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Commentary on Isaiah 28 verses 23–29
23 ¶ Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.
27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
29 This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
This parable, which (like many of our Saviour's parables) is borrowed from the husbandman's calling, is ushered in with a solemn preface demanding attention, He that has ears to hear, let him hear, hear and understand, Isa 28:23.
I. The parable here is plain enough, that the husbandman applies himself to the business of his calling with a great deal of pains and prudence, secundum artem - according to rule, and, as his judgment directs him, observes a method and order in his work. 1. In his ploughing and sowing: Does the ploughman plough all day to sow? Yes, he does, and he ploughs in hope and sows in hope, Co1 9:10. Does he open and break the clods? Yes, he does, that the land may be fit to receive the seed. And when he has thus made plain the face thereof does he not sow his seed, seed suitable to the soil? For the husbandman knows what grain is fit for clayey ground and what for sandy ground, and, accordingly, he sows each in its place - wheat in the principal place (so the margin reads it), for it is the principal grain, and was a staple commodity of Canaan (Eze 27:17), and barley in the appointed place. The wisdom and goodness of the God of nature are to be observed in this, that, to oblige his creatures with a grateful variety of productions, he has suited to them an agreeable variety of earths. 2. In his threshing, Isa 28:27, Isa 28:28. This also he proportions to the grain that is to be threshed out. The fitches and the cummin, being easily got out of their husk or ear, are only threshed with a staff and a rod; but the bread-corn requires more force, and therefore that must be bruised with a threshing instrument, a sledge shod with iron, that was drawn to and fro over it, to beat out the corn; and yet he will not be ever threshing it, nor any longer than is necessary to loosen the corn from the chaff; he will not break it, or crush it, into the ground with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it to pieces with his horsemen; the grinding of it is reserved for another operation. Observe, by the way, what pains are to be taken, not only for the earning, but for the preparing of our necessary food; and yet, after all, it is meat that perishes. Shall we then grudge to labour much more for the meat which endures to everlasting life? Bread-corn is bruised. Christ was so; it pleased the Lord to bruise him, that he might be the bread of life to us.
II. The interpretation of the parable is not so plain. Most interpreters make it a further answer to those who set the judgments of God at defiance: "Let them know that as the husbandman will not be always ploughing, but will at length sow his seed, so God will not be always threatening, but will at length execute his threatenings and bring upon sinners the judgments they have deserved; but in wisdom, and in proportion to their strength, not that they may be ruined, but that they may be reformed and brought to repentance by them." But I think we may give this parable a greater latitude in the exposition of it. 1. In general, that God who gives the husbandman this wisdom is, doubtless, himself infinitely wise. It is God that instructs the husbandman to discretion, as his God, Isa 28:26. Husbandmen have need of discretion wherewith to order their affairs, and ought not undertake that business unless they do in some measure understand it; and they should by observation and experience endeavour to improve themselves in the knowledge of it. Since the king himself is served of the field, the advancing of the art of husbandry is a common service to mankind more than the cultivating of most other arts. The skill of the husbandman is from God, as every good and perfect gift is. This takes off somewhat of the weight and terror of the sentence passed on man for sin, that when God, in execution of it, sent man to till the ground, he taught him how to do it most to his advantage, otherwise, in the greatness of his folly, he might have been for ever tilling the sand of the sea, labouring to no purpose. It is he that gives men capacity for this business, an inclination to it, and a delight in it; and if some were not by Providence cut out for it, and mad to rejoice (as Issachar, that tribe of husbandmen) in their tents, notwithstanding the toil and fatigue of this business, we should soon want the supports of life. If some are more discreet and judicious in managing these or any other affairs than others are, God must be acknowledged in it; and to him husbandmen must seek for direction in their business, for they, above other men, have an immediate dependence upon the divine Providence. As to the other instance of the husbandman's conduct in threshing his corn, it is said, This also comes forth from the Lord of hosts, Isa 28:29. Even the plainest dictate of sense and reason must be acknowledged to come forth from the Lord of hosts. And, if it is from him that men do things wisely and discreetly, we must needs acknowledge him to be wise in counsel and excellent in working. God's working is according to his will; he never acts against his own mind, as men often do, and there is a counsel in his whole will: he is therefore excellent in working, because he is wonderful in counsel. 