The prophet Isaiah spoke of a “covenant with death” that will be annulled in Isaiah 28:18, which says “Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it.” To understand this verse, we need to examine the context.
In Isaiah 28, Isaiah was pronouncing judgement on the kingdom of Judah for their lack of faith and trust in God. The leaders of Judah had made an alliance with Egypt to protect themselves from the Assyrian empire (Isaiah 28:14-15). This alliance represented a “covenant with death” because Egypt was a dying empire that could not protect Judah. Isaiah warned that this alliance would fail and that only by trusting in the Lord could Judah find true security (Isaiah 28:16).
The “covenant with death” also represents the false sense of security the people of Judah had in their own schemes and strategies apart from God. They felt they were safe from harm because of their alliance with Egypt, but God said this “agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.” Death is a metaphor for false securities that will ultimately fail us.
So how will this “covenant with death” be annulled? Judah’s alliance with Egypt did ultimately fail to protect them from the Assyrians, who conquered and exiled them. Their trust in foreign powers rather than God proved futile. More broadly, Isaiah says that when the “overwhelming scourge sweeps by” – God’s judgment – then the people’s false securities will be “beaten down.” Only God can provide true safety and security.
We see this fulfilled when Judah was conquered by Babylon and exiled because they still had not learned to trust God exclusively. Their persistent idolatry and sin annulled any previous covenants with God and left them open again to judgment (Jeremiah 11:1-13). It was not until they learned their lesson in exile and returned to the Lord that they found true restoration (Ezra 9:5-15).
There is a parallel for us today. When we put our ultimate trust in anything other than the Lord – Possessions, money, insurance, military might, political leaders – we make a “covenant with death.” We rely on that which is ultimately powerless to save us. Only God provides eternal security. Any counterfeit “covenants” we make will be annulled when God’s judgment (“the overwhelming scourge”) sweeps by.
As Hebrews 9:27 reminds us: “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” We will all face death unless we take refuge in Christ, trusting in His finished work on the cross and resurrection from the dead to save us (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Any other hope is a “covenant with death” that will fail us in the end. Only in Christ is the covenant with death and the grave overcome and annulled forever.
The historical context of Isaiah’s message
To fully understand Isaiah’s prophecy about the covenant with death, we need to understand the historical context in which it was given. Isaiah was a prophet in the kingdom of Judah in the 8th century BC. At that time, the dominant world power was the Assyrian empire, which was threatening Judah and other smaller nations. King Ahaz of Judah refused to trust God to deliver them from the Assyrians and instead appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria for help (2 Kings 16:7-9). Later, Judah sought help from Egypt against Assyria.
Isaiah condemned this reliance on foreign powers because it demonstrated a lack of faith in God. In Isaiah 28-31, Isaiah pronounced oracles against Judah for making alliances with Egypt which he called a “covenant with death” (Isaiah 28:15,18). Egypt seemed strong, but it was a fading power that could not protect Judah. Isaiah warned that these alliances would fail.
Only by repenting and returning to the Lord could Judah find true security. Isaiah declared that God alone should be their refuge: “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.'”(Isaiah 28:16). Faith in the Lord is the only sure foundation.
Tragically, Judah did not heed Isaiah’s warnings. They persisted in their lack of faith in God and their political scheming. After Isaiah’s death, they even turned to Egypt for help during Josiah’s reign, despite the prophet Jeremiah’s warnings (Jeremiah 42). As a result, Babylon later conquered Judah as Isaiah had foretold.
The meaning of the “covenant with death”
This background helps us see that the “covenant with death” refers to any alliance or strategy that substitutes for trust in God. Specifically, in Isaiah’s day it referred to Judah’s pacts with Egypt against Assyria rather than relying on the Lord for deliverance. The imagery comes from the Ancient Near East cultural context of covenants being established by covenantal meals between two parties.
Isaiah described in vivid terms how relying on death and false securities will fail: “When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will be that He who lays you low is your real ally, while your covenant with death is annulled, your pact with hell fails to stand, when the overwhelming scourge passes you are its victims” (Isaiah 28:18, NJB).
The “covenant with death” represents any false refuge that offers an illusion of safety but will ultimately fail. In Hebrew thinking, death is the ultimate enemy and greatest threat to life. But humans in our limited perspective sometimes make death our friend. We think we have eliminated the threat, but really we only fool ourselves.
Anything we trust in more than God – wealth, power, status, institutions, philosophies – cannot save us from death and judgment. These false securities form a “covenant with death” that will be dissolved. Only God can deliver us safely through the “overwhelming scourge” of death and judgment.
The certainty of the covenant being annulled
Isaiah stated with certainty that this “covenant with death” would be annulled. God’s judgment would shatter the illusion of security Judah had placed in its schemes and alliances. Why was Isaiah so sure it would fail?
First, because God said so directly through Isaiah. As a true prophet speaking the word of the Lord, Isaiah’s predictions were certain to come true. When God directly reveals something about the future, we can be fully confident it will happen just as He said.
Second, Isaiah had insight into the geopolitical realities of his day. Egypt was declining as a regional power. It lacked the strength to protect Judah against Assyria. So Isaiah could perceive the strategic folly of relying on Egypt. His prophecy aligned with political savvy.
