First, Ephraim was bothered by the foreign tongue of the Gentile invaders (v. 11; cf. 1 Cor. 14:21). Those who invaded Ephraim spoke in their own tongue, and to Ephraim this was not a glory but a shame.
Second, Ephraim was bothered by Jehovah's rules and statutes scattered repeatedly in pieces (Isa. 28:10). These rules and statutes were parts of the law. Verse 13 says, "Therefore Jehovah's word to them will be:/Rule upon rule, rule upon rule;/Line upon line, line upon line;/Here a little, there a little;/That they may go and stumble backwards,/ And be broken, snared, and taken." The Lord had said to them, "This is rest; give rest to the weary;/And, This is repose" (v. 12). If they had kept all the parts of the law, they would have had rest and repose. God wanted His people to have rest and have repose, but they would not hear His word.
Jehovah destroyed the northern kingdom by the Assyrian army (vv. 14-15, 17-20, 22; 2 Kings 17:3-18). This was done as a warning to Jerusalem.
Jehovah reacted to fight against the Assyrians, who had destroyed Israel excessively. We are told that He will rise as on Mount Perazim (Isa. 28:21a; 2 Sam. 5:20; 1 Chron. 14:11) and will be agitated as in the valley of Gibeon (Josh. 10:10, 12; 1 Chron. 14:16). Jehovah will arise and be agitated to do His deed, His strange deed, and to do His work, His most different work (Isa. 28:21b).
Finally, in Isaiah 28:23-29 we see that Jehovah, as a farmer, dealt with them as His crops by different utensils according to His extraordinary counsel and His great wisdom. A wise farmer has different kinds of utensils. God is a wise Farmer, and He knows how to deal with His crops. He deals with one person in a certain way, and He deals with another person in a different way. Using different utensils, God dealt with Isaiah in one way, with Jeremiah in another way, and with Daniel in yet another way. He has many ways and many utensils.