2. God's church is his husbandry, 1 Co. 3. 9 If Christ is the true vine, his Father is the husbandman (Joh 15:1), and he is continually by his word and ordinances cultivating it. Does the ploughman plough all day, and break the clods of his ground, that it may receive the seed, and does not God by his ministers break up the fallow ground? Does not the ploughman, when the ground is fitted for the seed, cast in the seed in its proper soil? He does so, and so the great God sows his word by the hand of his ministers (Mat 13:19), who are to divide the word of truth and give every one his portion. Whatever the soil of the heart is, there is some seed or other in the word proper for it. And, as the word of God, so the rod of God is thus wisely made use of. Afflictions are God's threshing-instruments, designed to loosen us from the world, to separate between us and our chaff, and to prepare us for use. And, as to these, God will make use of them as there is occasion; but he will proportion them to our strength; they shall be no heavier than there is need. If the rod and the staff will answer the end, he will not make use of his cart-wheel and his horsemen. And where these are necessary, as for the bruising of the bread-corn (which will not otherwise be got clean from the straw), yet he will not be ever threshing it, will not always chide, but his anger shall endure but for a moment; nor will he crush under his feet the prisoners of the earth. And herein we must acknowledge him wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 23–29. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Isaiah
(Vers. 23 seqq.) Pay attention and listen to my voice: listen and hear my speech. Does the plowman plow all day to sow, break up the soil, and harrow it? When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow dill, scatter cumin, plant wheat in rows, barley, millet, and rye in their proper place? For his God instructs him and teaches him the right way. For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cumin; but dill is beaten out with a stick and cumin with a rod, and the wheat for bread is crushed. But he will not crush him forever, nor will the wheel of his cart bruise him, nor will he grind him with his hoofs. This also comes forth from the LORD of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear my words. Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning the soil and breaking the clods? When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow the black cumin and scatter the cumin seed? He plants wheat in rows, barley in its designated place, and spelt along its borders, for he instructs him with judgment, and teaches him knowledge. For it is not when gith is cleansed by hardness, nor when the wheel of a cart goes over the cumin; but the gith is shaken off, and the cumin is eaten with bread. For I will not be angry with you forever, nor will the voice of my bitterness trample you, and these wonders have come from the Lord. Come, consult, exalt empty consolation. Now he even speaks to the same ones to whom he said before: Hear the word of God, you scoffers, who rule over my people who are in Jerusalem: and he commands them to hear his voice, and to carefully attend to his discourse. He says, 'Does the farmer always plow so that he may scatter the seed? Will he not first break up the soil and turn over the furrows with a plow, and break up the clods with a rake and a hoe, so that when he has leveled the surface of the earth and softened the previously hard fields, then he may spread spelt or cumin and sow wheat, barley, millet, and spelt in his fields, according to the variation of the soil and the seasons; for not all things are sown at the same time.' Some understand by farre what the Greeks call ζέαν. And God, by His natural judgment, teaches the farmer, that is, the sower, and instructs him to know what cultivation he should apply to each seed. Finally, when the time for harvesting comes, barley and cumin, which are weaker seeds, are not crushed by the wheels of carts, which are turned and pulled like sawmills over the harvested crops; but they are beaten out with a stick and a staff, which are commonly called flails. But bread, that is, wheat from which bread is made, is ground with iron wheels, and all its chaff is crushed into straw. However, it is not always ground and crushed by the nails of the wheels; for this reason, it is said in Hebrew with their horses: so that because he had mentioned the nails of the wheels, he would maintain the metaphor in the rest. Some want it to be shown from the fact that he mentioned nails and horses, the herds of mares, which are usually sent into the threshing floors for grinding wheat: but the Scripture could not say that the province of Judea did not have them. However, this, that is, that the branches of gith and cumin are shaken off with a stick: the grain of barley and far, perhaps also millet, is crushed with iron wheels, is not a perpetual judgment of God, who in all things shows his wonderful counsel, and shows the greatness of his justice in all things. We have said these things