Third, Isaiah simply applied God’s truth about trusting in Him alone rather than human devices. Scripture consistently affirms that finding security anywhere other than God will fail. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7). So philosophically, Isaiah understood the covenant’s eventual failure.
Finally, when God’s people persist in sin and idolatry, His judgment inevitably falls according to His righteous character. Judah’s lack of faith would bring consequences. Hence, Isaiah had theological and moral certainty that the covenant with death would fail. God’s word always proves true.
How relying on God provides true security
If allies like Egypt could not protect Judah, how would relying on God have provided greater security? Trusting God does not always mean miracle deliverances or escaping harm. The people still needed to repent and walk righteously with God.
But Isaiah made clear that God alone is an infallible object of faith. Even if Assyria defeated Judah, with repentance, God could restore them, bring purification, and establish justice (Isaiah 1:25-27). He can ultimately redeem any calamity. With God, there is always hope even through death. All who rely on Him will “not be in haste” (Isaiah 28:16) but have a firm and secure foundation.
Judah would have done better to humble themselves and trust in the Lord for deliverance. As 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 says, “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” Even if Judah had fallen, they could have been restored as God’s people.
In contrast, relying on another nation like Egypt denied God’s sovereign power and reduced their hope merely to preservation of the status quo. It constrained what God could do and reflected faith in mere human policies. Only God’s purposes have eternal scope. So Isaiah directed Judah back to faith in God alone.
Fulfillment in Judah’s defeat and exile
Isaiah’s predictions were ultimately fulfilled when Judah was conquered and exiled by the Babylonians in 586 BC. This happened over a century after Isaiah’s ministry under King Manasseh, Josiah and the last kings of Judah.
Even after Hezekiah had trusted God and seen a great deliverance from Assyria, later generations of kings persisted in the sins of idolatry and trust in foreign powers. Judah kept seeking an alliance with Egypt rather than relying on the Lord (Jeremiah 37:5-10). The Babylonians invaded and deposed the last king, Zedekiah.
So the “covenant with death” Isaiah warned about was finally annulled in the most disastrous way possible. The Babylonian conquest dismantled the kingdom of Judah and destroyed its false securities apart from God. Ezekiel similarly condemned this Egyptian alliance that failed to prevent Babylon’s victory (Ezekiel 29:6-7).
Yet even in defeat and exile, God used Babylon’s invasion to purge idolatry from Judah and prepare a remnant to return to the land. Jeremiah and Ezekiel taught that exile was God’s discipline to turn His people back to Him (Jeremiah 29; Ezekiel 20:33-44). So God proved faithful even when the covenant with death was annulled.
How this applies to all “covenants with death”
While the immediate context was Judah’s alliance with Egypt, Isaiah’s prophecy applies to all human pacts, policies and securities that substitute for trust in God. We often rely on things meant to prevent suffering and delay death – wealth, insurance, technology, politics, medicine.
These can all be blessings from God, but the moment we begin to trust in them more than God Himself, they become “covenants with death.” We substitute temporal securities for the assurance of eternal life in Christ. We embrace the illusion that the status quo in this fallen world can prevent death and judgment.
But as Isaiah warned and Hebrews 9:27 confirms, death comes to all and after that, we face judgment before God. On that day, any counterfeit covenants will be dissolved. Only those who rested their faith exclusively in Christ will stand. All other securities will prove false.
This is an extremely relevant message for the modern world that often places ultimate hope in human policies, science, politics or medicine. But only Christ has conquered death. Any other ground of confidence will eventually be “annulled” when God’s final judgment comes. We cannot bargain our way out of death and judgment apart from total reliance on Jesus.
The New Covenant in Christ
If trusting in anything other than God is a “covenant with death,” that raises the question – is there a genuine covenant with life we can participate in? Thankfully, yes, there is one that will never be annulled.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ came to inaugurate a new and better covenant – a covenant based on His sacrificial death and resurrection which atoned for our sins (Luke 22:20). When we place our trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we enter this new covenant which reconciles us to God.
As Hebrews 7:22 says of Jesus, “This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.” The old covenant was powerless to deal with sin and resulted in death. But Christ salvages us from the “covenant with death” through His covenant of grace. This covenant will never fail because it is founded on the eternal sacrifice of the Son of God.
All who repent and believe in this good news enter an unbreakable covenant with God that grants salvation from sin and eternal life. This covenant will withstand any storm or judgment because it is grounded in the indestructible life of Christ. It will never be annulled.
So Isaiah’s prophecy finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, the mediator of the new and better covenant that provides eternal security, not based on human schemes but His sufficient work to save us. When we place our trust in Christ, we can have full assurance that we will be upheld through death and judgment.
Conclusion
Isaiah’s prophecy about the covenant with death being annulled reminds us that finding security anywhere other than God is futile. It may delay death, but cannot prevent it or save us from judgment. Sooner or later, any counterfeit covenant will crumble.
This happened with tragic results to Judah when judgment fell because they trusted in Egypt rather than the Lord. But Jesus came to inaugurate a new covenant in His blood that does conquer sin and death eternally. When we entrust ourselves wholly to Christ, we can have full confidence our covenant with life will endure.