Isaías 5

Isaías 5

Calvin remarks how manifold are the weapons with which God is supplied for punishing our ingratitude when he sees that we despise his kindness Later Isaiah prophesies that… Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, and instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, And it will be a memorial to the Lord, for an everlasting sign which will not be cut off. (Isaiah 55:13) No rain (Lv 26:19; Dt 28:23, 24; Am 4:7, 8) - Would produce barrenness. Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress: vineyard: Ps 80:8, 9, 10, 11,15 Jer 12:10)(his delightful plant: Heb. plant of his pleasures, Isa 62:5 Ps 147:11 149:4 Song 7:6 Zeph 3:17 looked: Isa 5:2 58:6, 7, 8 Ex 22:22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 Mic 6:8 Zec 7:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Mt 3:8, 9, 10 23:23 Jn 15:2 1Co 6:8, 9, 10, 11 1Jn 3:7,8 bloodshed: Isa 1:6 3:17) (cry: Ge 4:10 Ex 2:23,24 3:7 22:21, 22, 23, 24,27 Dt 15:9 Neh 5:1-5 Job 31:38,39 34:28 Pr 21:13 Lk 18:7 Jas 5:4 Isaiah 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE VINEYARD IS GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE For - Surely, truly. Introduces the decisive explanation of the identity of the vineyard. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant - The unsuspecting reader is now shocked by the identification of the Vineyard, which reminds one of how Nathan surprised King David with the indictment "You are the man!" (2Sa 12:7) Israel… Judah - This speaks of all God's chosen people, which may be why some feel the parable is addressed to both the Northern and Southern kingdoms. Looked - Waited expectantly (See note on same Hebrew word translated "expected" Isa 5:2) And what was the fruit? Not justice and righteousness in the lives of His people (especially the leaders or rulers) but bloodshed… cries from the oppressed! Justice {mishpat} … bloodshed {mispach} … righteousness {tsedaqah} … cry {tsa'aqah} - The double play on words emphasizes the point that Jehovah's judgment would bring the opposite of what Israel and Judah were expecting. Why? Because they had not met Jehovah's expectations - He expected justice but they committed bloodshed. He expected righteousness but in their oppression by their enemies they cried for help. This clear prophetic warning was not heeded but ignored. Righteousness - Right living before God and man, ultimately only possible by grace through faith (Ge 15:6). Derek Kidner paraphrases Isaiah's play on the Hebrew words… Did he find right? Nothing but riot! Did he find decency? Only despair. (The New Bible Commentary) There is a similar word play in Jeremiah 1:11, 12 between almond (shaqed) and watching over (shaqad) regarding which W A Criswell comments… Here there is a play on two words which are very similar in appearance and pronunciation. "Almond tree" or "the watcher" (Jer 2:11) is a rendering of the Hebrew word shaqed. The Hebrew term translated "I am ready" ("I am watching over") (Jer 1:12) is shaqad. The ancients often arranged words cleverly by changing the sense of a word through altering a letter, or by playing upon words similar in sound or sense. As Jeremiah observed the almond tree, he was reminded of God's message that divine surveillance accompanies divine pronouncement. (Criswell, W A. Believer's Study Bible: New King James Version. 1991. Thomas Nelson) Cry - Israel and Judah would cry out in distress for help, but their loud wailing would be too little, too late as they say! J C Ryle… He chose Israel to be a people special to himself. He separated them from the other nations of the earth, and bestowed on them countless blessings; he gave them revelations of himself, while all the rest of the earth was in darkness; he gave them the law, and the covenants, and the oracles of God, while all the world beside was let alone. In short, God dealt with the Jews as a man deals with a piece of land which he fences out and cultivates, while all the country around is left untilled and waste. The vineyard of the Lord was the house of Israel (Isaiah 5:7). Isaiah 5:8 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: to those: Jer 22:13, 14, 15, 16, 17 Mic 2:2 Hab 2:9, 10, 11, 12 Mt 23:14 Lk 12:16-24 field: 1Ki 21:16, 17, 18, 19, 20) You have: Heb. ye placed, Ezek 11:15 33:24 Isaiah 