ISAIAH 5: “Six Woes Of Judgment”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study we saw the
judgment of
1.1.1.
Chapter 3, Judgment of
1.1.1.1.The devastation of war is going to be complete and affect all levels of
society but especially those who are wealthy, powerful, and in positions of
influence
1.1.1.2.Children and women shall rule over them
1.1.1.3.The women will be judged because of using their influence over the men
of society for selfish and self-serving ends and not for the purposes for which
God created them
1.1.2.
Chapter 4, restoration of
the earth and the faithful remnant
1.1.2.1.The glory of the Lord shall cover the earth
1.1.2.2.Those who remain shall be called holy and the fruit of the earth
1.2.
In our study today, we are
going to look at how the Lord considers
1.2.1.
We will see the six woes
that Isaiah pronounces against the nation on account of their sins
1.2.2.
When we first began this
study I made mention that I believe that the state of the people in the nation
of Israel in the year that Uzziah died, when Isaiah was called to the prophetic
office, was very similar to the state that the church in America is in today,
and now as we look at these six woes I am grieved to see that each of these
woes could be pronounced upon the church in America today
2.
VS 5:1 - “1 Let me sing now for my
well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had
a vineyard on a fertile hill.” - Isaiah tells the nation that he is going to
sing a song for them
2.1.
Isaiah had a
message from the Lord to share with the people of
2.1.1.
It is wise to try to share the truth with
people in such a way that it will be as palpable as possible for them to
receive, that is, as long as the truth is not compromised in the process.
2.2.
Isaiah’s song is from the Lord, and yet he is
the one who is singing it. It is from
the Lord because we know that the vineyard was planted by and belongs to the
Lord not to Isaiah.
2.3.
The Lord has actually planted five vineyards
thus far, and each time He has not received the fruit from them that He
deserved, being the rightful owner, nor what He desired:
2.3.1.
The Garden of Eden
2.3.1.1.God
planted the garden of Eden and placed man there to till the garden and to serve
and have fellowship with Him, however man rebelled and turned away from the
Lord and spoiled the garden (when the Lord cursed the earth and kicked man out
of the garden).
2.3.2.
The world before the Great Flood
2.3.2.1.Having
been kicked out of the garden, man was sent out to replentish the earth with
the hopes that men would serve and honor God, however with the exception of
Noah’s family the people on the earth soon most turned away completely from the
Lord and all the thoughts of the heart were only evil.
2.3.3.
The world after the Great Flood
2.3.3.1.With
the flood, God had destroyed all those who were evil, saving only those onboard
the ark. Then, the Lord placed man upon
the earth so that he might serve Him and again have fellowship with Him. However, the people chose again to turn away
from God so that He again had few people who were His own.
2.3.4.
The call of Abraham and the Jewish
people
2.3.4.1.God
called out a special people for Himself from all of the people on the earth,
and made a covenant with them to be their God and for them to be His
people. However, again for the most part
the people violated their end of the covenant and went after other Gods, and
God turned His back (only for a time) on His people.
2.3.4.2.The
Lord will during the 7 year Tribulation of the book of Revelation again restore
the nation of
2.3.5.
The call of the Christ’s Church
2.3.5.1.God
again called out a special people unto Himself so that they might serve Him and
be His people. However, the church has
failed the Lord most of the time, and failed in it’s commission.
2.3.5.2.As
mentioned earlier, the church of Laodicea symbolizes the church in the world
today, just before Christ’s return, as each of the churches mentioned in
Revelation chapter 2-3 represent the church during different periods of
history. We see then that the
2.4.
Interestingly, the sixth vineyard that the
Lord will plant will be the world during the Millennial Reign of Christ. However, we see from the scripture that at
the end of that period of time that Satan is loosed for a time and stirs a big
rebellion against the Lord and once again the nations all come together against
the Lord, and He will slay them.
2.4.1.
The Lord shows through this sixth vineyard
that man is in and of himself thoroughly corrupt and without hope, for even
when the Lord Himself establishes His kingdom and lives among men people will
still rebel.
2.5.
Isaiah calls the nation His beloved and this
is because even though he was called to pronounce judgment against them, he
truly loved God’s people.
