Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 5:12

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

God’s love and Judah’s response (5:1-30)

Judah and Israel together are likened to God’s vineyard. God did everything possible to make it healthy, beautiful and fruitful, and he expected a good harvest of grapes, but the people brought God none of the fruit he expected (5:1-4). He therefore will cease to care for them, so that they might be left to suffer whatever ruin their sin brings upon them. Israel has already been destroyed and Judah will now follow (5-7).
Examples of the sins that brought this judgment are now given. The first people to be condemned are the rich landowners, who lend money to the poor at high rates of interest, then seize their lands when they are unable to pay their debts. But the houses and lands that the rich have dishonestly gained will bring them no profit (8-10).
Next to be condemned are the leading citizens of Jerusalem, who live only for pleasure and have fallen under the power of strong drink. Their greed will be replaced by tormenting thirst when they are carried captive into a foreign country. Many will die. The ‘greedy one’ in that day will be the world of the dead (Hebrew: sheol), who will eagerly ‘swallow up’ the multitudes killed by the enemy (11-14). God’s justice will be carried out upon Jerusalem and the wicked city will be left in ruins. Its only inhabitants will be sheep and goats, for all the people will have been taken into captivity (15-17).

The prophet pictures the people of Jerusalem as having so much sin that they pull it along by the cartload. Some actually boast of the amount of sin they commit and challenge God to stop them (18-19). Others try to reverse God’s standards by calling evil good and good evil. They claim that they know everything and have no need of God (20-21). Judges and officials love the social life of the upper classes. They are not interested in administering justice, but only in increasing their own luxury through collecting bribes (22-23).
When a nation claims to be God’s people but defiantly ignores his standards, it only invites his judgment. It is like a field of dry grass about to be burnt (24-25). God responds by sending against it an enemy nation whose army is so highly disciplined, well equipped and fiercely aggressive that Judah cannot possible escape (26-30).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

II. WOE TO PLEASURE-SEEKING, DISSIPATION

"Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that tarry late into the night, till wine inflame them. And the harp and the lute, the tabret, and the pipe, and wine, are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, neither have they considered the operation of his hands."

This is a perfect picture of the reveling, drunken, irresponsibility of countless persons in our own society today; and the ultimate consequences of it shall not be any less serious than those which overtook ancient Israel. The international news services carried a story over the airwaves the very day this is being written stating that, "At least 100,000 deaths every year are caused by the consumption of alcohol in the United States." America seems intent upon drowning themselves in alcohol.

Note also the part played by instruments of music in the reveling and dissipation of the people. It has always been this way; and from the earliest times, instruments of music have been associated with pagan worship, as when, for example, Nebuchadrezzar associated them with the worship of his golden image. The reason for this is visible in the current influence of "rock music" upon teenagers.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The prophet proceeds to state still further the extent of their crimes. This verse contains an account of their dissipated habits, and their consequent forgetfulness of God. That they commonly had musical instruments in their feasts, is evident from many passages of the Old Testament; see Amos 6:5-6. Their feasts, also, were attended with songs; Isaiah 24:8-9.

The harp - - כנור kinnôr. This is a well-known stringed instrument, employed commonly in sacred music. It is often mentioned as having been used to express the pious feelings of David; Psalms 32:2; Psalms 43:4; Psalms 49:5. It is early mentioned as having been invented by Jubal; Genesis 4:21. It is supposed usually to have had ten strings (Josephus, “Ant.” B. x. ch. xii. Section 3). It was played by the hand; 1Sa 16:23; 1 Samuel 18:9. The “root” of the word כנור kinnôr, is unknown. The word “kinnor” is used in all the languages cognate to the Hebrew, and is recognized even in the Persian. It is probable that the instrument here referred to was common in all the oriental nations, as it seems to have been known before the Flood, and of course the knowledge of it would be extended far. It is an oriental name and instrument, and from this word the Greeks derived their word κινύρα kinura. The Septuagint renders it κιθάρα kithara and κινύρα kinura.

Once they substitute for it ὄργανον organon, Psalms 136:2; and five times ψαλτήριον psaltērion, Genesis 4:20; Psalms 48:4; Psalms 80:2; Psalms 149:3; Ezekiel 26:13. The harp - כנור kinnôr - is not only mentioned as having been invented by Jubal, but it is also mentioned by Laban in the description which be gives of various solemnities, in regard to which he assures the fleeing Jacob that it had been his wish to accompany him with all the testimonials of joy - ‘with music - תף tôph and כנור kinnôr;’ Genesis 31:27. In the first age it was consecrated to joy and exultation. Hence, it is referred to as the instrument employed by David to drive away the melancholy of Saul 1 Samuel 16:16-22, and is the instrument usually employed to celebrate the praises of God; Psalms 33:1-2; Psalms 43:4; Psalms 49:5; Psalms 71:22-23. But the harp was not only used on sacred occasions. Isaiah also mentions it as carried about by courtezans Isaiah 23:16, and also refers to it as used on occasions of gathering in the vintage, and of increasing the joy of the festival occasion.

