ISAIAH 5 THE LORD'S VINEYARD

 

ISAIAH 5

Destruction of the Lord's Vineyard

 

Isa 5:1  Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 

The prophet sings a song in honour of God, reflecting on His care and attention towards His people, represented as a vineyard. The beloved Lord established His vineyard on the summit of a fertile hill, ensuring it had the best conditions for growth.

Isa 5:2  And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 

God nurtured His vineyard—His people—with great care. He ensured their safety and protection, symbolized by the hedge He placed around it. He removed the stones, making the land suitable for cultivation, and planted it with the finest vine. A watchtower was erected in the midst of the vineyard, allowing early detection of potential threats. He also prepared a winepress, anticipating an abundant harvest. Yet, when the time came, instead of producing good grapes, it yielded wild, corrupt, and bitter fruit. Likewise, the people of God disappointed the Lord, disobeying Him and responding with ingratitude.

Isa 5:3  And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 

God appeals to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, asking them to consider whether their response to His care and provision has been just and proper.

Isa 5:4  What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 

God asks them whether anything was lacking in His care—was there anything more He could have done for them? He questions their carelessness and indifference, highlighting their failure despite His abundant provision. Here, God poses the same question to all of us as sinners: Is there anything more He could have done for us?

Isa 5:5  And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 

The Lord declares the judgment He is about to execute. He will strip away the protective hedge and tear down the walls of security that He had once established, leaving His vineyard exposed and vulnerable—no longer safeguarded, but left to ruin.

Isa 5:6  And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 

The Lord declares that He will withdraw His care and protection, allowing His vineyard—His people—to deteriorate unchecked. Without pruning or cultivation, they will be overtaken by hardship, symbolized by the briers and thorns. Furthermore, He will withhold the blessings that once caused them to flourish, leaving them vulnerable to decline and distress.

Isa 5:7  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 oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. 

The vineyard represents the people of Israel, and the plant in which the Lord delighted symbolizes the men of Judah. God expected them to embody justice and righteousness, yet instead, they brought forth oppression and turmoil. The cry He heard was not the joyful sound of righteousness but the distressing wail of injustice.

Woe to the Wicked

Isa 5:8  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! 

The prophet pronounces judgment upon those consumed by greed—those who relentlessly expand their wealth by acquiring houses and land, disregarding the well-being of others. Their ambition knows no bounds as they stretch their holdings to the point where no space remains, leaving themselves isolated in their own vast dominion.

Isa 5:9  In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. 

The prophet declares God’s judgment: the towering, magnificent homes of the greedy will stand empty and abandoned, stripped of their former splendour.

Isa 5:10  Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. 

Their land, once prosperous, will produce nearly nothing. From ten acres of vineyard, they will reap only a single bath—less than eight gallons of wine. Likewise, from a homer (eight bushels) of grain, they will gather merely an ephah—one-tenth of the expected yield. Their riches, once plentiful, will crumble under divine judgment.

Isa 5:11  Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! 

The prophet pronounces judgment upon those given to intemperance and excess. From the moment they wake, they turn to strong drink, seeking intoxication. They continue drinking throughout the day until, by nightfall, they are overcome—stimulated and consumed by their indulgence.

Isa 5:12  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. 

Their celebrations and banquets are accompanied by music and instruments that stir their passions, leading them further into excess and distraction. In their revelry, they lose sight of God’s works and fail to recognize His presence and dealings in their lives.

Isa 5:13  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. 

Judgment is pronounced upon them—they will be led into captivity because they refused to acknowledge God. The once-honourable men will suffer hunger, their indulgence in wine punished by the cruel irony of intense thirst as they are driven into exile by their captors.

Isa 5:14  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. 

The grave has expanded without limit, as if opening its mouth wide to consume the vast crowds of the proud and the self-indulgent. Their splendour, ostentation, and rejoicing will come to an end as they are swallowed up in destruction.