2.6.
In Matt. 12:1-11
we read a very similar story to this one in Isaiah. It is Jesus’ parable of the man who planted a
vineyard and then went away expecting to later receive the produce from it, “1 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a
vineyard, and put a wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press, and
built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.2 “And
at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive
some of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers.3 “And they took him,
and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.4 “And again he sent them another
slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully.5 “And he
sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some,
and killing others.6 “He had one more to send, a beloved son; he sent him last
of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’7 “But those vine-growers
said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the
inheritance will be ours!’8 “And they took him, and killed him, and threw him
out of the vineyard.9 “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and
destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others.10 “Have you not
even read this Scripture: ‘The stone
which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; 11 This came about from the Lord, And it is
marvelous in our eyes’?””
2.6.1.
This parable of Jesus’ is a ‘woe’ in and of
itself against the nation of Israel for not giving the fruit of the vineyard to
the Lord, and then worst of all they killed the land owner’s own son (who
symbolizes Jesus) who came to receive some of the produce from the vineyard.
2.6.2.
I believe that this parable of Jesus’ is in a
way Jesus’ commentary on chapter 5 of Isaiah.
3.
VS 5:2 - “2 And He dug it all around,
removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it, And
hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He
expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.” - Isaiah describes how that the
Lord planted
3.1.
The Lord brought Abraham to a land far away
from the idolatry around him, then the Lord cleared the land of all it’s idols
through the clearing out of all of the idolatrous nations under the leadership
Joshua.
3.1.1.
If Joshua and the people had been faithful
and done all that they would have been called to do they would have removed all
of the idolatry from the land, however that little bit that was allowed to
remain through their disobedience ended up spoiling the entire vineyard.
3.2.
3.3.
The tower placed in the midst of the vineyard
was to be a lookout to protect against any invading enemies, this is symbolized
by those whom the Lord called as prophets.
They were to protect the people if they would just heed the prophets’
words.
3.4.
The
wine vat was placed in the midst of this vineyard, and it was this vat that was
to produce the wine, for the wine was to be pressed out of the grapes by those
who were given charge to tend to the wine vat.
3.5.
However, the end result was that the grapes
produced were not of good quality, but rather were worthless, and thus the
entire vineyard ended up being useless to the land owner.
3.5.1.
Israel did not bear the fruit that the Lord
had called it and intended it to produce, for the people were continually
rebelling and turning away from the Lord throughout her history.
4.
VS 5:3-4 - “3 “And now, O inhabitants of
4.1.
The Lord had done so much for
4.1.1.
He led her out of slavery to
4.1.2.
He fed, clothed, and gave water to the people
throughout their 40 years of wandering in the desert.
4.1.3.
He brought her to a lucuous land flowing with
milk and honey which He gave as her possession.
4.1.4.
He conquered each of her enemies in the land
whcn she sought Him.
4.1.5.
He raised up judges to conquer her enemies
when she finally repented and sought His help and protection.
4.1.6.
He gave her prophets to bring her back into
line when she strayed, if she would only heed their word.
4.2.
However, in spite of all that the Lord did
for His people
4.3.
The Lord asks the people to judge whether or
not these things are true.
5.
VS 5:5-7 - “5 “So now let Me tell you what I
am going to do to My vineyard: I will
remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. 6 “And I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and
thorns will come up. I will also charge
the clouds to rain no rain on it.” 7 For
the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of
5.1.
The Lord had called
5.1.1.
This has happened because she became useless
and fruitless.
5.1.2.
The Lord is now going to:
5.1.2.1.remove
it’s hedge
5.1.2.2.break
down it’s wall
5.1.2.3.it
will become trampled ground
5.1.2.4.lay
it waste
5.1.3.
After destroying the vineyard, the land will
‘not be pruned or hoed’, weeds and thorns will come up, and the land will
receive no rain.
5.2.
In case there was any question here about
what Isaiah has written, in verse 7 he says that what the vineyard refers to,
it is ‘the house of Israel’.
5.3.
The people were His ‘delightful plant’,
however He wanted justice, but they became men of bloodshed as they beat down
and oppressed the poor, weak, and helpless.