So also it was used in military triumphs. Under the reign of Jehoshaphat, after a victory which had been gained over the Moabites, they returned in triumph to Jerusalem, accompanied with playing on the כנור kinnôr;” 2 Chronicles 20:27-28. The harp was generally used on occasions of joy. Only in one place, in Isaiah Isaiah 16:11, is it referred to as having been employed in times of mourning. There is no ancient figure of the כנור kinnôr that can be relied on as genuine. We can only say that it was an instrument made of sounding wood, and furnished with strings. Josephus says that it was furnished with ten strings, and was played with the plectrum (“Ant.” B. viii. ch. x.) Suidas, in his explanation of it, makes express mention of strings or sinews (p. 318); and Pollux speaks of goats’ claws as being used for the plectrum. David made it out of the ברושׁ b^erôsh, or fir, and Solomon out of the almug. Pfeiffer supposes, that the strings were drawn over the belly of a hollow piece of wood, and that it had some resemblance to our violin. But it is more probable that the common representation of the harp as nearly in the form of a triangle, with one side or the front part missing, is the correct one. For a full discussion of the subject, see Pfeiffer on the Music of the ancient Hebrews, “Bib. Repos.” vol. vi. pp. 366-373. Montfaucon has furnished a drawing of what was supposed to be the ancient כנור kinnôr, which is represented in the book. But, after all, the usual form is not quite certain.

Bruce found a sculpture of a harp resembling that usually put into the hands of David, or nearly in the form of a triangle, and under circumstances which led him to suppose that it was as old as the times of Sesostris.

And the viol - נבל nebel. From this word is derived the Greek word νάβλα nabla, and the Latin nablium and nabla. But it is not very easy to form a correct idea of this instrument. The derivation would lead us to suppose that it was something in the shape of a “bottle,” and it is probable that it had a form in the shape of a leather bottle, such as is used in the East, or at least a vessel in which wine was preserved; 1 Samuel 10:3; 1Sa 25:18; 2 Samuel 16:1. It was at first made of the ברושׁ b^erôsh or fir; afterward it was made of the almug tree, and occasionally it seems to have been made of metal; 2Sa 6:5; 1 Chronicles 13:8. The external parts of the instrument were of wood, over which strings were drawn in various ways. Josephus says it had twelve strings (“Ant.” B. viii. ch. x.) He says also that it was played with the fingers. - “Ibid.” Hesychius and Pollux reckon it among stringed instruments. The resonance had its origin in the vessel or the bottom part of the instrument, upon which the strings were drawn. According to Ovid, this instrument was played on with both hands:

Quaravis mutus erat, voci favisse putatur

Piscis, Aroniae fabula nora lyrae.

Disce etiam duplice genialia palma

Verrere.

De Arte Amandi, lib. iii. 327.

According to Jerome, Isodorus, and Cassiodorus, it had the form of an inverted Greek Delta δ d. Pfeiffer supposes that this instrument was probably the same as is found represented on ancient monument. The belly of the instrument is a wooden bowl, having a small hole in the under part, and is covered over with a stretched skin, which is higher in the middle than at the sides. Two posts, which are fastened together at the top by a cross piece, pass obliquely through this skin. Five strings pass over this skin, having a bridge for their support on the cross piece. The instrument has no pins or screws, but every string is fastened by means of some linen wound with it around this cross piece. The description of this instrument is furnished by Niebuhr (“Thess.” i. p. 179). It is played on in two ways, either by being struck with the finger, or by a piece of leather, or perhaps a quill hung at its side and drawn across the strings. It cannot with certainty be determined when this instrument was invented, or when it came into use among the Hebrews. It is first mentioned in the time of Saul 1 Samuel 10:5, and from this time onward it is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. It was used particularly in the public worship of God; 2 Samuel 6:5; 1 Kings 10:12; 2Ch 20:28; 2 Chronicles 29:25; 1 Chronicles 15:16; 1 Chronicles 16:5. It was usually accompanied with other instruments, and was also used in festivals and entertainments; see “Bib. Repos.” vol. vi. pp. 357-365. The usual form of representing it is shown in the preceding cut, and is the form in which the lyre appears on ancient monuments, in connection with the statues of Apollo.

The drawing in the book is a representation of a lyre from a Jewish shekel of the time of Simon Maccabeus, and may have been, not improbably, a form in frequent use among the Jews.

Niebuhr has furnished us with an instrument from the East, which is supposed to bare a very near resemblance to that which is referred to by Isaiah. This instrument is represented by the picture in the book.

The tabret - תף tôph. This was one of the instruments which were struck with the hands. It was the kettle-drum of the ancients, and it is more easy to determine its form and use than it is of most of the instruments used by the Hebrews. The Septuagint and other Greek translators render it by τύμπανον tumpanon. This word, as well as the Latin tympanum, is manifestly derived from the Hebrew. The Arabic word “duf” applied to the same instrument is also derived from the same Hebrew word. It was an instrument of wood, hollowed out, and covered over with leather and struck with the hands - a species of drum, This form of the drum is used by the Spaniards, and they have preserved it ever since the time of the Moors. It was early used. Laban wished to accompany Jacob with its sound; Genesis 31:27. Miriam, the sister of Moses, and the females with her, accompanied the song of victory with this instrument; Exodus 15:20.