paraphrastically, so that we may more easily understand the meaning for which these things are said. God dispenses the human race in various ways, now punishing, now having mercy: now rebuking, now defending; that is, now he plows, now he sows, now he harvests the ripe fruits, and threshes them in the barns, and governs his own world as he pleases. He who knew the will of his Lord, and did not do it, will be beaten with many stripes (Luke 12:47); and in another place it is written: The mighty shall suffer mighty tortures (Wisdom 6:7). But they will not be tormented forever. For it is one thing to be impious, another thing to be a sinner. What we have interpreted concerning the nations and the Jews, others explain as referring to the people and the priests, so that the ignorant multitude will be chastised like a reed and cumin with a rod; but the priests who have the key of knowledge will be tormented with great punishments. And may this be done by the judgment of the Lord, who reveals his wonderful counsel and the truth of justice in all things, so that those who have received more will be required to give more. As for what we have translated: 'On a rod the gith will be shaken, and cumin on a staff.' I do not know why the LXX translators chose to translate it this way, but cumin is actually eaten with bread. And indeed, even the ancient Greek translators, discussing the Hebrew text, remained silent about this passage, perhaps because they did not know what to say. But what we have placed according to the Hebrew is: 'He will not continually thresh him, nor will a wagon wheel drive over him, nor will his hooves crush him.' The LXX translators interpreted it not according to the exact words, but according to the meaning: 'For I will not be angry with you forever, nor will the voice of my bitterness trample you.' They were showing future blessings to sinners after torment, and that these things were like wonders and miracles that have come from the Lord. Where it is commanded to sinners who are about to be punished, that they should seek counsel and raise up their consolation, not in any way vain, as it is added by the Seventy, but absolutely consolation. For God would never command them to raise up their vain consolation, which would not be profitable for them.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Isaiah 28:26 eloquently articulates the profound theological truth that the practical wisdom and discerning skill employed by a farmer in cultivating the land are not merely products of human ingenuity but are divinely imparted. This verse, embedded within an agricultural parable, serves as a powerful declaration of God's comprehensive sovereignty, extending His active involvement not only to grand cosmic designs but also to the seemingly mundane and practical aspects of daily human endeavor, affirming Him as the ultimate source of all true instruction, sound judgment, and practical discernment.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The central literary device employed throughout Isaiah 28:23-29, and particularly highlighted in verse 26, is an extended Analogy or Parable. The prophet masterfully uses the familiar and universally relatable example of a farmer's skilled agricultural practices to illustrate God's own wise, discerning, and varied dealings with His people. Just as the farmer possesses an intricate knowledge of the precise methods required for different crops and stages of cultivation, so too does God exercise perfect wisdom and meticulous care in His plans, judgments, and instruction for humanity. This analogy serves to make profound and often abstract theological truths concrete, understandable, and deeply relatable to an agrarian society. Furthermore, there is a subtle yet significant element of Personification in attributing the farmer's practical wisdom directly to God's active "instruction" and "teaching." While God is indeed the ultimate source of all wisdom, the phrasing here makes His role as a divine mentor particularly vivid, personal, and tangible. The passage also implicitly employs Contrast, setting the divinely-imparted wisdom and discernment of the farmer against the profound foolishness, spiritual blindness, and lack of sound judgment displayed by the proud leaders of Ephraim, who are so sharply rebuked at the beginning of the chapter.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Isaiah 28:26 profoundly asserts God's immanence and active involvement in the practical, often mundane, affairs of human life, challenging any notion that divine wisdom is confined solely to spiritual or abstract theological matters. It reveals that the very skills, discernment, and practical understanding needed for daily tasks, such as farming, are not merely human achievements but are direct gifts from God, thereby underscoring His comprehensive sovereignty and His role as the ultimate source of all knowledge and understanding. This perspective elevates daily work and vocational skills to a sphere where divine instruction is sought and received, transforming labor into an act of worship and humble dependence on the Creator. It teaches us that true wisdom for living, whether in grand, life-altering decisions or in simple, everyday tasks, flows from a vibrant relationship with "his God."
