The Parable of the Farmer and his Crops (Isaiah 28:23-29).
The point behind this parable is that the wise farmer thinks carefully about what he is doing and does not get bogged down in one activity. He looks at things as a whole, and does each thing in its proper course, ready to change as the occasion demands. He is fully flexible. In the same way these men of Jerusalem should consider that now is the time for a change. They should cease to look to other nations and should look instead to Yahweh, as the farmer does. For now is Yahweh's day, and God has great purposes for Israel if only they will take note of what He is saying.
We must remember that the purpose behind all Isaiah's words is not to ‘foretell the future'. It is to speak of the future in order that it might stir to action. Every revelation should cause his hearers to think again of what God would do through them if only they would respond rightly to Him.
Analysis.
a Give ear, and hear my voice. Listen, and hear what I say (my speech) (Isaiah 28:23).
b Does the ploughman plough continually in order to sow? Does he continually open and break the clods of the ground? (Isaiah 28:24).
c When he has levelled and broken up its surface (literally ‘made plain its face'), does he not cast abroad the dill, and scatter the cummin (Isaiah 28:25 a).
d And put the wheat in rows and the barley in its appointed place, and the spelt in its border? (Isaiah 28:25 b).
e For his God instructs him aright and teaches him (Isaiah 28:26).
d For the dill are not threshed with a sharp instrument, nor is a threshing wheel revolved over the cummin (Isaiah 28:27 a).
c But the dill are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod (Isaiah 28:27 b)..
b Bread corn is ground, for he will not be ever threshing it, and though the wheel of his cart and his horses scatter it, it does not grind it (Isaiah 28:28).
a This also comes from Yahweh of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom (Isaiah 28:29).
In ‘a' they are to listen to Yahweh's voice, and in the parallel the wisdom and counsel comes from Yahweh. In ‘b' the ploughman does not restrict himself to the initial action of ploughing, and in the preparation of the grain in the parallel he does not restrict himself to the initial threshing. In ‘c' he does not sow the dill and cummin, and in the parallel the dill and cummin are beaten out with a rod. In ‘d' everything is put in its appointed place, and in the parallel the dill and cummin are treated in the appointed way. And in ‘e' all is done according to the wisdom provided by Yahweh.
‘Give ear, and hear my voice.
Listen, and hear what I say (my speech).
Does the ploughman plough continually in order to sow?
Does he continually open and break the clods of the ground?'
Isaiah calls for careful attention to what he will now say. His first question is, does the farmer never do anything but plough? Does he only ever break up the ground? The answer he expects is, “Of course not.” Otherwise he would never achieve anything.
‘When he has levelled and broken up its surface (literally ‘made plain its face'),
Does he not cast abroad the dill, and scatter the cummin,
And put the wheat in rows and the barley in its appointed place, and the spelt in its border?
For his God instructs him aright and teaches him.'
We must remember that each farmer had only a comparatively small patch in which he had to grow his different crops, somewhat like a large market garden. He had to decide what to plant in each section and arrange carefully so that he produced all the crops he needed using all available space, which would come to fruition at different times. Thus he takes each type of seed and carefully sows it in the place which he has determined, different types of herbs or different types of grain in different places, even planning which will be sown on the border. This is because God gives him wisdom and shows him what to do. The hint is that that too is what these men of Jerusalem should be doing. Listening to God's voice and planning accordingly.
‘In rows' and ‘in its appointed place' are two Hebrew technical farming terms and any translations are simply guesswork. (Even LXX omitted them not knowing what they meant). We do not know exactly what they mean, but the idea is clear. Each crop is dealt with in the appropriate way.
‘For the dill are not threshed with a sharp instrument,
Nor is a threshing wheel revolved over the cummin.
But the dill are beaten out with a staff,
And the cummin with a rod.
Bread corn is ground, for he will not be ever threshing it,
And though the wheel of his cart and his horses scatter it, it does not grind it.
This also comes from Yahweh of hosts,
Which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.'
But once he has planted it the farmer does not leave matters like that. He plans ahead. Later he will deal with each crop as it requires. He does not thresh the dill with a sharp instrument like a threshingsledge, rather he beats it with a staff. He does not revolve a threshing wheel over the cummin, he beats it with a rod. He threshes the corn (with his sharp instrument), but he does not go on threshing it forever. He then grinds it ready for use. The wheel of his cart and his horses scatter the seed, but the wheel does not grind it. (Something was probably fitted to the wheel to aid the process of threshing).
So each thing is dealt with according to requirements, and each is dealt with differently. Each instrument has its purpose and must be used correctly. And all this, as guided by God, is extremely good advice and very wise. In the same way should the men of Jerusalem consider whether they are using the right instruments for what they are about to do, whether trust in Egypt or trust in Yahweh. For that too is wise advice.
There is possibly also an indirect threat here that God will have to plough up Judah if it is not responsive to His guidance. Unlike Samaria it still had the option, and God is pointing out that as the Great Farmer He is quite ready to deal differently with Judah if the situation warrants it.
It has been objected that horses would not be used for this kind of work and that the text should be amended. But Isaiah was not an experienced agriculturalist or zoologist and was probably speaking loosely. In his world in Jerusalem horses were what he came across, and he may well have meant ‘horse-like animals'. e.g. asses. Nor can we in fact be sure that they did not use horses in this way.