When the Bed Is Too Short

Main Text: Isaiah 28:14–22

The Great Voices

Isaiah stands as the towering voice of the prophets—a poet, preacher, and statesman whose words still burn with holy fire. Speaking to kings and commoners, Isaiah declares both God’s righteous judgment and His unshakable promises of redemption. His vision stretches from the streets of Jerusalem to the throne room of heaven, from the ruin of cities to the renewal of all creation. In these pages, we meet the Holy One of Israel, the Suffering Servant, and the Prince of Peace—calling us to trust, to repent, and to hope.

A Sure Foundation

14
Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord,
    you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.

15 
You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death
    and have made a deal to dodge the grave.
The coming destruction can never touch us,
    for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”

16 
Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,
    a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
    Whoever believes need never be shaken.

17 
I will test you with the measuring line of justice
    and the plumb line of righteousness.
Since your refuge is made of lies,


Chiastic Structure: Isaiah 28:14-22

A – Mockery of false security (Isa. 28:14–15)

       B – God’s foundation stone in Zion (v. 16)

       C – Justice and righteousness as measuring line (v. 17a)

       C′ – Hail and flood sweeping away lies (v. 17b–18)

       B′ – Covenant with death annulled (v. 19)

       A′ – Warning against scoffing (v. 20–22)

Old Testament | Deuteronomy 12:29 - 13:19

Devarim (Deuteronomy) Chapter 12

29 When God, your God, cuts down the nations inhabiting the land that you are entering in order to dispossess them, and you have dispossessed them and settled in their land,

30 beware lest you imitate them after they have been annihilated from before you, and lest you inquire about their deities, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their deities? I will do likewise.’

31 You must not do this to God, your God, for they performed for their deities every act that God considers an abomination and therefore hates; they would burn even their sons and daughters in fire to their deities.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) Chapter 13

1 Everything I command you—that is what you must be careful to do; you must neither add to it nor detract from it.

2 If there will arise among you a prophet or dreamer, and he gives you a sign or a marvel,

3 and the sign or the marvel of which he spoke to you takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other peoples’ deities, which you have not known, and let us worship them,’

4 you must not heed the words of that prophet or dreamer, because God, your God, is testing you to ascertain whether you really love God, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.

5 You must follow God, your God; fear Him; safeguard His commandments; heed His voice; worship Him; and cleave to Him.

6 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death because he spoke deceptively about God, your God, who took you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slaves, in order to lead you astray from the way in which God, your God, commanded you to go. So must you eliminate this evil from your midst.

7 If your brother, the son of your mother; your son; your daughter; the wife who lies in your embrace; or your friend as dear to you as your own soul; incites you in secret, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other peoples’ deities, which neither you nor your forefathers have known,’

8 from among the deities of the peoples around you, near you or far away from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth;

9 you must not love him; you must not hearken to him; you must not pity him; you must not have mercy; you must not cover up for him.

10 Rather, you must kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and afterwards he must die at the hand of all the people.

11 You must pelt him with stones so that he dies, because he sought to lead you astray from God, your God, who took you out of Egypt, out of the house of slaves.

12 All Israel must listen to the case so that they be afraid to do likewise, and so that they never again commit any evil such as this in your midst.

13 If you hear people in one of your residential cities that God, your God, is giving you, saying,

14 ‘Men who are unfaithful have gone forth from among you and have led the inhabitants of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other peoples’ deities, which you have not known,”’

15 you must inquire, investigate, and question the witnesses thoroughly. If it is indeed true, the matter is certain, that this abomination has been committed in your midst,

16 you must strike down the inhabitants of that city by the edge of the sword, destroying it along with all that is in it and its animals by the edge of the sword.

17 You must gather all its spoils into the midst of its open square and completely burn the city and all its spoils in fire in honor of God, your God. It must be a heap of destruction forever, never to be rebuilt.

18 Nothing that is doomed to destruction may remain in your possession, so that God may turn from His fierce wrath and inspire others to treat you with compassion, be compassionate with you, and multiply you, as He swore to your forefathers—

19 provided that you hearken to the voice of God, your God, by keeping all His commandments that I am commanding you today, in order that you may do that which is proper in the eyes of God, your God.

Chiastic Structure: Deuteronomy 12:29 - 13:19

A – Do not add or subtract (13:1)

 - B – False prophet/dreamer tests loyalty (13:2–6)

  - C – Close relative/friend incites secretly (13:7–12)

 - B′ – Apostate city misleads publicly (13:13–18)
A′ – Closure: do what is right in God’s eyes (13:19)

PARDES Reflection (Four Levels of Study)

Peshat (Simple / Surface Level):

Isaiah warns leaders who trust in political deals instead of God.

Remez (Hint / Symbolic):

The “tested stone” prefigures Messiah as the true foundation (1 Pet. 2:6).

Drash (Inquire / Interpretive):

The image of a bed too short invites us to question the comfort systems we’ve built—what in our life is too small for God’s calling?

Sod (Secret / Mystical):

In Kabbalistic imagery, the foundation stone (Even haShetiyah) is the cosmic axis linking heaven and earth; rejecting it unravels the harmony of creation.

Hebrew Word Study

פִּנָּה (Pinnah) – cornerstone: not merely decorative, but the aligning stone for the whole structure.
מִשְׁקֹלֶת (Mishqolet) – plumb line: symbolizes God’s precise, unwavering standard.
חָסֶה (Chasah) – to take refuge: refuge in God is not escapism; it’s alignment with His truth.