YOU'VE MADE YOUR BED AND YOU'LL HAVE TO LIE IN IT

“Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on, and its cover too small to wrap up in.” (Isaiah 28:20 HCSB)

As I was growing up, my mother must have said a hundred times to me, “You’ve made your bed and you’ll have to lie in it.”  If it wasn’t a hundred times, it sure seemed like it.  I know I heard it often.  But, it went in one ear and out the other—and that is why it was repeated.  It took a while to sink in.  It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the concept.  I had made a bad choice and was suffering the consequences of my actions.  It wasn’t a comfortable bed to lie on!  But, it seemed that once those consequences faded—I forgot and repeated the cycle.  Some never learn.  Thankfully, I did—though it took me a while.

God’s covenant people—Israel and Judah—were as stubborn, or worse.  They never seemed to learn.  Isaiah gave them God’s message, essentially, “You’ve made your bed and you’ll have to lie in it.”  The verse says it this way, ““Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on, and its cover too small to wrap up in.” (Isaiah 28:20 HCSB)  It is the same basic thought.  The bed they reclined on would not give them comfort.  They would be a six foot man trying to sleep in a child’s crib and cover up with a baby blanket.  Cramped and cold—they would be in misery throughout the dark night and the next day would find them worse than they were the day before.

They should have known better.  They had been warned repeatedly.  But, they still insisted on reclining on such an ill-suited bed—now they would have to lie in it.

What had they done?

They were in a drunken stupor.  “Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim's drunkards, and to the fading flower of its beautiful splendor, which is on the summit above the rich valley. [Woe] to those overcome with wine.” (Isaiah 28:1 HCSB)  Passed out in the gutter, they would be stomped on, “The majestic crown of Ephraim's drunkards will be trampled underfoot.” (v.3)

Even those who should have been confronting them with their sin and convincing them of their error, were blind drunk, passed out in their puke.

“These also stagger because of wine and stumble under the influence of beer: priest and prophet stagger because of beer, they are confused by wine.  They stumble because of beer, they are muddled in [their] visions, they stumble in [their] judgments.  Indeed, all their tables are covered with vomit; there is no place without a stench.  Who is he trying to teach?  Who is he trying to instruct?  Infants [just] weaned from milk?  Babies removed from the breast?  For [he says]: ‘Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there.’   So He will speak to this people with stammering speech and in a foreign language. 

He had said to them: ‘This is the place of rest, let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.’  But they would not listen.

Then the word of the Lord came to them: ‘Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there,’ so they go stumbling backward, to be broken, trapped, and captured.” (v.7-13)

Drunks were at the wheel of the nation, and the passengers were drunk also.  Stupid prophet to get behind the wheel; stupid people to get in the vehicle—the car was headed for a crash.  They were speeding along, having a good time, convinced all was well.  No wonder—their minds were muddled by alcohol.

Been there; done that.  You “party” the night away and wake up the next morning with a hangover, reeking of cigarette smoke and vomit.  You get up, clean up—only to do it all again the next night, or as it was in high school—the weekend binge.  It is a shameful thing to admit, that I was such a fool.  It is only the grace of God, operating through the prayers of parents and the influence of the Gospel shared with me faithfully through the years in church that finally convinced me that sleeping in the same short bed of sin would never bring rest.

How hard-headed and hard-hearted we can be!

Israel and Judah were obstinate in their refusal to rest in the Lord when trouble came.  Instead they chose to rely on their own ingenuity and trusted diplomacy.  They sought alliances with other nations.  They listened to the babblings of drunken prophets and priests, rather than the man of God.

“Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you mockers who rule this people in Jerusalem.  For you said, ‘We have cut a deal with Death, and we have made an agreement with Sheol; when the overwhelming scourge passes through, it will not touch us, because we have made falsehood our refuge and have hidden behind treachery.’  Therefore the Lord God said: ‘Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.  And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the mason's level.’  Hail will sweep away the false refuge, and water will flood your hiding place.  Your deal with Death will be dissolved, and your agreement with Sheol will not last.  When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be trampled.  Every time it passes through, it will carry you away; it will pass through every morning—every day and every night.  Only terror will cause you to understand the message.  Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on, and its cover too small to wrap up in.  For the Lord will rise up as [He did] at Mount Perazim.  He will rise in wrath, as at the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing task.

So now, do not mock, or your shackles will become stronger.  Indeed, I have heard from the Lord God of Hosts a decree of destruction for the whole land.”  (v.14-22)

They made their bed, and now they would have to lie in it.  They formed an alliance with Egypt.  They thought that would protect them from the invading forces of Assyria and then, later, Babylon.

“Woe to the rebellious children!  [This is] the Lord's declaration.  They carry out a plan, but not Mine; they make an alliance, but against My will, piling sin on top of sin.  They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, in order to seek shelter under Pharaoh's protection and take refuge in Egypt's shadow.  But Pharaoh's protection will become your shame, and refuge in Egypt's shadow your disgrace.  For though his princes are at Zoan and his messengers reach as far as Hanes, everyone will be ashamed because of a people who can't help.  They are of no benefit, they are no help; they are good for nothing but shame and reproach.

