7/05/17 Isaiah 5:11-23 “Why
should God’s counsel spoil all your fun?”
Isaiah 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 second woe. Woe to those who
get up early in the morning so that they don’t waste any drinking time. It also
strongly implies that the main or even only reason they got up early was in
order to drink; there was little point to getting up early if they couldn’t
have their grog! Getting drunk (or intoxicated – until wine inflames, excites,
stimulates them) appears to be a very high priority for these (rich and idle) people.
until night – can mean into the night or even until the dawning of the
new day! There are just so many hours in a day, so don’t waste even a minute
when they could be drinking! Your highest priority is your god. Here, for them,
their god is intoxicating drink and wine. This is the life of the rich and
idle; the poor will no doubt be still scratching for a living away from the
sight of these lazy rich.
Note in the Book of Esther, Queen
Vashti is ordered by King Ahasuerus to appear on the seventh day of his feast.
Feasts for the high and mighty often lasted many days, or even weeks!
Isaiah 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.
Having a good time is also of the
highest priority; note the musical instruments for their enjoyment. The only
thing seemingly missing from their feasts (banquets) are the women (wine, women
and song), although it is clear from other passages in Isaiah that these would
have been there also; note Isaiah 3:16-24. In fact, they are having so much fun
that they have no time left for the Lord God. They do not regard (pay attention
to; show consideration for) the work of (service toward) God. Neither do they
consider (understand; learn about; look out for; discern; give attention to)
the operation (work; business; pursuit; deeds) of His hands.
the operation of his hands – Note the same phrase in the following:
Genesis 5:29 – And he called his
name Noah, saying, This [same] shall comfort us concerning our work
and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.
Isaiah 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.
my people are gone into
captivity – either (a) meaning Israel which
was already in captivity, or (b) talking about Judah in the future as if it
were happening now, or (c) they were already in captivity but were unaware of
it yet (spiritually speaking).
Whatever the captivity here means,
I think the reason why God’s people have gone (or will be going) into captivity
is probably because they think it is more important for them to get intoxicated
and fill themselves with food and music, than it is to give attention to
serving the Lord God, or wanting to know more about His works. They think they
know so much, yet they know nothing of those things which are most important.
They should have known that their behaviour would lead to their captivity, but
they ignored all such knowledge. Their honourable men (those with riches and
glory in abundance, those with dignity and honour) now (or will) suffer lack in
spite of their abundance.
Their abundance (multitude) is now
(or will be) dried up as a person parched with thirst. Like the church at
Laodicea, they think they have so much but they have nothing.
Revelation 3:14-22 – 14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true
witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and
have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and
white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy
nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve,
that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand
at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches.
My only comment on this is that
God’s people haven’t learnt anything since then, it seems! Judah didn’t pay
attention to the prophets and to Israel who had already gone into captivity,
Laodicea hadn’t learnt it in the 1st century AD, and we Christians
today still demonstrate a reluctance to listen to what God is trying to tell
us: that even though we know so much, we know so little, and even though we
think we have so much, in reality we have nothing. Is the Church today really
free or are we captive to the desires of the world, just like Judah in Isaiah’s
day?
Isaiah 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.
Therefore hell (which was created
for the devil and his angels) has been expanded in order to accommodate all
these ones who dream of their glory, their abundance and wealth, their loud,
wild revellings.
Hell has opened (gaping wide)
without measure (without limit; beyond its original purpose) her mouth to
swallow all those who rejoice in their own provisions. Hell has enlarged her
appetite beyond measure to eat up all these who rejoice (are exultant;
jubilant) in their own salvation. All who are exultant, along with their glory,
abundance and pomp, will descend into hell’s gaping wide mouth.
Luke 12:15-21 – 15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of
covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16
And he spake a parable unto them, saying,
The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And
he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room
where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I
will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my
fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou
hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, [and] be
merry. 20 But God said unto him, [Thou] fool, this
night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be,
which thou hast provided? 21 So [is] he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Isaiah 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:
mean man – adam
(mankind; common man), that is, all the men (or people) of Judah in general,
both high and low. The underlined above
and below phrases are identical.
Isaiah 2:9 – And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth
himself: therefore forgive them not.
the eyes of the lofty shall be
humbled – see the following:
Isaiah 2:11 – The lofty looks of
man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the
Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
Also see Isaiah 2:17 – And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the
haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in
that day.
God is the One who forces (or will
force) such people to bend to His authority.