Isa 5:15  And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: 

People of every rank—whether great or small, powerful or weak—shall be humbled. The proud and the arrogant will be brought low, stripped of their self-importance.

Isa 5:16  But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. 

The LORD will be glorified in His perfect justice, and His holiness will be magnified through His righteous judgments.

Isa 5:17  Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. 

The devoted people of God—the remnant—are symbolized by lambs, feeding freely and without hindrance. The desolate places once occupied by the proud and wealthy will be overtaken by strangers. This verse prophesies the inclusion of the Gentiles in salvation, inheriting what Israel lost through pride and arrogance.

Isa 5:18  Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: 

God’s judgment falls on those who begin with subtle sins—barely noticeable, like fine strands of a web. Yet, sin grows, one act leading to another, until the cords strengthen into thick ropes that bind them, making escape impossible.

Isa 5:19  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! 

Because judgment does not come swiftly, they grow arrogant and defy God. Mockingly, they claim to wait eagerly for His justice, provoking Him with false confidence—pretending they will obey His counsel, but only on their own terms.

Isa 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 

God’s judgment will come upon those who distort and confuse moral truths. They lack discernment and deliberately reject the distinctions between righteousness and wickedness, truth and deception, virtue and sin. Through manipulation, they embrace error over truth and prefer corruption to uprightness. What is good, they condemn as impious, and what is evil, they praise as virtuous. To them, sin is sweet, and righteousness is bitter. They overturn all moral foundations and choose what is wrong.

Isa 5:21  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 

God’s judgment will fall upon those who pride themselves on their own wisdom and understanding. They hold an inflated opinion of themselves, unwilling to heed counsel or correction. Their self-conceit blinds them, preventing them from true wisdom. The Lord desires His people to be humble, teachable, and meek, like children—ready to receive instruction rather than relying on their own misguided sense of superiority.

Isa 5:22  Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: 

Judgment is pronounced upon those who take pride in their excessive drinking, boasting in their ability to consume vast amounts of wine and enhance its potency with other ingredients. They revel in their supposed strength, defying its harmful effects as though immune to its influence.

Isa 5:23  Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! 

Such individuals, unworthy of positions of justice, corrupt the courts by absolving the guilty in exchange for bribes. They strip the righteous of fairness, distorting justice for their own selfish gain.

Isa 5:24  Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth 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. 

The people have thrown away the law of God and have scorned the words of the Holy One of Israel, therefore, the flame of fire shall lick them up completely like hay or dry grass. Also, their sources of strength and prosperity will be consumed away from root to shoot to mere dust.

Isa 5:25  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 carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 

The LORD is enraged against His people, and He stretches out His hand to strike them. At His presence, the hills tremble as if shaken by an earthquake. The dead lie scattered in the streets, unburied like refuse—perhaps due to pestilence or some devastating calamity. Yet, even after this, His anger remains unquenched, and His hand stays outstretched in judgment.

Isa 5:26  And 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: 

The Lord will raise a standard to signal the nations far and near to assemble for a battle against the nation of Judah. Just a blow of whistle would be sufficient to bring them fast to the battlefront.

Isa 5:27  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: 

The army that the Lord summons to conquer the land of Judah consists of bold and courageous men who will not easily fall. They shall be unwearied and indefatigable, pursing their purpose with watchful vigil. They will always be in a state of preparedness with weapons strung around their waist and sandals with strings on feet.

Isa 5:28  Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: 

Their bows are kept ready being bent, their arrows sharp, their horses’ hoofs are strong, hard and unmatched and the chariot wheels go swift raising a cloud of dust like a whirlwind.

Isa 5:29  Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. 

Their battle cry is expected to be frightful and terrible with intense greed to plunder that one can deliver anything out of their hands.

Isa 5:30  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. 

The enemy will come as a vast multitude roaring like an angry sea. There will be no consolation in searching for the shore for distress and calamity shall be everywhere. When the light is turned to darkness, there will be darkness all around.

 

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