An oracle about the animals of the Negev:

Through a land of trouble and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people who will not help them. Egypt's help is completely worthless; therefore, I call her: Rahab Who Just Sits.” (Isaiah 30:1-7 HCSB)

This was their covenant with death.  Egypt was a too short bed with too small a sheet to find rest in.  Samaria would fall first, and later Jerusalem would be destroyed.

The problem wasn’t the invader—that was a symptom.  The problem was their sin.  The solution, therefore, wasn’t a military one—it was repentance! 

Isaiah underscored this repeatedly.  He began this section with these words:

“On that day sing about a desirable vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it regularly. I guard it night and day so that no one disturbs it.  I am not angry, but if it produces thorns and briers for Me, I will fight against it, trample it, and burn it to the ground.  Or let it take hold of My strength; let it make peace with Me—make peace with Me.” (Isaiah 27:2-5 HCSB)

God wanted to bless them, not blast them.  God’s desire was for peace with them, but they opposed Hs will. 

They could have had a solid foundation to rest on when the storm of the enemy’s army broke like a tidal wave upon them,

“Therefore the Lord God said: ‘Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.” (Isa.28:16 HCSB)  From the New Testament, we understand that this Savior would be none other than Jesus Christ.  But when Christ came, the Jews rejected Him (save for a few believers) just as their forefathers had rejected trusting in God, with the same kind of horror coming to Jerusalem at the hands of pagans that came centuries before.  They made their bed and would have to lie in it.  They refused to build on a rock and instead built on sand, “’And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the mason's level.’  Hail will sweep away the false refuge, and water will flood your hiding place.” (Isa.28:17)

God offered them a better bed, “He had said to them: ‘This is the place of rest,
let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.’  But they would not listen.”  (Isa.28:12)  The drunks could not see and would not listen.  It sounded like babbling to them (v.13).  But, it was instead wonderful counsel, “This also comes from the Lord of Hosts. He gives wonderful advice; He gives great wisdom.” (Isa.28:29). 

Sadly, they rejected that word—and this brought a judgment with it.  They made their bed and would have to lie in it.  They didn’t want to hear God’s Word and so God made it where they couldn’t hear.  They stopped their ears and so God stopped speaking.

“Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind!  They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with beer.

For the Lord has poured out on you an overwhelming urge to sleep; He has shut your eyes—the prophets, and covered your heads—the seers.  For you the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it, he will say, ‘I can't read it, because it is sealed.’

And if the document is given to one who cannot read and he is asked to read it, he will say, ‘I can't read.’

The Lord said:

Because these people approach Me with their mouths to honor Me with lip-service—yet their hearts are far from Me, and their worship [consists of] man-made rules learned [by rote]—therefore I will again confound these people with wonder after wonder.  The wisdom of their wise men will vanish, and the understanding of the perceptive will be hidden.” (Isaiah 29:9-14 HCSB)

One of the most dangerous things you can do is to hear the warning of God and despise it,

“They are a rebellious people, deceptive children, children who do not want to obey the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell us flattering things. Prophesy illusions.  Get out of the way!  Leave the pathway.  Rid us of the Holy One of Israel.’  Therefore the Holy One of Israel says: ‘Because you have rejected this message and have trusted in oppression and deceit, and have depended on them, this iniquity of yours will be like a spreading breach, a bulge in a high wall whose collapse will come in an instant—suddenly!   Its collapse will be like the shattering of a potter's jar, crushed to pieces, so that not even a fragment of pottery will be found among its shattered remains—no fragment large enough to take fire from a hearth or scoop water from a cistern."  (Isaiah 30:9-14 HCSB)

Comparatively few Bible preachers remain today.  Congregations don’t want them.  They want the “happy boys” who smile and offer, “Your best life now!”  It is a message of health and wealth—but nothing about repentance and humility.  Sin isn’t a popular topic.  The modern “preacher” knows that you typically have to give them that “feel good religion” if you want them to come back and hear you again.  Such are making their bed, and they will have to lie in it.  The bed is too short and the sheets too small.  Such a “gospel” will not cover you in the Day of Judgment—neither the church-goer nor the pulpit huckster.

There is a bed to lie on which will give you rest!  It will cause you to awake in the land of Eternal Rest!  While I have breath, may God grant me to be faithful to point people to it:

“For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: ‘You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence….” (30:15a)

This was God’s offer then.  It is His offer today—rest in Jesus and be saved!  Return to Him in repentance and you can be assured of forgiveness!

Sadly, Israel would not listen, and these words conclude this gracious offer, “But you are not willing." (30:15b)

They made their bed and would have to lie in it.  Where are you resting your eternal soul today?