“Then at last the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will himself be Israel’s glorious crown. He will be the pride and joy of the remnant of his people. He will give a longing for justice to their judges. He will give great courage to their warriors who stand at the gates. Now, however, Israel is led by drunks who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol. The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol and lose themselves in wine. They reel when they see visions and stagger as they render decisions. Their tables are covered with vomit; filth is everywhere. “Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned?”
Isaiah 28:5-9 NLT
There will come a day, said Isaiah, when justice and courage will prevail, when the Lord Himself will be the raison d’etre for the Israelites, and “the pride and joy of the remnant of His people”. But Isaiah then shifts to his present day, seeing how widespread drunkenness is in Israelite society, even affecting the “priests and prophets“. As is often the case, people under the influence of alcohol lose all ability to function in a way that is self-respectful, and they wallow in their own vomit. What a terrible view of society in Samaria in those days. But is that any different to today? We may not see overt drunkenness in the behaviour of our political and religious leaders, but are their decisions any less rational than if they were in a state of inebriation? The jury is still out on that one as we look at the behaviour of Western governments. Oh, that God’s Kingdom would come and His will would be done in our generation!
Isaiah mentioned that religious leaders were associated with drunkenness. God’s intention for religious leaders in Israel was to call His people back to putting trust in Him. They were to encourage the people to faithfully observe His covenant. At best, both priests and prophets have failed in their mission. At worst, they’ve falsely represented the Lord. Without spiritual direction, the people of Israel were even less likely to worship Him or follow His law. We pause again, this time to look at the behaviour of the established denominations in the UK today. Were there any parallels with the situation in 8th-century BC Israel? Many, I think, with an institutionalised, hierarchical, and unaccountable leadership unable to reconcile their behaviour with Jesus’ commands, should they even wish to. Mark 10:42-44, “So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world Lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else“”. There may not be drunkenness present, but the effect is the same. The religious leaders tasked with dispensing and applying God’s Word are instead caught up with issues such as abuse, slavery reparations, and corporate government. It is understandable that so many people haven’t abandoned God, but they have abandoned the church. Where is the spirit of servanthood?
We pilgrims have a responsibility to obey God and hear Him for ourselves. Through the blood of Jesus we have been set free from the need to receive forgiveness through the actions of a priest or minister. Jesus came to “seek and save the lost”, not the religious institutions. One account describes an occasion when Peter and the Apostles were preaching the Good News about Jesus in the temple. The previous day, they were arrested and jailed, but an angel foiled the religious leaders’ plans and opened the jail doors to set them free. While teaching the people, the High Council was convened, after which the guards were instructed to bring the Apostles before them. But they could not be found in the jail, and we read that “When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end” (Acts 5:24). But the guards found the Apostles anyway in the Temple and re-arrested them, bringing them before the Council. The accusation laid before them from the High Priest was: ““We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”” (Acts 5:28). Then we read, in the next verse, a simple statement with eternal meaning, “But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority““.
Hopefully, in our lives today, we will not have to choose between what God has said through His Word and what is happening in our churches and society. But inevitably there will be a clash sometimes, and we may have to take a stand against worldliness, evil and sinful behaviour, instead upholding the Name of Jesus and God’s principles. Having said that, though, we must ensure that we are in fact obeying God, and not an erroneous interpretation of Scripture – human minds have a peculiar ability to twist things to suit their worldview. But in it all, we call upon the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us carefully and correctly. The way of righteousness and truth is the only way.
In Isaiah 28:9, the last of our verses today, the drunken priests and prophets seem to be resenting what the Lord was saying to them. Was that through Isaiah or someone else? But whoever it was, their attitude was, “How dare they attempt to correct them for their drinking habits and their dereliction of duty?” Those in the wrong, especially those protecting a cherished habit, often don’t receive correction well. We read in Proverbs 9:7, “Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt“. Instead of honestly examining themselves to see whether the correction is worth listening to, they strike back with their own accusations. This pattern is especially true when alcohol is involved. But although alcohol was not banned for the religious leaders, there were restrictions on when it was allowed. Leviticus 10:9, “You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation“. The same rule applies today, but thankfully, to the best of my knowledge, I have never met a leader who was a drunkard.
How do we pilgrims receive correction? We should receive correction with humility, listen carefully, and test the feedback against Scripture so we can grow in wisdom. We must avoid excuses and resist the temptation to counterattack with a repartee we will later regret. Proverbs 18:13, “Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish“. If we find that the feedback we have received does stack up against Scripture, and has been delivered to us in a spirit of love with our own well-being at heart, then we must thank the person who has been speaking to us, and go away to get before God in prayer, asking Him to lead us to the place where we should be. I thank God for the men and women who had the courage to confront me over some issues, particularly in my early Christian days. In Psalm 25:8-10, we read, “The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands”. Humility is a key heart attitude, because as Paul wrote, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). With such a life principle within our hearts, we will avoid the traps that ensnare the proud and the arrogant.
Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your Word this morning. Help us to live our lives free from influences such as alcohol, bringing to our minds and spirits the truth of Your Word. We thank You for Jesus and His redeeming blood, that cleanses us from all sin. Amen.
