kings 21:12; Jer. 19:3).

Just to understand the report - Margin, ‘Doctrine’ (see the note at Isa. 28:9).  The idea here that they not only understand what is going to happen, but why, and it is the why that is the more terrifying.