Job was acquainted with it Job 17:6; Job 21:12, and David employed it in the festivities of religion; 2 Samuel 6:5. The occasions on which it is mentioned as being used are joyful occasions, and for the most part those who play on it are females, and on this account they are called ‘drum-beating women’ Psalms 68:26 - in our translation, ‘damsels playing with timbrels,’ In our translation it is rendered “tabret,” Isa 5:12; 1 Samuel 10:5; Genesis 31:26; Isaiah 24:8; Isaiah 30:32; 1 Samuel 18:6; Ezekiel 38:13; Jeremiah 31:4; Job 17:6; “tabering,” Nahum 2:7; and “timbrel,” Psalms 81:2; Exodus 15:20; Job 21:12; Psalms 149:3; Psalms 150:4; Judges 11:34; Psalms 68:25. It is no where mentioned as employed in war or warlike transactions. It was sometimes made by merely stretching leather over a wooden hoop, and thus answered to the instrument known among us as the tambourine. It was in the form of a sieve, and is often found on ancient monuments, and particularly in the hands of Cybele. In the East, there is now no instrument more common than this.

Niebuhr (Thes i. p. 181) has given the following description of it: ‘It is a broad hoop covered on one side with a stretched skin. In the rim there are usually thin round pullies or wheels of metal which make some noise, when this drum, held on high with one hand, is struck with the fingers of the other hand. No musical instrument perhaps is so much employed in Turkey as this. When the females in their harems dance or sing, the time is always beat on this instrument. It is called doff.’ See “Bib. Repos.” vol. vi. pp. 398-402. it is commonly supposed that from the word “toph, Tophet” is derived - a name given to the valley of Jehoshaphat near Jerusalem, because this instrument was used there to drown the cries of children when sacrificed to Moloch.

And pipe. - חליל châlı̂yl. This word is derived either from חלל châlal, “to bore through,” and thence conveys the idea of a flute bored through, and furnished with holes (“Gesenius”); or from חלל châlal, “to leap” or “to dance;” and thence it conveys the idea of an instrument that was played on at the dance. - “Pfeiffer.”

The Greek translators have always rendered it by αὐλός aulos. There are, in all, but four places where it occurs in the Old Testament; 1 Kings 1:40; Isaiah 5:12; Isaiah 30:29; Jeremiah 48:36; and it is uniformly rendered “pipe or pipes,” by our translators. The origin of the pipe is unknown. It was possessed by most ancient nations, though it differed much in form. It was made sometimes of wood, at others of reed, at others of the bones of animals, horns, etc. The “box-wood” has been the common material out of which it was made. It was sometimes used for plaintive music (compare Matthew 9:23); but it was also employed in connection with other instruments, while journeying up to Jerusalem to attend the great feasts there; see the note at Isaiah 30:29. Though employed on plaintive occasions, yet it was also employed in times of joy and pleasure. Hence, in the times of Judas Maccabeus, the Jews complained ‘that all joy had vanished from Jacob, and, that the flute and cithera were silent;’ 1 Macc. 3:45; see “Bib. Repos.” vol. vi. pp. 387-392. The graceful figures (shown in the book) will show the manner of playing the flute or pipe among the Greeks. It was also a common art to play the double flute or pipe, in the East, in the manner represented in the book. In the use of these instruments, in itself there could be no impropriety. That which the prophet rebuked was, that they employed them not for praise, or even for innocent amusement, but that they introduced them to their feasts of revelry, and thus made them the occasion of forgetting God. Forgetfulness of God, in connection with music and dancing, is beautifully described by Job:

They send forth their little ones like a flock,

And their children dance;

They take the timbrel and harp,

And rejoice at the sound of the organ;

They spend their days in mirth,

And in a moment go down to the grave.

And they say unto God -

‘Depart from us;

For we know not the knowledge of thy ways.

What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?

And what profit should we have if we pray unto him?’

Job 21:11-15.

In their feasts - ‘The Nabathaeans of Arabia Petrea always introduced music at their entertainments (Strabo, xvi.), and the custom seems to have been very general among the ancients. They are mentioned as having been essential among the Greeks, from the earliest times; and are pronounced by Homer to be requisite at a feast:

Μολπή τ ̓ ὀρχηστύ; τε τά γάρ τ ̓ ἀναθήματα δαιτός.

Molpē t' orchēstu; te ta gar t' anathēmata daitos.

Odyssey i. 152.

Aristoxenus, quoted by Plutarch, “De Musica,” says, that ‘the music was designed to counteract the effects of inebriety, for as wine discomposes the body and the mind, so music has the power of soothing them, and of restoring their previous calmness and tranquility.’ “See Wilkinsoh’s Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,” vol. ii. pp. 248, 249.

But they regard not ... - The reproof is especially, that they forget him in their entertainments. They employ music to inflame their passions; and amid their songs and wine, their hearts are drawn away from God. That this is the tendency of such feasts, all must know. God is commonly forgotten in such places; and even the sweetest music is made the occasion for stealing the affections from him, and of inflaming the passions, instead of being employed to soften the feelings of the soul, and raise the heart to God.

The operation of his hands - The work of his hands - particularly his dealings among the people. God is round about them with mercy and judgment, but they do not perceive him.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

12.And the harp. He adds the instruments of pleasures by which men addicted to intemperance provoke their appetite. These might be different from ours, but they belonged to music. Now, Isaiah does not blame music, for it is a science which ought not to be despised; but he describes a nation swimming in every kind of luxury, and too much disposed to indulge in pleasures. This is sufficiently evident from what follows.

And they regard not the work of the Lord As if he had said, “They are as constant in luxurious indulgence, and as much devoted to it, as if this had been the purpose for which they were born and reared; and they do not consider why the Lord supplies them with what is necessary.” Men were not born to eat and drink, and wallow in luxury, but to obey God, to worship him devoutly, to acknowledge his goodness, and to endeavor to do what is pleasing in his sight. But when they give themselves up to luxury, when they dance, and sing, and have no other object in view than to spend their life in the highest mirth, they are worse than beasts: for they do not consider for what end God created them, in what manner he governs this world by his providence, and to what end all the actions of our life ought to be directed.

