II. JERUSALEM OF "THE LAST DAYS" WILL BE UNLIKE THE PRESENT JERUSALEM (CONTINUED) (2:1-5:30)
D. The Song Of The Lord's Vineyard (5:1-7)
(1) Here the prophet changes his approach by using a parable that he sings to the people. He shows his listeners a loving Vinedresser that prepares and plants a vineyard. The prophet conjures a picture in his listener's minds that is more beautiful than the rocky hills of Palestine.
(2) After all His work, the Husbandman expected a glorious harvest, but instead received a harvest of sour, harsh, wild grapes. How disappointed He was!
(3) Now the song becomes a lament, first for Jerusalem, then for Judah.
(4) What could have gone wrong with the vineyard to yield such an unexpected crop?
(5) Since the vineyard is His creation, the Husbandman claims the right to abandon His work to destruction. He will allow the garden to trampled and eaten by the beasts.
(6) Without tending, the vineyard will soon be overrun. The Beloved will not water His garden by exerting Divine control over the elements.
(7) The prophet plainly explains his poem. The vineyard is the house of Israel and the plants represent the men of Judah. He looked for mishpat (justice), but found mispah (bloodshed); He looked for sedakah (righteousness), but found seakah (a cry). The people had failed in their mission for Jehovah, so their special place in His providence would be removed (Job 1:21).
E. Six Woes Upon The Wicked (5:8-23) - The prophet will now set forth the features of a corrupt civilization. Will we see the so-called civilized nations of our time reflected in these verses as well. Greed, avarice, alcoholism, and pursuit of the sensual had hardened the hearts of the people to the extent that they could no longer discern good from evil. They held their "wisdom" above God's true wisdom. Their end would be judgment and destruction.
1. Against insatiable greed for land and houses (5:8-10)
(8) In the cities, the rich become slumlords, while in the country they become land barons. In either case, oppressing the poor, by putting them out of house and home (Mic. 2:2).
(9) The judgment against these greedy ones will be that their houses will become desolate and will fall into a state of decay.
(10) Their lands will become unproductive as predicted by Moses (Lev. 26:20; Deut. 28:16-19). Ten acres of vineyard will only produce eight gallons of wine, the crops will produce only one-tenth of the seed sown. Eventually, God always stands in the way of unholy ambition.
2. Against uncontrolled and frivolous living (5:11-17)
(11) The daily practice of the people is to rise up in the morning and proceed to get drunk. These drinks included wines as well as other intoxicating beverages made from various fruits and grains. They continued drinking all day and into the night.
(12) Alcohol related crimes have plagued every so-called civilized nation. Accompanying drinking is partying and lasciviousness. In addition to alcohol, add today's obsession with drugs and narcotics, and we see a hedonistic, morally and socially depraved society headed to "hell in a hand basket!" Alcoholics and drug addicts can only think of one thing: obtaining their next "fix" (Prov. 23:31-32).
(13) The impending captivity of the people is so certain that the prophet speaks of it as if it had already happened. Indeed the people are already in captivity to their own sins and like Israel they are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6). The people will find themselves famished and parched from lack of food and drink, the very things in which they had overindulged.
(14) Sheol, here probably means an open grave. It is greedy for occupants of the ilk of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Their glory will be destroyed and their nation will be taken captive.
(15,16) Because Jehovah is righteous in His judgment, He will be exalted by the righteous remnant, for righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne (Ps. 89:14; 97:2).
(17) Once Jehovah is exalted, the land will be returned to the sheep and the wandering nomads.
3. Against defiance toward God (5:18-19)
(18) Here men are pictured as pulling their iniquities along as if harnessed to them like a ox or mule. They have become slaves to a master ­ their sins.
(19) Still, these sinners find time to mock the Lord. In normal times it is easy to be flippant, but when the terror comes it will be an entirely different story (review Isa. 2:19).
4. Against reversing moral distinctions (5:20)
(20) When people began to ridicule God, then His moral laws also are under ridicule. Spiritual blindness and deafness leads to moral perversity. We see this lack of distinction between good and evil in today's society as well. Binge drinking, lascivious living, and rebellion against authority are all looked on as "normal phases" that everyone passes through to some extent. The world calls it "sowing your wild oats" and tends to ignore it. But sin is sin, and sin is defiance against God, rebellion against His will, and an effort to topple His moral standards.
5. Against conceit (5:21)
(21) If man is going to reject God's authority, then the only authority he has to fall back on, is his own. It's Satan trap that men fall into when they forsake the source of true wisdom (Jehovah) and rely on their own sorry substitute.
6. Against perverting justice and righteousness (5:22-23)
(22,23) The rulers were addicted to strong drink and were thus unable to rule with a clear mind. Instead of being known for their ability to rule and judge they were better known for their ability to mix a strong drink. Hosea's prophecy to the north finds its application as well in the south (Hos. 4:11,12).
