28 Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the [a]fertile valley
Of those who are [b]overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent;
As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction,
Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters,
He has cast it down to the earth with His hand.
3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot.
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the [c]fertile valley,
Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to summer,
Which [d]one sees,
And [e]as soon as it is in his [f]hand,
He swallows it.
5 In that day the Lord of hosts will become a beautiful crown
And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;
6 A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment,
A strength to those who repel the [g]onslaught at the gate.
7 And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink:
The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,
They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink;
They reel while [h]having visions,
They totter when rendering judgment.
8 For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.9 “To whom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 “For He says,
‘[i]Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord to them will be,
“[j]Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.
In this chapter, we see a message of rebuke to Ephraim. It seems their drunken stupor will be their downfall, and it paints quite a picture of foolishness. Even the priest and prophets are reeling from strong drink, babbling about visions, and barely standing while they render judgments.
In the final section, we see the leaders taunting God, or Isaiah, or both. Scholars seem to think that v. 10 is meant to be nonsense, something you’d only say to toddlers (v. 9). In response, Isaiah says essentially, “Fine then, you think this is all nonsense? God will make it so you really don’t understand, just so that you will be broken and taken captive!”
In any case, much of the passage is summed up in v. 4, with this odd little illustration of the first fig. How often does one, when seeing the first fruit of the season, wait a while so it can be harvested with the rest? Rather, we often are so excited to see the fruit of our labor, that we pluck it up and ingest it with relish.
Unfortunately, that’s the way the people of Ephraim approached everything, with zero self-control. They lived from impulse to impulse, just like the very toddlers they speak of in vv. 9-10. Their vice may have been wine and strong drink, but what is ours? Wine was not evil in that day, and it really ought not to be today.
But our culture is bent on enjoying everything “to the full”. There is no moderation anywhere, and we also can be tempted to give in to our impulses. If not wine, we find something else, a favorite TV show, or movie, or social media. Many of these are not bad, God doesn’t hate fun. He is the author of fun, but when we go too far, we end up in the same boat as those in Ephraim.
Self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit, indeed an essential part. For what can we gain, and how can we serve God, if we do not have self-control in our lives. And let’s be honest, we don’t have much, and need all the help we can get from God. Sometimes we need help from each other too, to be held accountable by friends or family.
Whatever the case, examine your heart and life, and see where your time is going. Is it being spent fruitfully, or is it wasted on too much “fun”, and gone before you know it? Ask God to help you be a wise steward of all His gifts, and especially of the time that He has put you on this earth. Serve Him faithfully, and you’ll still have plenty of time for a little fun and relaxation.