Having stated this meaning, which appears to me to be natural, I consider nothing more to be necessary; for I cannot adopt the ingenious expositions of some authors, such as, when they explain the work of God to mean the law; nor did I intend to state every opinion which others have maintained. It is enough to know that all who are addicted to gormandizing are here subjected by the Prophet to the reproach of voluntarily becoming like brute beasts, when they do not direct their minds to God, who is the author of life.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 5

Now in the fifth chapter the Lord takes up the parable of a vineyard in which He likens Judah or Israel, His people, unto a vineyard.

Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof ( Isaiah 5:1-2 ),

And you that have been over know what a job it is to gather the stones out of the vineyard and you see how that they gathered the stones and make walls with the stones and terraces with the stones. And you that have been there get a good mental picture of that.

and planted it with the choicest vine, and he built a tower in the midst of it ( Isaiah 5:2 ),

Some of these watching towers you'll still discover over there as you go through the land. They have these towers where during the summer season the people move out of the cities and onto the plots of ground that they own in the country. And on these plots of ground they have these towers, and in these towers are the living quarters for the family. And while they are taking care of the crops and harvesting during the summer and autumn period, they live in these towers out in the midst of the fields. And the towers, of course, also serve as watchtowers where they can watch over their land from people who come and try to steal the fruit of the land. So, "He built a tower in the midst of it."

and also he made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.

Now you determine. You make the judgment.

What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? ( Isaiah 5:2-4 )

In other words, God said, "What more could I have done for the people? I brought them into the land. I established them there. They built and established their cities. They planted it. And I did everything for them. What more could I have done for them that I haven't already done? Judge."

Wherefore [or why is it], that when I looked and it should have brought forth grapes, that it brought forth wild grapes? And now go; I'm going to tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; I'm going to break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; and there shall come upon it briers and thorns: that will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold there was oppression; he looked for righteousness, but there was a cry from those who were being oppressed ( Isaiah 5:4-7 ).

God was looking for fruit from His vineyard.

Now, Jesus said, "I am the true vine, My Father is the husbandman, and every branch in Me that bringeth forth fruit He purges or cleanses it that it bringeth forth more fruit" ( John 15:1-2 ). Again, over there in the land you will notice that as you go through the area of Eshcol, where they grow some of the most delicious grapes in the world... man they're great! You go over there in October. Ah, fabulous! But you'll notice these grapevines in Eshcol grow on the ground. Big old main branches that are on the ground, and they prop them up with rocks. They do have some of the grapevines on trellises, but through the valley of Eshcol, most of these big luscious grapes actually grow right on the ground. And you'll see these big old vines just growing on the ground propped up with rocks. And when the grapes come out on the vines they actually lay right on the ground. So as the grapes are developing they will go through the vineyard and they will take these grapes that are there on the ground and they will pick them up and they will wash them, get the dirt and all off of them, as they are developing, and then will usually prop them on a rock or something in order that it might bring forth better fruit. If they just lie on the ground, then the little bugs and all start eating them, so they prop up the grapes after they've washed them in order that they might bring forth better fruit, more fruit. So Jesus is making reference to this.

Now, "My Father is the husbandman and I am the true vine and you're the branches and every branch in me that is bringing forth fruit, He cleanses it, washes it that it might bring forth more fruit." Now He said, "You are clean through the word that I have spoken unto you" ( John 15:3 ). The washing of the Word in my life, the cleansing. Now what is the purpose of the Word? In order that I might bring forth more fruit for God. What is God interested in my life? Fruit. What was He interested in for the nation of Israel? That they would bring forth fruit. Why did He do so much for them? So they would bring forth fruit. Why is God doing so much for us? That we would bring forth fruit unto Him. "And herein is the Father glorified, that you bear much fruit" ( John 15:8 ). That's what God desires of your life, that you bring forth much fruit. So the Lord comes to His garden and He's looking for fruit.

Now it is interesting in the same context in which Jesus takes the vine and makes now the application to the church, He then speaks of the new commandment that I give you that you love one another, and He relates this loving with the fruit that God was looking for. So it's significant that Paul tells us in Galatians, "Now the fruit of the spirit is love" ( Galatians 5:22 ).

Now this is really what God is looking for, because out of love proceeds true judgment, fairness. If you really love, you are not gonna be oppressing someone. So where in the Old Testament it was, "Let's have righteousness, judgment. Let's not oppress the poor," and these kind of things, in the New Testament, it is put in a positive sense, "Hey, let's love one another as we love ourselves. For if we love each other as we love ourselves, we're not gonna be taking advantage of each other. We're not gonna be oppressing each other, but we're gonna be helping one another. We're gonna be lifting up the one that has fallen. We're gonna be giving aid to those that are down. We're going to be concerned with the needs of others." And that's exactly what God is... that's the kind of fruit that God is looking for, for in our lives and in the church today that we really have a genuine love and concern for each other, where we are giving to one another those that are in need, for when one member suffers, they all suffer. We all step in to help the one that is hurting, that is down. That beautiful love within the body where we begin to bear one another's burdens, and thus, we fulfill the law of Jesus Christ. And that's the kind of fruit that God wants from our lives.