F. Because God's People Despised His Word, He Will Bring The Nations Against Them (5:24-30)
(24) Now the prophet declares the consequences for the conditions he has just discussed. The judgment is styled as a great fire or great earthquake. The fire will destroy even to the root of the plant, there will be no life left. This judgment will take place because the people have rejected Jehovah and His Word. Since Israel was the only nation that had God and His Word, their judgment for rejection would be that much more severe.
(25) Now the judgment is seen as a great earthquake, littering the streets with corpses. Whether Isaiah is speaking of physical destruction or figurative destruction is a good question. Regardless, the basic principle holds true ­ no repentance on the part of the people will bring judgment from God.
(26) Even a more terrible judgment is on its way. God will send a signal to a foreign power to come and capture the land.
(27) In response to God's call, this nation will come prepared to do battle and find victory.
(28-30) This nation will be prepared for immediate conflict. Their horses will be strong and their chariots fast. The land will be completely engulfed by this invading horde. Isaiah was reiterating Moses prophecy of 700 years earlier (Deut. 28:49-52). Isaiah will later identify these invaders as the Assyrians (Isa. 7:17; 8:7; 10:5; etc.). Due to the efforts of Isaiah, Micah and King Hezekiah, Judah and Jerusalem would escape the Assyrian invasion. While avoiding Assyria, Judah would eventually yield to Babylon as prophesied by Moses (Lev. 26; Deut. 28), Isaiah (39) and Habakkuk (Hab. 1:5-11).
Isaiah has thus far presented three distinct prophecies that set the pattern for the rest of the book: 1, Corruption and sin would bring judgment upon the people. 2, Even though physical Zion was sin-cursed an ideal Zion would emerge from the chastening, washing, and purification processes. 3, The terrible judgment that is coming will not bring the entire nation to repentance, but a chastened and purged remnant. [TOP OF THIS CHAPTER]
III. ISAIAH'S VISION AND CALL (6:1-13)
There is quite a bit of disagreement between the commentators as to why Isaiah waits until the sixth chapter to reveal his calling. Perhaps if we look at chapters 1-5 as an introduction to his message, chapter 6 as Isaiah's credentials, and chapters 7-66 as the message, we will be close to understanding Isaiah's own outline of his God-given prophecy.
A. The Vision Of God's Throne (6:1-4)
(1) Many scholars accept the year 740-739 B.C. as the year of King Uzziah's death. With his death began the steep decline in Judah's history. So begins the first phase of the theme of Isaiah's prophecy: decline - conflict - captivity - return - Redeemer. In his vision Isaiah saw the Lord, whom Hailey believes to be Jesus Himself (Jn. 12:41), since no man has seen the Father (Jn. 1:18; 1 Tim. 6:16).
(2) Here we have the only Biblical appearance of the seraphim, or "fiery being" a special class of angel not to be confused with Ezekiel's cherubim. From this passage we learn they have wings, faces, feet and voices. They use their voices to praise the Lord and two of their wings to fly. Their number is not known, but there appears to be a host.
(3) Their threefold cry of holy, holy, holy, indicates the absolute holiness of Him being worshipped. Remember, three is the number for divinity. While many pagan religions hold that God is one with the universe, Isaiah portrays Him as separate and above His creation (Eph. 4:6; Ps. 19).
(4) Compare this scene (with its smoke) to (Ps. 18:8; 2 Sam. 22:9) and especially John's vision of (Rev. 15:8). It appears that the smoke here should be identified with God's wrath.
B. Isaiah's Call To The Prophetic Work (6:5-13)
(5) Now the prophet realizes his unworthiness to be admitted to this throne room. Here the prophet pronounces his seventh woe ­ upon himself. Isaiah knows that even the most godly man is unclean when set beside the divine standard and even someone living a godly life can become unintentionally, perhaps even unconsciously tainted by the world around him.
(6) Upon this cry from the prophet, one of the seraphs comes and touches a live coal to his lips.
(7) The purpose of the coal was to cleanse Isaiah. To be an acceptable servant of God one's sin and guilt must be blotted out. Neither the seraph nor the coal forgave Isaiah of his sins, but instead Isaiah's acknowledgement and repentance led God to forgive him. Isaiah was now prepared to be an acceptable apostle for the Lord to Judah.
(8) Recognizing that he is indeed prepared and ready to be the Lord's prophet, Isaiah responds to the Lord's invitation, "Here am I, send me."
(9) His mission is to preach to a people (formerly "my people" or "his people") that will not listen. They will not understand, perceive the truth of, nor apply his message.
(10) What should cause the people to repent and turn back to God will in fact do just the opposite - lead to total apostasy. God is not predetermining the outcome of Isaiah's preaching, but only foretelling the outcome. While Jehovah knows he will lose the nation, a remnant will be saved. It is on behalf of this remnant that Isaiah is sent forth.
(11,12) Isaiah is to continue preaching until the people's hearts are completely hardened towards God. Until the land is destroyed, the cities desolate, and the people taken captive.
(13) The remnant will be small, a remnant of a remnant (compare to Rom. 11:5; Eze. 5:1-4).