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Isaiah 28:26 offers a profoundly comforting and empowering truth for contemporary believers: our God is intimately involved in every facet of our lives, eagerly desiring to impart wisdom and discretion for even the most practical and seemingly ordinary tasks. In a world that often champions self-reliance, human ingenuity, and independent achievement, this verse calls us back to a posture of humble dependence on the divine instructor. Whether we are navigating complex professional challenges, managing intricate family dynamics, making significant financial decisions, or simply striving to live wisely day by day, we are never left to our own limited understanding or finite resources. Instead, we are graciously invited to seek God's guidance, trusting with full assurance that He will "instruct us to discretion" and "teach us" the precise way we should go. This truth encourages a life characterized by constant prayer, diligent study of His inspired Word, and sensitive attentiveness to the leading of His Holy Spirit, recognizing that true success, flourishing, and righteous living ultimately come from aligning our actions and decisions with His perfect, all-encompassing wisdom.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does this verse mean that God directly teaches everyone how to do their job, like farming, in a literal, supernatural way?
Answer: While Isaiah 28:26 uses the specific and relatable example of a farmer, its theological principle extends far beyond agriculture to encompass all areas of human endeavor. It means that all genuine wisdom, practical skill, and profound discernment, whether for vocational tasks like farming, for effective leadership, or for navigating the complexities of daily life, ultimately originate from God. He imparts this wisdom through a myriad of means: through the intricate natural order He established, through the inherent human capacity for learning, experience, and innovation with which He endowed us, through the timeless truths revealed in His Word, and through the direct guidance of His Holy Spirit. So, while God may not typically provide a direct, audible lesson on how to operate modern farm machinery, He is the ultimate source of the intelligence, discernment, and knowledge that enable a person to learn, master, and effectively apply such skills. It's about recognizing divine providence and instruction at work in all areas of life, as seen in passages like Proverbs 2:6 or Daniel 2:21.
How does "discretion" in this verse relate to the broader biblical concept of "justice" or "judgment"?
Answer: The Hebrew word translated "discretion" is mishpâṭ (H4941), which indeed carries a broad and rich range of meanings including "judgment," "justice," "ordinance," "custom," and "due process." In the context of Isaiah 28, particularly within the farmer analogy, mishpâṭ refers to the practical wisdom of knowing the right, appropriate, or "just" way to do something. For the farmer, it's about applying the correct technique for each specific crop and stage of cultivation—the "just" or "proper" way to plow, sow, and thresh to ensure a successful harvest. This is a form of practical justice, ensuring that actions are aligned with what is correct, effective, and righteous for the desired outcome. The prophet is highlighting that this discernment, this ability to make sound and appropriate judgments in practical matters, is divinely taught. It is the application of God-given wisdom that leads to righteous, effective, and orderly action, whether in the agricultural field or in the courtroom, just as God's moral law (also mishpâṭ) provides the framework for righteous living (see Deuteronomy 4:8).
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Isaiah 28:26, with its profound emphasis on divine instruction leading to discretion and wisdom, finds its ultimate and most glorious fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the very embodiment and living source of God's perfect wisdom. While the Old Testament farmer receives practical wisdom for his earthly tasks and livelihood, Christ is the One through whom all wisdom and knowledge are ultimately revealed, made accessible, and imparted for eternal life and spiritual flourishing. He is profoundly depicted as the "wisdom of God" (as declared in 1 Corinthians 1:24), and in Him are "hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (as powerfully affirmed in Colossians 2:3). Just as God meticulously instructed the farmer to discretion, so too does the Holy Spirit, graciously sent by Christ, guide believers into all truth and impart spiritual discernment (refer to John 16:13 and 1 Corinthians 2:10-16). Through Christ, believers are not only taught practical wisdom for navigating earthly living but are also given the ultimate discretion to discern spiritual truths, comprehend God's divine will, and live lives that profoundly reflect His righteousness, thereby fulfilling the ancient promise of divine instruction in a way that is both profound and eternally significant.