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SIX WOES DELIVERED Now in Isa 5:8-15 we are introduced to six woes which specifically identify the reasons justifying God's accusation in Isa 5:7. Woe - Introduces the first of 6 woes. Woe is used mostly by the prophets. It's primary sense is derived from the social context of lamenting at a funeral (1Ki 13:30, Jer 22:18, 34:5) and carries a connotation of death. Woe is also used to mourn the approaching death of someone (Ps 6; Jer 11:18-23) R. J. Clifford found three general uses of hoy in the OT: (1) funeral laments (eight times) usually translated “alas”; (2) a cry to get attention (four times), usually translated “ho” or “ah”; (3) an announcement of doom (forty-one times and used only by the prophets), usually translated “woe to.” The wicked were under the judgment of God and therefore faced a time of ruin and mourning. The only thing left for an unrepentant people was to mourn the destruction of their lives. Smith observes that… The pervasive reality of death in this passage is confirmed by references to the mansions that have no occupants (Is 5:9), the descent of nobles into the grave (Is 5:14), the decaying roots (Is 5:24), and the dead bodies (Is 5:25). (Ibid) Woe (Hebrew = hoy) - 47 verses - 1 Kgs 13:30; Isa 1:4, 24; 5:8, 11, 18, 20ff; 10:1, 5; 17:12; 18:1; 28:1; 29:1, 15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1; 45:9f; 55:1; Jer 22:13, 18; 23:1; 30:7; 34:5; 47:6; 48:1; 50:27; Ezek 13:3, 18; 34:2; Amos 5:18; 6:1; Mic 2:1; Nah 3:1; Hab 2:6, 9, 12, 15, 19; Zeph 2:5; 3:1; Zech 2:6f; 11:17. Translated in the NAS as Ah(2), alas(11), ho(2), ho there(1), woe(34). The corresponding Greek word is ouai which is an injection of grief or denunciation. It expresses extreme pain or displeasure and calls down painful judgment on someone or something. Woe is a cry which says in essence "How horrible it will be!" ("Woe is me!") as it announces horror, disaster, calamity ("Woe to thee!"). Add house to house - Crafty land barons. Greedy grabbers of land. This explains the "cry of distress" in Isa 5:7. Israel was not to be sold off. The implication is they were not honoring the Year of Jubilee but instead were grabbing land. The rich were getting richer and the poor poorer. They were disobeying the Law (Lev 25:23, 24,2 5, 26, 27, 28; 1Ki 21:1, 2, 3). God declared long ago that the land did not belong to Israel… The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me. (Lev 25:23) (Comment: Criswell asks "Who owns the land known today as Israel? God does. The title deed to that land still belongs to Him. Israel, by God's grace, was chosen to be the tenant, but her presence in the land was conditioned upon obedience.") Motyer points out that… Israelite law saw the land as the gift of God (Lv 25:23, 24), and following the original allocation the assumption was that each holding would remain within the family (Lv. 25; Nu. 27:1–11; 36:1–12; Ru. 4:1, 2, 3, 4). But by the time of Isaiah (cf. Mic 2:2, 9) the day of the land-speculator had dawned. Amos 2:6, 7, 8 shows the powerful rich using legal processes to defraud the poor and enrich themselves (The Prophecy of Isaiah- An Introduction & Commentary … Is 5:2) NET Bible notes that… This verse does not condemn real estate endeavors per se, but refers to the way in which the rich bureaucrats of Judah accumulated property by exploiting the poor, in violation of the covenantal principle that the land belonged to God and that every family was to have its own portion of land. Matthew Henry… The world and the flesh are the two great enemies that we are in danger of being overpowered by; yet we are in no danger if we do not ourselves yield to them. Eagerness of the world, and indulgence of the flesh, are the two sins against which the prophet, in God's name, here denounces woes. These were sins which then abounded among the men of Judah, some of the wild grapes they brought forth (Isa 5:4), and for which God threatens to bring ruin upon them. They are sins which we have all need to stand upon our guard against and dread the consequences of. Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways to empty the most populous cities. Those who set their hearts upon the world, will justly be disappointed. The Greed Problem - Herbert Vander Lugt - When I was 15 years old, I spent as much time as I could in the library reading articles and books about social justice. I was troubled by the fact that thousands of men who were willing to work hard could not find a job. I was trying to find out what form of government could best provide economic justice. Through a better understanding of the Bible and after some experience in the workplace, I gradually began to see that human greed, not an economic system, is the culprit. A poor person may envy the rich and strive to gain great wealth, but if he succeeds he discovers that he still wants more. One translation of Ecclesiastes 5:10 states it this way: “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (NIV). Through the prophet Isaiah, God expressed His grief over what greed did to His people (Isa. 5:1-10). He loves justice, but He saw the rich oppress the poor. He loves righteousness, but He heard cries of distress from the lips of the wronged. And He pronounced judgment on the greedy who kept buying more and more with no concern for others. I do not ask for treasures here, To hoard, decay, and rust, But for the better things of life— Humility and trust. —Meadows Money is a good servant but a poor master. Isaiah 5:9 In my ears the LORD of hosts has sworn, "Surely, many houses shall become desolate, even great and fine ones, without occupants: In my ears: Isa 22:14 Am 3:7 Isa 5:6 27:10 Am 5:11 6:11 Mt 22:7 23:38 Isaiah 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries In my ears - Referring to Isaiah's ears. As Amos says… Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7) Surely - Oaths often begin with "Surely" thus the NAS addition of the words "has sworn" is probably correct. LORD of hosts (see Jehovah Sabaoth) - This is God's name picturing Him as the sovereign commander of armies, a fitting description in light of the coming judgment. Desolate (ruin, waste) - This Hebrew word refers to the desolation caused by some great disaster, usually a result of divine judgment (as in the present passage) and stresses the horror caused by the desolation of judgment. The mansions will no longer be occupied. In Second Chronicles one of the reasons that the land was to be desolate for 70 years was because they had failed to allow the land to have its Sabbath rests every seventh year. In short, their 70 year exile in Babylon was… to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah (Jer 25:12), until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete. (2Chr 36:21) Jehovah prophesies the futility of adding house to house, for their mansions would become desolate and the land would become unproductive. God is not against wealth but He is interested in how we use what He gives us (Dt 8:18). Isaiah 5:10 For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one bath of wine, and a homer of seed will yield but an ephah of grain: Lev 27:16 Eze 45:10,11 Joel 1:17 Hag 1:9, 10, 11 Isaiah 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Here we see the covenant curses promised for disobedience… You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it. (Dt 28:38) Ten acres - NET Bible notes that the word for acre is literally "yoke" which "here a unit of square measure. Apparently a ten-yoke vineyard covered the same amount of land it would take ten teams of oxen to plow in a certain period of time. The exact size is unknown." Bath - A liquid measure, estimated at about 6 gallons (some sources list up to 12 gallons). Presumably one would expect ten acres of vineyard to yield far more that 6-12 gallons of wine. For comparison, in the California Napa Valley, one acre yields about 120 gallons of wine. Ten acres in the Napa Valley would be expected to yield about 1200 gallons of wine. Clearly one bath of wine is markedly less than would be expected by these rich land owners and reflects the degree of devastation by the Divine decree. This marked reduction of production from the land is in striking contrast to the promised Millennium about which Isaiah recorded… In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. (Is 4:2) Homer ("bushel") - A dry measure, equal to 10 ephahs. Ephah - Another dry measure. What we see is that one homer of seed (10 ephahs) only yields one ephah of grain, far less than would be expected under normal growing conditions. Imagine the