Isaiah 5 - Printer Friendly

What does Isaiah 5 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

Isaiah 5 begins with a parable in the form of a song. Isaiah sings to his "beloved" about a vineyard. His beloved is revealed to be the Lord, and the vineyard will turn out to be the people of Israel (Isaiah 5:1–7).

Set atop a fertile hill, Isaiah's beloved did the extensive work required to develop his vineyard. He dug out all the stones and planted the vines. He crafted a watchtower in the middle, and he created a wine vat out of the rock. Then he cultivated the vineyard for the two years it takes to produce the first crop of grapes (Isaiah 5:2).

Finally, the grapes came in, but they were sour, making them useless for making wine. Isaiah's beloved called out to the men of Jerusalem and Judah asking what he should have done differently to create usable grapes. Then he declared his plans to lay the vineyard to waste. He would remove the hedge and the wall and allow the animals to come in and eat and destroy the vines. He would not work the ground, allowing the thorns to take root and grow. He would even direct the clouds not to rain on his vineyard (Isaiah 5:3–6).

Next, Isaiah reveals that Israel is the vineyard of the Lord. God's intention was for the people of Judah to be a produce good fruit. Instead of yielding the good grapes of justice, they have produced bloodshed. His people have provoked outcries from those who are mistreated instead of growing righteousness. (Isaiah 5:7)

What follows is the prophet describing a series of "woes" upon Judah and Jerusalem (Isaiah 5:8–22). The Hebrew word translated "woe" is very similar to the English sounds such as "ahh!" or "ohh!" It expresses sadness, pain, or grief. What Israel will experience will be traumatic.

The first "woe" is to those who buy up their neighbor's fields and houses to isolate themselves. They separate from their community in beautiful mansions on great tracks of land. This assumes a form of arrogance and greed which goes beyond simply having a comfortable home. The Lord will bring drought or blight that destroys their wealth and leaves those beautiful houses desolate and empty (Isaiah 5:8–10).

The next "woe" is directed to those who drink alcohol from early in the morning until late at night. The text implies those who are dependent on alcohol or addicted to it. They gather for feasts with live music and drinking, too preoccupied to pay attention to the Lord or notice the works He is doing (Isaiah 5:11–12).

Because of these things, God's people will go into exile because they do not know Him. Those who have grown wealthy greed will go hungry. Those who have made drinking alcohol the point of their lives will go thirsty. Sheol—death, in this context—has opened its mouth to consume the nobility and party people of Jerusalem (Isaiah 5:13–14).

In that moment, those formerly arrogant people will have no choice but to become humble. The Lord will be exalted for restoring justice. He will show Himself holy by ending the sinfulness of His people (Isaiah 5:15–17).

The passage continues with a "woe" to those who intentionally sin. They carry the sin around in full knowledge it is against God's wishes. This is vastly different than those who struggle against sin but fail. These persons are purposefully sneering in God's face: daring Him to react because they don't believe He will. They mock the Lord in disbelief by saying, in essence, "Let God's judgment come quickly! We want to see it. Let Him come here and smite me!" (Isaiah 5:18–19)

The final "woes" are to those who believe their own wisdom above all else. The passage includes a famous condemnation of inverting good and evil, calling one the other. Isaiah also scolds those who are experts at drinking and taking bribes, depriving the innocent of the right to justice due to their greed and hedonism (Isaiah 5:20–23).

The Lord's judgement will be efficient and tireless. Much of the phrasing in this passage is symbolic of God's power, and not necessarily about a literal series of disasters. He will strike His people with fury as unstoppable as an earthquake. Then He will summon the armies of the nations with a whistle. The armies will come running toward Jerusalem well-equipped. The Lord will judge His people (Isaiah 5:24–30).

Isaiah 5:1–7 contains Isaiah's parable about his beloved about their vineyard. His beloved invests time and money to dig stones from the field, plant vines, build a watchtower, and make vats. He does all this work only to find the resulting grapes are sour and useless. The owner declares he will lay waste to the vineyard since the fruit is not good. Isaiah reveals that the vineyard is Israel and the owner is the Lord. He expected Judah to produce justice and integrity, but instead it has yielded trampling down of the weak and an ignoring of God's ways.

Isaiah 5:8–30 contains Isaiah's dire predictions about the upcoming judgment of Israel. The first "woes" are to the greedy and the pleasure-seeking drinkers. They will go into exile and to the grave for refusing to acknowledge God. The Lord then will be exalted for restoring justice and righteousness. The next woes are to those who embrace sin and mock the coming judgment. These are also those people who have mixed evil and good and believe they know better than God. The final listed woes are those who make it a point of pride how much alcohol they can drink, as well as how they can work the system with bribes. The Lord will summon the armies of the nations to bring judgment on His people.

Chapter Summary:

Isaiah 5 begins with a parable about a farmer who builds a vineyard that produces sour grapes. The owner says he will lay waste to the vineyard. Isaiah reveals the owner to be the Lord and the vineyard to be Israel. Israel's bad fruit includes the greed of the wealthy and the hedonism of the people. They will go hungry and thirsty, into exile, and the grave. The Lord will be exalted for His righteousness. Isaiah pronounces woe on the sinners, the mockers, and the unjust rulers. The Lord will summon the nations to judge His people.

Chapter Context:

Early chapters (Isaiah 1—4) established a prophetic message given to the people of Israel. Isaiah 5 begins a new section with a parable about a vineyard that produces wild grapes despite all the work the owner has done. The vineyard is Israel, and the owner is the Lord. He will lay waste to the vineyard for the greed and drunkenness of the people. They will go into exile and the grave. The Lord will be exalted, but woe to those who embrace sin, and mock God's judgment. As well as those who take bribes against the poor. He has summoned the nations. Judgment is coming. The next chapter includes one of the Bible's most famous visions (Isaiah 6).

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).

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