Now the opposite to this is selfishness. And that is one of the biggest problems that we have to deal with is our own self-centeredness and our own selfishness, where we're wanting everything for ourselves. We will give as long as it doesn't take away from me, and as long as it doesn't hurt me. But God wants the fruit of love to come forth from His vineyard, and so God comes to His garden to collect His fruit. And if He finds nothing but wild grapes, He'll forsake the garden. He'll say, "This is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna break down the hedge. I'm just gonna let go. If it's going to bear wild grapes, it doesn't need Me. I'm just gonna forsake the garden."

Now God pronounces His woes upon Israel. There are six of them.

Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! ( Isaiah 5:8 )

Sounds like Orange County--all of our subdivisions and condominiums and townhouses; joining house to house; lay field to field so there is no room left.

In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair houses will be without inhabitants ( Isaiah 5:9 ).

And land that will no longer produce, the land will be worn out.

Ten acres of a vineyard will only yield eight gallons of fruit, and eighty-six gallons, a homer, of the seed will only yield about a bushel ( Isaiah 5:10 ).

So real famine conditions.

Woe unto them [second woe] that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night ( Isaiah 5:11 ),

The description of the alcoholic, really.

till wine inflame them! ( Isaiah 5:11 )

When you really get to the... real alcoholism is when you start drinking the moment you get up in the morning, take your first drink to get your day started. That is a sign of real alcoholism. When you get to that point, you are a full-fledged alcoholic when you need to get your day started with a drink. Woe unto them until the wine inflames them!

And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and the wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands ( Isaiah 5:12 ).

People are just looking for entertainment and pleasures, but they don't give God a consideration in their life.

Therefore ( Isaiah 5:13 )

Because of this, because people have become pleasure mad, because people have not regarded God in their lives, God has given them over to captivity.

because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and the multitude is dried up with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat ( Isaiah 5:13-17 ).

The next woe:

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of emptiness, and sin as it were with a cart rope ( Isaiah 5:18 ):

So much sin that it takes a cart rope, a huge rope, to draw it.

That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! ( Isaiah 5:19 )

They begin to challenge God and challenge the judgment of God, "If it's so, let God do something that we might see it, you know. If He's really there."

The next woe:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil ( Isaiah 5:20 );

They call those who believe in creation misfits and fools.

that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ( Isaiah 5:20 )

Now, of course, we are living, I feel, in an age in which we are really calling evil good and good evil. Men who try to stand up for something that is decent and moral are made to look like fools in the paper. If people who are interested in decency and morality get together and decide to do something about child prostitution, child pornography, and some of these other things, then the papers begin to say, "Oh, a threat of Nazism or something, and here they're wanting to rule." And they'll have a picture of Khomeini and they make them look like a bunch of half-witted idiots, you know, that are trying to force moral standards, their own moral standards, upon everyone. All we're saying is we'd like to have a decent place to live. We don't want our children to be exposed to the Playboy cover girls when they have to go to the store to buy a quart of milk. We don't want them to have to deal with the wicked, vile imaginations of perverted men when we send them out to the playgrounds. We want some laws that will really deal with these perverted men who want to display themselves and shock these precious little daughters of ours who are eight and nine years old. We feel that the sickos ought to be put away and should not be a threat to our children. And so we're made to look like a bunch of fools and prudes and idiots.

Yet, the gay community gets together and they have a large banquet in Los Angeles to raise funds in order to lobby for certain legislation that will bring a liberalization for their activities and Governor Brown comes to speak, and the papers herald it as a glorious event, a step of progress for these people. And you don't find a lot of overtones and threats in the papers of all the evil that will take place because the gays have had this big fund-raising dinner and they're going to have money to lobby against legislation that would restrict and restrain their activities to their own kind. But this is heralded in the paper as a marvelous thing. Woe unto those that call good evil and evil good, the editors of our liberal press today. Boy, it's right there. I could go on, but I won't. It's easy to climb on your little box and really wail.

Woe unto those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! ( Isaiah 5:21 )

Men who do not look at themselves in the light of God, men who do not judge themselves by God's standards, but by their own standards.

The sixth woe, and the last:

Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! ( Isaiah 5:22-23 )

God is talking here about the legislators and the judges, and it is interesting that the highest alcoholic consumption in the United States is in Washington, DC. The highest consumption per capita is in Washington D.C. I think that's tragic. All of the lobbying, "which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him," a lot of these edicts that are coming from these boozed legislators and judges and all, and it's tragic. You don't have to go to Washington to find it, you can find it right here in your own local community. It might be a good idea that you examine some of the judges that are sitting on the bench.

Now, I don't blame them for becoming alcoholics. I wouldn't want to be a judge. I wouldn't want to have on my conscience the things that they must have on theirs. And you've got to do something to live with yourself and sleep at night, so I don't blame them for becoming alcoholics. If I weren't a Christian, I'd probably be an alcoholic too. How else are you gonna cope with this stupid world? But woe unto them.

Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still ( Isaiah 5:24-25 ).

God has brought his judgment, but He's not through yet.

For he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: Whose arrows are sharp, and whose bows are bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and the wheels like a whirlwind: Their roaring shall be like a lion, and they shall roar like a young lion; yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall be able to deliver it ( Isaiah 5:26-29 ).

And so Judah, Jerusalem was carried away captive unto Babylon.

And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof ( Isaiah 5:30 ).

So, the opening of Isaiah, the opening judgments of God that are proclaimed, plus always, the glorious light at the end of the tunnel when God has finished with His judgment the glorious kingdom that is coming.

