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(Isaiah 5)
Introduction
John Oswalt in the introduction to his commentary of Isaiah writes:
In many ways the book of Isaiah is the Bible in miniature. Like the Bible, the book has two major divisions, and like the Bible the main theme of the first part is judgment and the main theme of the second is hope. Beyond this, all the major themes of the Bible can be found in Isaiah. Though the Sinai covenant is not mentioned explicitly, it is everywhere assumed. It is the basis of the charges of rebellion, and it is the essential ground of the supposed relationship between God and Israel. The Davidic covenant is mentioned, and it is the foundation of the promises of the Messiah. If the house of David has failed, God's promises have not. Here the whole question of the uniqueness of God [in comparison] to idols is explored more completely than in any other book of the Bible. And it is here that the glory of the Davidic Messiah and the shame of the Suffering Servant are brought together in a way that helps the New Testament picture of Christ make sense.[1]
The first section of the book of Isaiah concerns itself with God's messages for Judah and Jerusalem. In the first five chapters, the emphasis has been upon Jerusalem, as representative of all Judah. After titling the book in verse one, nine topics follow that relate to . . .
1) Judah's present dysfunctional relationship with God,
2) Judah's appointment with judgment,
3) Judah's discouraging immediate outlook,
4) Judah's present order,
5) A restatement of Judah's coming judgment,
6) A promise of future restoration.
We now add to these three more topics.
7) A Song of the Vineyard,
8) a pronouncement of six woes, and
9) the Lord's anger.
We continue our study by observing in Isaiah . . .
8. The Song of the Vineyard, 5:1-7
Notice how the tone of the song progresses.
a. An affectionate lyric, Isa 5:1-2ab (1a)
Isaiah 5:1 (NIV) 1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
b. A surprising shift in tone, Isa 5:2c-6
1) There was no yield in spite of its care, Isa 5:2c.
Isaiah 5:2c (NIV) 2cThen he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.
2) There was no excuse for its lack of yield, Isa 5:3-4. (5:4)
Isaiah 5:4 (NIV) 4What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?
3) There was only one remedy, Isa 5:4-6. (5:6a)
Isaiah 5:6a (NIV) 6aI will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there.
c. A lament for house of Israel and Judah, Isa 5:7.
Isaiah 5:7 (NIV) 7The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
These words are very descriptive of the progression of God's attitude toward His people from the time He called and cared for them until their turning away from His loving nurture and protection.
Isaiah's message to God's people next comes in a series of six "woes" that are statements of condemnation that also bespeak consequences or conditions that are likely to follow because of sinful behavior. Examine . . .
9. The Woeful Condition, 5:8-23
a. Woe to the land and property speculators, Isa 5:8-10. (5:8)
Isaiah 5:8 (NIV) 8Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land.
We see in this a denunciation of Lev 25:23-24 which protected against monopolizing the land so that eventually all of the land would fall into the hands of a few wealthy. Who own the land owns the people. That is why God had put into place a law that required that ownership of the land stayed within the family; and though they could lease it for long periods of time, it would revert back to the original owners every fifty years.
b. Woe to the drunken revelers, Isa 5:11-17.
1) Their first and last thoughts of the day are about drink, Isa 5:11.
Isaiah 5:11 (NIV) 11Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine.
2) Their joy is in their parties rather than in the Lord, Isa 5:12.
Isaiah 5:12 (NIV) 12They have harps and lyres at their banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands.
3) Their foolishness will lead them into hungry and thirsty exile, Isa 5:13.
Isaiah 5:13 (NIV) 13Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding; their men of rank will die of hunger and their masses will be parched with thirst.
4) Their kind will increase the size of cemeteries, Isa 5:14.
Isaiah 5:14 (NIV) 14Therefore the grave enlarges its appetite and opens its mouth without limit; into it will descend their nobles and masses with all their brawlers and revelers.
5) They will be humbled before the Lord, Isa 5:15.
Isaiah 5:15 (NIV) 15So man will be brought low and mankind humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled.