He wanted righteousness in the nation, however the people instead caused
those whom they oppressed to cry out in distress.
5.4.
God is going to see that
6.
VS 5:8-10 - “8 Woe to those who
add house to house and join field to field, Until there is no more room, So
that you have to live alone in the midst of the land! 9 In my ears the Lord of hosts has sworn,
“Surely, many houses shall become desolate, Even great and fine ones, without
occupants. 10 “For ten acres of vineyard
will yield only one bath of wine, And a homer of seed will yield but an ephah
of grain.”” - Isaiah
pronounces the first woe upon the nation:
those who add house to house and join field to field
6.1.
The Lord had made it clear to them in the law
that the land belonged to Him and that it was to be equally distributed to all
of the families in Israel, however in their greed the people were gobbling up
as much land as they could, which was cheating the people out of their
God-given possession.
6.2.
It was the policies of the people that were
ruining the nation for they should never have disobeyed God’s commands and allowed
the rich to gobble up the land.
6.3.
What had been gradually occurring in
6.4.
We see this sin in our nation today, for
materialism is at an all time high.
People are so greedy and they are building up their own empires instead
of having open hands before the Lord and allowing Him to make them a blessing
instead.
6.5.
The judgment to be pronounced against the
land because of this woe is that ‘many houses shall become desolate, even great
and fine ones…and in this vineyard the produce to be yielded will be so small
that ten acres will yield on one bath of wine and ‘a homer of seed will yield
but an ephah of grain’.
7.
VS 5:11-17 - “11 Woe to those who rise early
in the morning that they may pursue strong drink; Who stay up late in the evening that wine may
inflame them! 12 And their banquets are
accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of
the Lord, Nor do they consider the work of His hands. 13 Therefore My people go
into exile for their lack of knowledge;
And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched
with thirst. 14 Therefore Sheol has
enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And
7.1.
Isaiah pronounces a woe upon the nation for
their partying lifestyle. They had
pursued a lifestyle of debauchery and many were drunkards to the point that
they even woke up early in the morning in order to purse getting drunk.
7.2.
The people were only interested in pursuits
of the lusts of their flesh, they were not interested in the ‘deeds of the
Lord’, and they did not even ‘consider the work of His hands’.
7.3.
Isaiah tells us that their punishment is that
they will go into exile, and we know that this occurred through the Persians
who conquered
7.4.
Isaiah says that the people were now going to
perish for their lack of knowledge.
7.5.
Isaiah tells us that the honorable men have
an unquenchable thirst for the lusts of their flesh to be fulfilled, and for
that reason Sheol, or hell, is going to open it’s throat and with it’s
unquenchable thirst swallow them up.
7.6.
The result of the judgment that is coming on
the land is that the people will be humbled, from the poor man all the way to
the man of importance, all will be abased.
7.7.
The Lord will show Himself to be righteous
when He pours out His righteous judgment upon the land.
7.8.
When the people are removed ‘the lambs will
graze in their pasture’, and strangers will eat in the ‘waste places of the
wealthy’.
8.
VS 5:18-19 - “18 Woe to those who drag
iniquity with the cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes; 19 Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him
hasten His work, that we may see it;
And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near And come to
pass, that we may know it!”” - Isaiah pronounces the third woe upon the
nation: those who drag iniquity with the
cords of falsehood and sin as if with cart ropes
8.1.
This woe is pronounced upon those who are
deceived in their iniquity, they sin but not openly or directly in their own
minds, and thus since they rationalize their actions they don’t see themselves
as doing wrong.
8.2.
Isaiah tells us that those who commit this
woe actually are asking the Lord to come in judgment, and yet they do not
realize that if He comes in judgment that they themselves will be the ones to
be judged.
8.3.
Isaiah does not tells us what the judgment
will be that will fall upon these, however hypocrisy is no covering for a
person’s sin. God will burn away all of
the dross on that day of judgment and every deed will be seen for what it is in
reality.
9.
VS 5:20 - “20 Woe to those who call evil
good, and good evil; Who substitute
darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” - Isaiah pronounces the fourth
woe upon the nation: those who call evil
good and good evil
9.1.