And so we will continue next week with some fabulous prophecies as we get into chapters 6-10. We begin to see the glorious light of the coming Messiah as he begins to make the predictions of that One that God is going to send who will establish a righteous kingdom and bring forth righteous judgment upon the earth.

Shall we stand.

The Bible study tonight can have one of two effects upon you, and it all depends on what you are. Blessings unto the righteous; you'll eat of the fruit of the land. Woe unto the wicked; you think it's bad now, it's gonna get worse. What a hope we have, a blessed hope, of the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who, when He comes, He is gonna change our vile bodies that they might be fashioned just like His own glorious image.

As we get to the twenty-sixth chapter, we find the glorious promise of the Lord taking away His people and hiding them while the time of His indignation and wrath is poured out upon the earth. For a little season, until the judgments are through, then the unfolding of the glory of His new kingdom of which you may all have a part - it's up to you. "Come now let's us reason together saith the Lord." Why should He have to lay more stripes upon you? What's it gonna take to turn you around? What's it gonna take to awaken you to God's love and that which God wants to do for you if you just give Him the chance? Though your sins be as scarlet, they may be as white as snow. God is willing tonight to wash you and cleanse you from every sin, from all iniquity. He's willing to make you over a new person. He's willing, but that's not enough. You must be willing too. If you are, I'd encourage you just go back to the prayer room. Get on your knees before God and say, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." He will. And though your sins be as scarlet, you can walk out of here tonight as white as snow. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Two initial woes 5:8-12

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Sins of the upwardly mobile 5:8-17

This section identifies sins that marked the people among whom Isaiah lived-and their consequences. They are still very much with us.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. The wildness of the grapes 5:8-25

Yahweh’s crop was worthless because it produced wild grapes that manifested six blights. The word "woe" (Heb. hoy), a term of lament and threat, introduces each one (cf. Amos 5:18; Amos 6:1; Revelation 8:13; Revelation 9:12).

"The word ’woe’ itself, appearing six times in the passage, does not just denounce our sins, it laments our sins. The same word is translated ’Ah!’ in Isaiah 1:4 and ’Alas!’ in 1 Kings 13:30. Remember that ’woe’ is the opposite of the word ’blessed’ (cf. Luke 6:20-26)." [Note: Ortlund, p. 66.]

"He [Isaiah] holds up six clusters of wild grapes, as it were, to illustrate what’s going wrong, six ways we resist the grace of God, six answers to the question ’Why?’ Each is presented with a ’Woe.’" [Note: Ibid., p. 68.]

Two double "therefore" sections break the laments into two groups by concluding them (Isaiah 5:13-14; Isaiah 5:24-25). The "woe" sections emphasize the crop produced, and the "therefore" sections the harvest (judgment) to come. In the "woes" there is a chiastic progression.

A    The property motive (Isaiah 5:8-10)

    B    Self-indulgence (Isaiah 5:11-12)

        C    Sin pursued (Isaiah 5:18-19)

        C’    Sin justified (Isaiah 5:20)

    B’    Self-conceit (Isaiah 5:21)

A’    The money motive (Isaiah 5:22-23) [Note: Adapted from Motyer, p. 70. For a rhetorical critical study of the passage, see Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "Structure, Style, and the Prophetic Message: An Analysis of Isaiah 5:8-30," Bibliotheca Sacra 143:569 (January-March 1986):46-60.]

One writer saw saw six things the Lord hates in these sections: greed (Isaiah 5:8), hedonism (Isaiah 5:11-13), rebellion (Isaiah 5:18-19), immorality (Isaiah 5:20), pride (Isaiah 5:21), and injustice (Isaiah 5:22-23). [Note: Dyer, p. 531]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The second blight on the "grapes" was pleasure-seeking. In Isaiah’s day this vice manifested itself in drinking too much wine and strong drink, usually at a continuous round of parties (cf. Isaiah 22:13; Isaiah 28:1-8; Hosea 7:5; Joel 3:3; Amos 6:6). These people were "party animals" who paid no attention to the Lord or His works. Seeking pleasure is not wrong in itself unless it becomes too absorbing, as it had with many Israelites. Too much partying produces insensitivity to spiritual things.

"When the passion for pleasure has become uppermost in a person’s life, passion for God and his truth and his ways is squeezed out." [Note: Oswalt, p. 160.]

Gann's Commentary on the Bible

wine at their feasts The second woe is directed at those who have essentially made a religion out of drunken partying. They are so besotted with their depraved and self-centered lifestyle that they have no time to give heed to the “deeds of Yahweh” or pay attention to affairs of state when invasion and siege is on the horizon.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe,.... Instruments of music; some struck with a bow or quill, or touched with the fingers; and others blown with the mouth:

and wine are in their feasts; so that they lived jovially and merrily, like sons of Bacchus, more than like the people of God:

but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands; meaning not the law, as the Targum and Kimchi, which was the work of the Lord, and the writing of his hands; rather, as Aben Ezra, the punishment inflicted on the ten tribes being carried into captivity; or else the works of creation and providence, and the daily mercies of life; or, best of all, the great work of redemption by Christ, and the conversion of sinners, both among Jews and Gentiles, by the preaching of his Gospel; for this refers to the Jews in the times of Christ and his apostles, which immediately preceded their utter destruction; and those sins here mentioned were the cause of it. See Psalms 28:5.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!   9 In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.   10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah.   11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!   12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.   13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.   14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.   15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:   16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.   17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

      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 (Isaiah 5:4; Isaiah 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.

