Isaiah 1:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For you shall be like an oak whose leaf withers, and like a garden without water.

NIV: You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water.

NASB: For you will be like an oak whose leaf withers away, Or like a garden that has no water.

CSB: For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, and like a garden without water.

NLT: You will be like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water.

KJV: For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.

NKJV: For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water.

Isaiah has promised from the Lord that those who forsake Him will be consumed and destroyed (Isaiah 1:28). He has included those who worshipped false gods in groves of sacred oak trees and gardens with rituals that may have included sexual immorality. They worshipped false gods in hopes of being made stronger and perhaps more fertile (Isaiah 1:29). .

These unfaithful Israelites will be embarrassed when the Lord's judgment falls. Instead of being stronger, they will end up like withered versions of these oaks and dried up gardens that are set aflame by the smallest spark (Isaiah 1:31). What's depicted here is not a typical autumn where leaves naturally fall. This is a wasting, shriveling experience for the oak, symbolic of intense suffering.

Isaiah 1:21–31 focuses on the city of Jerusalem as representative of the people of Judah in Israel. Once faithful to God and known for justice, the city has become a prostitute and a town in which murderers walk free and leaders are friends with thieves. The Lord declares that He will purify the corruption from the city and return it to a place of justice. Those who repent will be redeemed. Those who don't will be broken and consumed. Those who have worshipped false gods will be embarrassed and then destroyed.

After identifying himself as the son of Amoz, Isaiah begins his vision from the Lord with the introduction of God's lawsuit against the people of Israel. His children are living in rebellion against Him. They are saturated in sin and have forsaken the Lord. Their spiritual sickness will lead to their destruction, though a few will be saved. Their offerings are meaningless because of their sinful lifestyles. If they repent now, they will be redeemed. If not, they will be destroyed. The Lord will restore justice to once righteous Jerusalem. All who do not repent will be consumed.

Isaiah 1 begins Isaiah's massive book of prophecy with the Lord presenting a lawsuit against His people Israel in Judah for breach of covenant. They live in rebellion against Him and are saturated in sin. They refuse to treat their spiritual illness and will be decimated by their enemies. Their offerings are meaningless. They must stop doing evil and start doing what is good. The Lord will burn off the corrupt from Jerusalem and return it to a place of justice and righteousness. Those who refuse to repent will be broken and destroyed.

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).

Accessed 5/5/2024 2:37:22 PM