When a nations values get twisted around to
such an extent that godly conduct is condemned as being evil, and conversely an
evil act is called good, then this is a harbinger of the coming judgment of the
Lord. This is what the nation of
9.2.
We see this sin so prevalent in our nation
today. The liberal media condemns
Christians for hate crimes when they are simply calling a sinful conduct such
as homosexuality to be wrong in God’s sight (as the scripture specifically and
clearly mentions), and then the same media promotes a homosexual’s conduct as
being good.
9.2.1.
This sort of perversion in our nation is
another harbinger of God’s impending judgment upon
9.2.2.
God would have to apologize to
10.
VS 5:21 - “21 Woe to those who are wise in
their own eyes, And clever in their own sight!” - Isaiah pronounces the fifth woe upon the
nation: those who are wise in their own
eyes, or pride
10.1.
The people of the nation of
10.2.
We see the sin of the ‘pride of life’ so
prevalent in our American culture today, and this is just another signal to our
nation of impending judgment coming from the Lord against our nation.
11.
VS 5:22-24 - “22 Woe to those who are heroes
in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing strong drink; 23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And
take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! 24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes
stubble, And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like
rot and their blossom blow away as dust;
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, And despised the
word of the Holy One of Israel.” - Isaiah pronounces the sixth woe upon the
nation: those who are heroes in drinking
wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who justify the wicked for a
bribe and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right
11.1.
In Isaiah’s day justice went to the highest
bidder. The judges were routinely
‘justifying the wicked for a bribe’ as well as taking ‘away the rights of the
ones who are in the right’. For this,
the nation would be judged harshly by the Lord.
11.2.
In our day here in
11.3.
The Lord will judge any man or nation who
continually does evil and who takes away the rights of the poor, innocent, and
oppressed.
11.4.
Isaiah describes their impending judgment as
being burned up just like grass which collapses into the flame, and that their
‘root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust’.
11.5.
Sin is the transgression of the law of God,
and Isaiah tells us that their judgment will come because they have rejected
the law of the Lord of hosts and despised His word.
12.
VS 5:25-28 - “25 On this account the anger of
the Lord has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand
against them and struck them down, And the mountains quaked; and their corpses
lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
For all this His anger is not spent, But His hand is still stretched
out. 26 He will also lift up a standard
to the distant nation, And will whistle for it from the ends of the earth; And behold, it will come with speed
swiftly. 27 No one in it is weary or
stumbles, None slumbers or sleeps; Nor
is the belt at its waist undone, Nor its sandal strap broken. 28 Its arrows are sharp, and all its bows are
bent; The hoofs of its horses seem like
flint, and its chariot wheels like a whirlwind.” - Isaiah looks looks forward and sees the
impending judgments against the nation of
12.1.
The nation had already suffered judgment from
the Lord and they will suffer further judgment from the Lord, for it is on
account of His anger against them that the judgments are and will happen.
12.2.
Isaiah tells the people that the Lord’s anger
against the people is not nearly satisfied yet.
12.3.
Isaiah tells also that the Lord is going to
raise up a standard to the distant nation, and whistle for it to come. This standard appears to be the invading
Persian army that will come and take away the people into exile. This nation will come speedily when the Lord
draws it to the nation to judge her.
12.4.
The invading nation will be focused, for they
will come swiftly and will not get weary, stumble, sleep, and they won’t even
change their clothes on the way.
12.5.
The invading army will be treacherous for
their arrows will be sharpened and their bows strengthened, their horses feet
will be hard like flint, and their chariots will travel as fast as the
whirlwind which comes against a city.
13.
VS 5:30 - “30 And it shall growl over it in
that day like the roaring of the sea. If
one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; Even the light is darkened by its clouds.” - Isaiah describes the day of
judgment for the nation as being a day of darkness and distress
13.1.
God’s judgment against
13.2.
God in His mercy gave the nation a chance to
repent and to turn to Him, for He told them of the judgment that was coming,
however they did not take heed, and so now because they refused to repent the
Lord will remove His restraining power and give them over to their sinful
passions.