      I. Here is a woe to those who set their hearts upon the wealth of the world, and place their happiness in that, and increase it to themselves by indirect and unlawful means (Isaiah 5:8; Isaiah 5:8), who join house to house and lay field to field, till there be no place, no room for anybody to live by them. If they could succeed, they would be placed alone in the midst of the earth, would monopolize possessions and preferments, and engross all profits and employments to themselves. Not that it is a sin for those who have a house and a field, of they have wherewithal, to purchase another; but

      1. Their fault is, (1.) That they are inordinate in their desires to enrich themselves, and make it their whole care and business to raise an estate, as if they had nothing to mind, nothing to seek, nothing to do, in this world, but that. They never know when they have enough, but the more they have the more they would have; and, like the daughters of the horseleech, they cry, Give, give. They cannot enjoy what they have, nor do good with it, but are constantly contriving and studying to make it more. They must have variety of houses, a winter-house, and a summer-house, and if another man's house or field lie convenient to theirs, as Naboth's vineyard to Ahab's, they must have that too, or they cannot be easy. (2.) That they are herein careless of others, nay, and injurious to them. They would live so as to let nobody live but themselves. So that their insatiable covetings may be gratified, they care not what becomes of all about them, what encroachments they make upon their neighbours' rights, what hardships they put upon those that they have power over or advantage against, nor what base and wicked arts they use to heap up treasure to themselves. They would swell so big as to fill all space, and yet are still unsatisfied (Ecclesiastes 5:10), as Alexander, who, when he fancied he had conquered the world, wept because he had not another world to conquer. Deficiente terrâ, non impletur avaritia--If the whole earth were monopolized, avarice would thirst for more. What! will you be placed alone in the midst of the earth? (so some read it); will you be so foolish as to desire it, when we have so much need of the service of others and so much comfort in their society? Will you be so foolish as to expect that the earth shall be forsaken for us (Job 18:4), when it is by multitudes that the earth is to be replenished? An propter vos solos tanta terra creata est?--Was the wide world created merely for you? Lyra.

      2. That which is threatened as the punishment of this sin is that neither the houses nor the fields they were thus greedy of should turn to any account, Isaiah 5:9; Isaiah 5:10. God whispered it to the prophet in his ear, as he speaks in a like case (Isaiah 22:14; Isaiah 22:14): It was revealed in my ears by the Lord of hosts (as God told Samuel a thing in his ear,1 Samuel 9:15); he thought he heard it still sounding in his ears; but he proclaimed it, as he ought, upon the house-tops,Matthew 10:27. (1.) That the houses they were so fond of should be untenanted, should stand long empty, and should yield them no rent, and go out of repair: Many houses shall be desolate, the people that should dwell in them, being cut off by sword, famine, or pestilence, or carried into captivity; or trade being dead, and poverty coming upon the country like an armed man, those that had been housekeepers were forced to become lodgers, or shift for themselves elsewhere. Even great and fair houses, that would invite tenants, and (there being a scarcity of tenants) might be taken at low rates, shall stand empty without inhabitants. God created not the earth in vain; he formed it to be inhabited,Isaiah 45:18; Isaiah 45:18. But men's projects are often frustrated, and what they frame answers not the intention. We have a saying, That fools build houses for wise men to live in; but sometimes, as the event proves, they are built for no man to live in. God has many ways to empty the most populous cities. (2.) That the fields they were so fond of should be unfruitful (Isaiah 5:10; Isaiah 5:10): Ten acres of vineyard shall yield only such a quantity of grapes as will make but one bath of wine (which was about eight gallons), and the seed of a homer, a bushel's sowing of ground, shall yield but an ephah, which was the tenth part of a homer; so that through the barrenness of the ground, or the unreasonableness of the weather, they should not have more than a tenth part of their seed again. Note, Those that set their hearts upon the world will justly be disappointed in their expectations from it.

      II. Here is a woe to those that dote upon the pleasures and delights of sense, Isaiah 5:11; Isaiah 5:12. Sensuality ruins men as certainly as worldliness and oppression. As Christ pronounces a woe against those that are rich, so also against those that laugh now and are full (Luke 6:24; Luke 6:25), and fare sumptuously, Luke 16:19. Observe,

      1. Who the sinners are against whom this woe is denounced. (1.) They are such as are given to drink; they make their drinking their business, have their hearts upon it, and overcharge themselves with it. They rise early to follow strong drink, as husbandmen and tradesmen do to follow their employments; as if they were afraid of losing time from that which is the greatest misspending of time. Whereas commonly those that are drunken are drunken in the night, when they have despatched the business of the day, these neglect business, abandon it, and give up themselves to the service of the flesh; for they sit at their cups all day, and continue till night, till wine inflame them--inflame their lusts (chambering and wantonness follow upon rioting and drunkenness)--inflame their passions; for who but such have contentions and wounds without cause?Proverbs 23:29-35. They make a perfect trade of drinking; nor do they seek the shelter of the night for this work of darkness, as men ashamed of it, but count it a pleasure to riot in the day-time. See 2 Peter 2:13. (2.) They are such as are given to mirth. They have their feasts, and they are so merrily disposed that they cannot dine or sup without music, musical instruments of all sorts, like David (Amos 6:5), like Solomon (Ecclesiastes 2:8); the harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe, must accompany the wine, that every sense may be gratified to a nicety; they take the timbrel and harp,Job 21:12. The use of music is lawful in itself; but when it is excessive, when we set our hearts upon it, misspend time in it, so that it crowds our spiritual and divine pleasures and draws away the heart from God, then it turns into sin for us. (3.) They are such as never give their mind to any thing that is serious: They regard not the work of the Lord; they observe not his power, wisdom, and goodness, in those creatures which they abuse and subject to vanity, nor the bounty of his providence in giving them those good things which they make the food and fuel of their lusts. God's judgments have already seized them, and they are under the tokens of his displeasure, but they regard not; they consider not the hand of God in all these things; his hand is lifted up, but they will not see, because they will not disturb themselves in their pleasures nor think what God is doing with them.

