In our study of Isaiah chapter five, we look at the example of an unproductive vineyard and righteous judgment.
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I want to sing a song for someone I love, a song about my loved one and his vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug up its stones and cleared them away, planted it with the choicest vines, built a watchtower in the middle of it, and carved out in its rock a winepress. He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only sour, wild grapes.
Isaiah begins this song by describing all of the work that was put into this new vineyard. The site for the vineyard was good as he says it was on a fertile hillside and the owner had cleared the land to provide a suitable place for the vines to grow. He planted the finest of vines so that there should be no reason why they would not grow and produce the best of fruit. He protected the vineyard with a watchtower and prepared for the harvest by digging a winepress into the ground. Finally, he looked for the harvest of quality grapes but instead found only bad fruit.
Now, citizens of Yerushalayim and people of Y'hudah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could I have done for my vineyard that I haven't already done in it? So why, when I expected good grapes, did it produce sour, wild grapes?
Isaiah calls for the people of Jerusalem and Judah to judge the situation. Basically, he is asking them if it is not right for the owner of the vineyard to expect a good quantity and quality of fruit based on the work and materials used in the construction. The owner has kept up his end but the vineyard has not produced. So, who is at fault?
Now come, I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and [its grapes] will be eaten up; I will break through its fence, and [its vines] will be trampled down. I will let it go to waste: it will be neither pruned nor hoed, but overgrown with briars and thorns. I will also order the clouds not to let rain fall on it.
Continuing with his parable, Isaiah describes the intended judgment on the non-productive vineyard. He explains that all support and protection for the vineyard will be removed.
Now the vineyard of ADONAI-Tzva'ot is the house of Isra'el, and the men of Y'hudah are the plant he delighted in. So he expected justice, but look - bloodshed! - and righteousness, but listen - cries of distress!
Now, Isaiah reveals the purpose of his parable which is for God's people to see and understand what they are doing and its consequences. Isaiah puts the people of Judah into the story as the vineyard that did not produce even though it was given every opportunity. The hope is that the people will see what they have done (not producing any good fruit) and repent. This very same call goes out to the "church" of today. God does care about the quantity of the fruit (people in the pews) but he also cares about the quality of the fruit (are they disciples or just pew sitters?). As individual Christians, we also need to examine ourselves and check our obedience to the word of God.
Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field, until there's no room for anyone else, and you live in splendor alone on your land.
Now that Isaiah has presented the case against the people, he begins to proclaim the judgment. In this verse, the image is of a people who have built up houses so much that there is no longer a place for grapevines in the vineyard. God has been pushed out. Today, many of us (including the local "churches") are doing the same thing and do not realize it. We push God out of our daily walk because we do not have enough time to pray and listen to him or to serve him. Once or twice each week, we may allow God some time for "worship" but our lives are too crowded for a daily walk. As Isaiah said "Woe to you...".
ADONAI-Tzva'ot said in my ears, "Many houses will be brought to ruin, large, magnificent ones left empty; for a ten-acre vineyard will produce only five gallons of wine, and seed from five bushels of grain will yield but half a bushel."
The houses that the people put their hopes in will be empty. Isaiah is speaking to the people of Israel about 700 years before Christ but this is so appropriate for our world today. In recent years, people all over the world put their hope in a big fancy home and then the financial system collapsed and many people are without hope. There are many "great houses" today that are "desolate" and "without occupants". The once productive vineyard will only produce a tiny amount of wine and the seed a tiny amount of grain. This is true today in many parts of the world as there are many suffering from hunger.
Woe to those who get up early to pursue intoxicating liquor; who stay up late at night, until wine inflames them. They have lutes and lyres, drums and flutes, and wine at their parties; but they pay no attention to how ADONAI works and never look at what his hands have made.
Now, the focus shifts to the party crowd as Isaiah tells them that woe (trouble) is on the way. We may ask ourselves why this particular sin is singled out in this passage. The last part may give us the answer as it says that they have "no respect for the work of his hands". You see, God doesn't want people to get drunk and party because that doesn't honor him and God has made each of us for a higher purpose than that.
For such lack of knowledge my people go into exile; this is also why their respected men starve and their masses are parched from thirst. Therefore Sh'ol has enlarged itself and opened its limitless jaws - and down go their nobles and masses, along with their noise and revels. The masses are lowered, the nobles are humbled - proud looks will be brought down.
The people have turned their backs on the Lord and decided to do what they wanted instead of following God's rules. The scene is much the same as most parents have with their teenage children at some point. The children decide they don't want to follow the rules in the home and want to go live someplace else. That is what "exile" is in this passage. God has basically said that, since the people will not follow his rules, they will be sent to live someplace else where they will learn what it is like to live under an earthly ruler instead of having God, who loves them, as ruler and king. Their arrogance in thinking they know better than God will lead them to the grave.
