Exposition by Max A Forsythe
The opening seven verses of chapter five are very clearly a song. Line after line of Hebrew rhymes follow after one another. In my mind, given the sad themes I wanted to say that this was Isaiah's country western lament! But, that would be too disrespectful wouldn't it? Then as I read Edward J. Young's commentary he describes Isaiah's work as that of a folk singer here. So perhaps my first impression is not too far off. There is after all a certain sadness in this passage and the theme of lost love is often widely sung. But even as the vineyard disappointed the Lord so may the song disappoint us. The sour notes of sour grapes and profit are not for entertainment but for teaching.
How often are difficult texts such as ours preached publicly in our day and age when mere entertainment is preferred to hard teaching? And yet the sad songs of country western singers are widely popular. Lost loves, hard drinking and deceitful relationships are often preferred to solemn songs of praise and thankfulness. And what do we see that follows along after this song? Is it not the very same sad themes?
The singer of the sad lament that opens our chapter is none other than the Lord God Almighty, and the lost love is none other than the members of the Old Testament Church, the people of His own heart, Israel. The song is also prophetic in describing the fallen walls of the future and the future desolation of Israel when those present blessings of the Lord would cease.
What grievous crimes have Israel committed to bring this terrible judgment upon themselves? Isaiah well describes the reason for the Woe to come. Six times he expands the reasons for the coming judgment. The six woes spell out the crimes of God's people in Israel. These include greed, drunkenness, cynicism, distortion, foolishness and corruption.
These are the bitter fruits of God's choicest vineyard. This harvest is the cause of Israel's downfall.
The first woe is one well known in my area. Ten years ago my sister and her husband moved into a set of farm buildings. I was invited to take a grand tour. There was a huge bank barn, a very nice hog house, a large granary and numerous sheds for specialized functions. All of this plus a house on less than two acres of land. The rest of the acreage had been added onto another growing farm. This separation of farm from buildings is widely multiplied across our country. Wendell Berry in his book,
The Unsettling of America puts his finger squarely on the prime cause for this regular phenomenon. The exploitation of small farms for the benefit of growing agri-businesses is caused by greed.
The second woe involves the addiction to alcohol. Notice the habitual drunk in verse eleven who goes after the hard stuff first thing in the morning. A few years ago, one of my students came in a little late. Everybody turned up his or her nose at the blatant smell of alcohol. It was even so bad that I could smell it. I made a quick phone call and the nurse came to take him away. It was only 0845 in the morning. Other students stay up to late and party hearty many nights of the week. It is sad when we call parents to come and pick up their students under the influence of alcohol. You see, they are relieved that it isn't a worse drug.
The third woe is for the cynics who show contempt for the true faith in our Creator God. Look at verse nineteen, where they publicly deride the work of the Lord in history. Let us see Him do His work, let His judgment come. Ha, Ha they would exclaim because they do not expect any such thing to happen. Is God's judgment really coming they wonder? Even as God's judgment is worked out, they will not realize it nor see the hand of the Lord in history. The natural calamities, which have scourged our nation in the last few years, are not seen as part of a growing pattern of judgment upon this people! Even if these judgments were well announced, the fact that the Lord is moving would be suspected and even ignored. Drought, plague, hurricane, flood, and earthquakes are only natural phenomenon to the worldly.
The fourth woe is reserved for those in our society who would blaspheme the Spirit of our God by distorting the very truth, which could save them. In Washington DC, the very closets once reserved for the Sodomites have been crammed full of evangelical fundamentalists. Only in a desperate move to save a failing television epic will such funny fundamentalists be part of the story line in L.A. Law this fall. A major news magazine gave a four-page spread to a feminist author who would only debunk the Holy Word. Good is bad and bad is good and such is the entertainment of Bevis & [Pinhead] who are strangely popular in an industry turned upside down.
The fifth woe is for the foolish of our time that reject the wisdom of our God and King for the strange notions of their own mind. Such foolishness may well lead to moral estrangement. The impact of the Hebrew for fool is that people act upon their own notions instead of respecting clear regulations of our God who has revealed Himself and His will over the course of many generations. The fool would rather not contemplate any righteous God, because they could not do whatsoever they would will for themselves. If all of these woes were not enough, there is the last woe of corruption. There are rumors that one very high and mighty official received thousands of dollars as a bribe. It our present administration was of another party, the media gadflies would have called for his blood and his head long ago. However, the evidence is not all in yet, so there is no haste to expose what ought to be given time to grow stale.
One commentator guessed that if we would root out public corruption in the federal, state and local pocketbooks at the very least, one third of our expenditures could be saved. What would the Lord do to Israel, what will he plan for our nation in our day?
To every woe here exposed in this chapter, Derek Thomas in his commentary tells us that a judgment is attached. In verse nine, houses are to be laid waste. In verse fifteen, the arrogant will be humbled. In verse thirteen and twenty-four, the drunkards will die of thirst. In verse twenty-five, God's anger will burn against them and in verse fourteen the grave will receive them. God will not tolerate wickedness forever. Isaiah prophesies Israel's future in verses twenty-six and seven. God whistles for those at the ends of the earth!
In Isaiah's time, not much was known about the peoples on the other side of the dangerous Caucus mountains separating the Mideast from what is now the vast remnants of Soviet rule. Assyria lay on the south side of those mountains and in the mind of Isaiah they came from the northern end of the known realms.
These are dangerous foes. They are hardened warriors, not like those of Israel described in verse twenty-two that are drunk with wine and fat from pleasure. A movie critic, who really enjoyed the new movie Gettysburg coming our way soon tells us that there is one image that the reenactors have very wrong. Yes, the uniforms are correct down to the last button, and the rifles and bayonets would pass inspection before General Custer himself. But, the confederate soldiers are just plain too pleasantly plump! Fat rebels I believe he termed them. The Army of Northern Virginia they aren't. Neither are they the Assyrian lions roaring their way into battle!
O Israel, Isaiah would plead, recognize your sins, repent and ask for forgiveness before the hour is too late. But Isaiah's people live in an unholy church. The life of faith is sadly missing and the anger of the Lord is being provoked. For this reason, God will shake the foundations of Israel. For the same reasons God may well indeed shake the foundations of our Republic as well. Are you ready for His judgment to come upon our land today? May you put your heart and your house in order before it is too late. Amen.
Resources Used:
Ellis, Charles..
The Wells of Salvation.
Thomas, Derek..
Welwyn Commentery Series: God Delivers.
Young, Edward J.
The Book of Isaiah.
The Holy Bible.
New International Version (1984 Edition)
NOTE: I am not able to automatically
recommend any future editions.
Christ Covenant Reformed (Presbyterian Church in America) -
Box 13926 - Columbus, OH 43213
(c) 2001
24 October 93
Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.