      2. What the judgments are which are denounced against them, and in part executed. It is here foretold, (1.) that they should be dislodged; the land should spue out these drunkards (Isaiah 5:13; Isaiah 5:13): My people (so they call themselves, and were proud of it) have therefore gone into captivity, are as sure to go as if they were gone already, because they have no knowledge; how should they have knowledge when by their excessive drinking they make sots and fools of themselves? They set up for wits; but because they regard not God's controversy with them, nor take any care to make their peace with him, they may truly be said to have no knowledge; and the reason is because they will have none; they are inconsiderate and wilful, and are therefore destroyed for lack of knowledge. (2.) That they should be impoverished, and come to want that which they had wasted and abused to excess: Even their glory are men of famine, subject to it and slain by it; and their multitude are dried up with thirst. Both the great men and the common people are ready to perish for want of bread and water. This is the effect of the failure of the corn (Isaiah 5:10; Isaiah 5:10), for the king himself is served of the field,Ecclesiastes 5:9. And when the vintage fails the drunkards are called upon to weep, because the new wine is cut off from their mouth (Joel 1:5), and not so much because now they want it as because when they had it they abused it. It is just with God to make men want that for necessity which they have abused to excess. (3.) What multitudes should be cut off by famine and sword (Isaiah 5:14; Isaiah 5:14): Therefore hell has enlarged herself. Tophet, the common burying-place, proves too little; so many are there to be buried that they shall be forced to enlarge it. The grave has opened her mouth without measure, never saying, It is enough,Proverbs 30:15; Proverbs 30:16. It may be understood of the place of the damned; luxury and sensuality fill these regions of darkness and horror; there those are tormented who made a god of their belly, Luke 16:25; Philippians 3:19. (4.) That they should be humbled and abased, and all their honours laid in the dust. This will be done effectually by death and the grave: Their glory shall descend, not only to the earth, but into it; it shall not descend after them (Psalms 49:17), to stand them in any stead on the other side death, but it shall die and be buried with them--poor glory, which will thus wither! Did they glory in their numbers? Their multitude shall go down to the pit, Ezekiel 31:18; Ezekiel 32:32. Did they glory in the figure they made? Their pomp shall be at an end; their shouts with which they triumphed, and were attended. Did they glory in their mirth? Death will turn it into mourning; he that rejoices and revels, and never knows what it is to be serious, shall go thither where there are weeping and wailing. Thus the mean man and the mighty man meet together in the grave and under mortifying judgments. Let a man be ever so high, death will bring him low--ever so mean, death will bring him lower, in the prospect of which the eyes of the lofty should now be humbled, Isaiah 5:15; Isaiah 5:15. It becomes those to look low that must shortly be laid low.

      3. What the fruit of these judgments shall be.

      (1.) God shall be glorified, Isaiah 5:16; Isaiah 5:16. He that is the Lord of hosts, and the holy God, shall be exalted and sanctified in the judgment and righteousness of these dispensations. His justice must be owned in bringing those low what exalted themselves; and herein he is glorified, [1.] As a God is irresistible power. He will herein be exalted as the Lord of hosts, that is able to break the strongest, humble the proudest, and tame the most unruly. Power is not exalted but in judgment. It is the honour of God that, though he has a mighty arm, yet judgment and justice are always the habitation of his throne,Psalms 89:13; Psalms 89:14. [2.] As a God of unspotted purity. He that is holy, infinitely holy, shall be sanctified (that is, shall be owned and declared to be holy) in the righteous punishment of proud men. Note, When proud men are humbled the great God is honoured, and ought to be honoured by us.

      (2.) Good people shall be relieved and succoured (Isaiah 5:17; Isaiah 5:17): Then shall the lambs feed after their manner; the meek ones of the earth, who followed the Lamb, who were persecuted, and put into fear by those proud oppressors, shall feed quietly, feed in the green pastures, and there shall be none to make them afraid. See Ezekiel 34:14. When the enemies of the church are cut off then have the churches rest. They shall feed at their pleasure; so some read it. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth, and delight themselves in abundant peace. They shall feed according to their order or capacity (so others read it), as they are able to hear the word, that bread of life.

      (3.) The country shall be laid waste, and become a prey to the neighbours: The waste places of the fats ones, the possessions of those rich men that lived at their ease, shall be eaten by strangers that were nothing akin to them. In the captivity the poor of the land were left for vine-dressers and husbandmen (2 Kings 25:12); these were the lambs that fed in the pastures of the fats ones, which were laid in common for strangers to eat. When the church of the Jews, those fat ones, was laid waste, their privileges were transferred to the Gentiles, who had been long strangers, and the lambs of Christ's flock were welcome to them.