6) The Lord will be vindicated, Isa 5:16.
Isaiah 5:16 (NIV) 16But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness.
7) The productive fields and dwellings will become the feeding pasture of sheep, Isa 5:17.
Isaiah 5:17 (NIV) 17Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture; lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.
Isaiah has just outlined a Seven-Step Program to self-destruction applicable to nations and individuals who are ruled by their appetites, especially as it relates to alcohol; but he includes other excesses as well. Ours is a nation addicted to alcohol, drugs, sex, entertainment, and some others that I probably don't know about or want to. We are being consumed by the things we consume. Instead of being enriched, we are enslaved.
c. Woe to the sin-laden God-mockers, Isa 5:18-19.
Isaiah 5:18-19 (NIV) 18Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes, 19to those who say, "Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it."
The attitude of those to whom this woe is directed is "if what we are doing is so bad, why hasn't God done anything to stop us? In fact, we invite Him to!" What blasphemous arrogance? Before we condemn Israel, lets us take a look at ourselves. Why have we held on to our "private" sins? Letting sin dwell in our heart is like daring God to do something—a challenge we may live to regret.
d. Woe to the amoral reprobates, Isa 5:20.
Isaiah 5:20 (NIV) 20Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
This is one step beyond the previous attitude in that these have gone so far as to say there is no such thing as sin except the sin of calling their sin "sin"! This is as low as you can go when you redefine sin so that it becomes "good." This attitude should be carefully considered in the light of two passages in Romans.
Romans 1:29a, 32 (NIV) 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. . . 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 2:5-6 (NIV) 5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God "will give to each person according to what he has done."
The next "woe" passage speaks to the arrogant attitudes that produce such a disregard for sin.
e. Woe to the arrogantly shrewd, Isa 5:21.
This woe seems to align itself well with the previous woe because of the great lengths and complex arguments the aforementioned will go to redefine their sin into goodness.
Isaiah 5:21 (NIV) 21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
f. Woe to the those who are skilled in their wickedness, Isa 5:22-23.
There are those who take great pride in their ability to "hold their liquor." There are competitions for bartenders to reward those who can produce the most sophisticated and "effective" intoxicating concoctions. For others, justice is for sale and the innocent are taken advantage of because of their inability to "fight the system."
Isaiah 5:22-23 (NIV) 22Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, 23who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.
However, they should probably not be sleeping so soundly because they have incurred...
10. The Lord's anger, 5:24-30
When it comes to God's anger, the fuse may be long in order to give those who are about to become its victims time to defuse it by repenting. However, if they disregard the fuse because the source of the coming explosion is not in their sight, they will fall into complacency; and it will be too late put the fuse out. Let us take note of these three facts concerning the Lord's anger toward His people.
a. The state of the Lord's anger, Isa 5:25
Isaiah 5:25 (NIV) 25Therefore the LORD's anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
b. The call to the instruments of the Lord's anger, Isa 5:26
Isaiah 5:26 (NIV) 26 He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily!
c. The unrelenting onslaught of the instruments of the Lord's anger,
Isa 5:27-30
Isaiah 5:27-30 (NIV) 27Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal thong is broken. 28Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung; their horses' hoofs seem like flint, their chariot wheels like a whirlwind. 29Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions; they growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue. 30In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks at the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be darkened by the clouds.
Relevance
What is particularly interesting in this situation is this. The people had sought alliances with foreign nations as a means to stave off invasion from a foreign nation. Judah's concern over Assyria caused her to turn to Babylon, Egypt, and others for protection.
God apparently loves irony because the very nation they feared was turned away by God, but the one they sought an alliance eventually became their captors. How often the things people turn to for comfort, satisfaction of desire, success, and status become the very things that enslave or destroy them. We do well to remind ourselves of the biblical principle stated in Galatians 6:7-8.
Galatians 6:7-8 (NIV) 7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
[1] The NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah, John T. Oswalt, Zondervan Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids, MI., 2003.