consternation of the farmers - a ratio of 10:1 - seed:grain! James reminds us of the truth which Israel forgot and/or rejected… Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. (James 1:17-note) Motyer quips on the irony of divine justice noting that… The land-hungry end by being hungry, despite all their land. (Ibid) I do not ask for treasures here, To hoard, decay, and rust, But for the better things of life-- Humility and trust. --Meadows Money is a good servant but a poor master. Isaiah 5:11 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: rise: Isa 5:22 28:1 Pr 23:29,30 Ec 10:16,17 Ho 7:5,6 Hab 2:15 Lk 21:34 Ro 13:13 1Co 6:10 Ga 5:21 1Th 5:6,7 inflame: or, pursue, Isa 28:7,8 Pr 20:1 23:32 Isaiah 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Woe - The second woe addresses the drunkard (Is 5:11-17; cf. Is 5:22; Is 19:14; Is 24:20; Is 28:1, 7). Rise early - They wake up to strong drink and go to bed with strong drink. Alcohol is their "life blood", as likely their blood alcohol level would testify! Pursue (radap) is a verb which means to chase after or hotly pursue as when Abraham pursued Lot's captors (Ge 14:14, 15). This verb was used of hunting after animals (1Sa 26:20). In the present context radap pictures men driven by their desire (and need ~ addiction) which causes them to chase after their next drink! Strong drink (sekar) refers to an intoxicating beverage, usually thought to be some kind of beer. Sekar is used 20x in the OT and 5x in Isaiah - Lev 10:9; Nu 6:3; 28:7; Deut 14:26; 29:6; Judg 13:4, 7, 14; 1 Sam 1:15; Ps 69:12; Prov 20:1; 31:4, 6; Isa 5:11, 22; 24:9; 28:7; 29:9; 56:12; Mic 2:11 Pursue strong drink - As seen in one who is fully addicted to alcohol! Pr 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise. (see also Pr 23:29, 30, 31; Hab. 2:15, Ro 13:13, 1Co 6:9, 10) Ryrie notes that Such dissipation brings temporal punishment to nations (Is 5:13) and eternal punishment to individuals (Is 5:14) NET Bible… This verse does not condemn drinking per se, but refers to the carousing lifestyle of the rich bureaucrats, made possible by wealth taken from the poor. Their carousing is not the fundamental problem, but a disgusting symptom of the real disease – their social injustice. Isaiah 5:12 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: the harp: Isa 22:13 Ge 31:27 Job 21:11, 12, 13, 14 Da 5:1, 2, 3, 4,23 Amos 6:4, 5, 6 Lk 16:19 Jude 1:12 they regard: Isa 5:19 Job 34:27 Ps 28:5 92:5,6 Ho 4:10,11 Isaiah 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Their banquets… by wine - They "party hardy" completely insensitive to Jehovah's impending judgment, "fiddling" like Nero did when Rome burned! Notice that wine "tops" off the party. No wine, no party! SENSUAL PROFLIGACY "PARALYZES" SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION Their pleasure-filled living had made them blind to God. Notice that Isaiah clearly links the pursuit of strong drink (Is 5:11) with an insensitivity to the deeds of the LORD. (cp Eph 5:18-note) They do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD (“the work of the Lord they do not look at") - In context the deeds they do not recognize are the indicators of God's imminent (from Latin word = "overhang", what a picture of) judgment (cp Dt 30:19, 20; Amos 3:2) Smith has a pithy comment… Sadly, this intoxicating behavior has dulled their observation of what God was doing in their world (Is 5:12b). What God did was not considered significant, and these divine acts were not understood as part of God's providential rule of the earth. They did not regard the economic and political changes that had already happened within their nation and on the international scene as designed and directed by God's plan for his people. They lacked spiritual perception, for they viewed political events as just the outworking of politicians, not as the hand of God. As Oswalt states, "When the passion for pleasure has become uppermost in a person's life, passion for God and his truth and his ways are squeezed out." Certainly the focus on pleasure and leisure activities in our day has the potential of doing the same thing. (Ibid) The psalmist rightly declares… Psalm 92:5 How great are Your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man has no knowledge, nor does a stupid man understand this