But ADONAI-Tzva'ot is exalted through justice, God the Holy One is consecrated through righteousness.
Even after disciplining his people, God will be lifted up as everyone will know that it is righteous justice. The people deserved what they got. God will show himself to be holy because he removes the sinful people from his presence. Just as it has always been, God does not tolerate sin in his presence. We, as Christians, do not have to face his righteous justice because Yeshua did so in our place on the cross.
Then lambs will be able to feed as if they were in their own pasture, and those wandering through will eat from the ruined fields of the overfed.
After the sinful people have been exiled and God is exalted, there will be peace. Sheep and lambs are left in the land. We, as Christians, are described as sheep and lambs all throughout the New Testament and this verse is an illustration for us of God's righteous judgment. With Yeshua as our shepherd, we get to remain in the land and have a right relationship with God.
Woe to those who begin by pulling at transgression with a thread, but end by dragging sin along as if with a cart rope. They say, "We want God to speed up his work, to hurry it along, so we can see it! We want the Holy One of Isra'el's plan to come true right now, so we can be sure of it!"
This passage speaks of the fact that sin can begin as something that we think is small and insignificant but it grows in our lives until we find that we are pulling a whole wagon load behind us. We see that this sin leads to mocking and rejecting the will of God for our lives.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who change darkness into light and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter!
In the previous passage the woe was for those who try to mix a little bit of God with a little bit of sin. In this verse, the woe is for those who completely abandon God's word and do not even acknowledge the sin. They are rebellious and trust in their own wisdom which is foolishness when compared to the wisdom of God.
Woe to those seeing themselves as wise, esteeming themselves as clever.
This woe is for those who think they know it all. We all know of people like this who think they are so smart. In this case it is talking about how men have turned away from the teachings of God and thought that their ways were superior. We are told that all wisdom comes from God and when men forget that and become proud of what they know, they will be humbled. We need to remember that "We see pieces, God sees the whole plan!"
Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, men whose power goes to mixing strong drinks,
This may seem odd for this part of the Bible but some people back in those days probably had a problem with alcohol. Today, the concept of "heroes at drinking wine" is probably easier to understand as we have all seen the drinking games and parties that occur at colleges and even at high schools. Isaiah tells the people here that they will suffer the consequences.
who acquit the guilty for bribes but deny justice to the righteous!
The next woe is for those who are corrupt in their judgments. As long as men have been in positions of power, there have been corrupt men but this verse can remind us that God will take care of them.
Therefore, as fire licks up the stubble, and the chaff is consumed in the flame; so their root will rot, and their flowers scatter like dust; because they have rejected the Torah of ADONAI-Tzva'ot, they have despised the word of the Holy One of Isra'el.
The picture here is of plants that wither, dry up and die. The plants have rejected their water and so they are doomed to die. The same is true for the people that have been mentioned. They have rejected their water (the word of God) and so will wither and die.
This is why ADONAI's anger blazed up against his people, why he stretched out his hand against them and struck them [so hard that] the hills shook, and corpses lay like trash in the streets. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens.
You often hear people say that a loving God would not send people to hell. Well, this verse demonstrates the justice that is delivered by a jealous God. His people wanted to do things their own way and trust in themselves. Therefore, God is punishing them as he burns with anger. God loves all people but he does demand that we recognize him as God.
He will give a signal to faraway nations, he will whistle for them to come from the ends of the earth; and here they come, so fast!
Because of the disobedience of his people, God sends out a call to the rest of the nations. God's judgement will be carried out by these nations that he calls.
none of them tired or stumbling, none of them sleeping or drowsy, none with a loose belt, none with a broken sandal-strap.
These verses describe a people that God is using and it is obvious that it is God that is in control. God is the only one that could give them the strength and as they are used for his judgment it will be obvious that God is behind it.
Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung, their horses' hoofs are like flint, and their [chariot] wheels like a whirlwind. They will roar like lions - yes, roaring like young lions, they growl and seize the prey and carry it off, with no one to rescue.
Isaiah describes how the people that God has chosen as an instrument of his judgement are prepared. Like a lion after it has seized its prey, there is no rescue for those who have turned their back on God.
On that day they will growl at them, like the sea when it growls - and when one looks toward land, one sees darkness closing in; the light is dissipated in the obscuring overcast.
Isaiah tells of the day that God uses the nations to bring judgement on his people. It also describes the day that Yeshua was crucified for our sins as, on that day, it became dark in the middle of the day. Even as God was bringing judgement on his people as Isaiah described, he already had a plan to reconcile all people to him. That, my friends, is how awesome God is!
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