This will happen “in that day”
according to Isaiah 2:11. Thus this is judgment, a point which is clearly
stated in the next verse, where the Lord Sabaoth (Lord of hosts) will be
exalted in judgment. These people are going into captivity, yet there’s more to
this than just the captivity; this is following on to where they are going to
be at a later time than the captivity, for the captivity seemingly didn’t solve
their problem of disobedience.
Isaiah 5:16 – But the Lord of hosts
shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in
righteousness.
Mean or common man will be brought
down low (Vs 15), but the Lord Sabaoth (Lord of hosts) will be exalted (lifted
up – from the same root word as “lofty” in Vs 15) through that act of judging
(those who will be brought down). Those who think they are high and mighty (that
is, above the law – see Psalm 73) will learn in the judgment that only God is
entitled to such majesty! God who is holy (sacred; set apart) will be
sanctified (treated as sacred; be holy; be set apart) in righteousness. Or, His
righteousness will be that which makes Him holy, or sets Him apart (from those
who are not holy!).
Isaiah 29:23-24 – 23 But when he seeth his children,
the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and
sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. 24 They
also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured
shall learn doctrine.
Isaiah 5:17 – Then shall the lambs
feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers
eat.
Seemingly, then the remnant of
Israel after the judgment (the lambs) shall eat the food they need from their
own pastures. However, the second part of this verse says that strangers (the
word suggests here a nomadic people such as the Arabs) will eat from what is
left of those who have grown fat at the expense of the poor. Therefore, it
makes more sense for the first part to mean that the land which the rich had
extorted from the poor will become desolate; it will instead be a place for
sheep to graze in their own way (manner). The places where the fat (rich and
idle) ones lived and partied on will become uninhabited pastures for lambs to
graze.
We looked at something similar in
Zephaniah some time back, where habitation for people became pastures and
shelters for shepherds and their flocks.
Zephaniah 2:5-6 – 5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of
the Cherethites! the word of the Lord [is] against
you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that
there shall be no inhabitant. 6 And the sea coast shall be
dwellings [and] cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
It appears as if the judgment has
removed the people of the land (Judah) into captivity, leaving the land more or
less uninhabited.
Another possible meaning of this
verse could be that the fat ones (the rich ones) have been taken into captivity
with only the very poor left to eke out an existence from the desolation
remaining behind.
Isaiah 5:18 – Woe unto them that
draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
The third woe. Woe to them who
draw (drag; seize) their iniquity (wickedness) with cords (bindings) of vanity
(emptiness; falsehood; lies). Woe to them who grab hold of sin with a cart rope
(that is, with strength). (They don’t want to let their sin go now, do they?)
The picture is the opposite of leaving their wickedness behind in order to
worship a holy God. Instead they walk through life dragging wickedness and sin
along behind them, not willing at all to let it go. They just cannot do without
their sin! Possibly this is a picture of an addiction to wickedness and sin.
Isaiah 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]!
This is
a sarcastic reply to God who pronounces such woes upon them. Really, they say,
where is the proof that what you (presumably Isaiah) say is actually from God?
Let the counsel (advice; purpose) of the Holy One of Israel come here and make
it known directly to us! That is, we won’t really believe it unless we see it!
Jeremiah
17:15 – Behold, they say unto me,
Where [is] the word of the Lord? let it come now.
Jeremiah
5:11-13 – 11 For the house of Israel and
the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. 12 They have belied the
Lord, and said, [It is] not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither
shall we see sword nor famine: 13 And the prophets shall
become wind, and the word [is] not in them: thus shall it be done unto
them.
1
Peter 3:3-4 – 3 Knowing this first, that there
shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And
saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep,
all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation.
Isaiah
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!
The fourth woe. Woe to those
perverse ones who call evil good and good evil, in antagonism to God’s command.
If God says it’s evil, then it must be good. If God says it’s good, then it
must be evil. If God says it is light, then it must be darkness; likewise
darkness becomes light, sweet becomes bitter, and bitter becomes sweet. These
people are purposely being stumbling blocks against the truth of God.
Ultimately what they are saying is that if God says it’s true, then it’s a lie;
if God says it’s a lie, then it’s true.
And it was still the same in
Paul’s day.
Romans 1:21-22; 25; 28 – 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him]
not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations,
and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools,
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped
and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in [their]
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which
are not convenient;
Isaiah 5:21 – Woe unto [them
that are] wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
The fifth woe. Woe to them who
think they know better than even the experts around them! Woe to them who
cannot ever be wrong! Woe to them who claim to know what God has said, yet
their counsel is not of God but of man! Woe to them who take what the Bible
says and turn it into a lie just to suit their own selfish desires! This sounds
just like what so many alleged Christians are doing today: from extreme
pentecostalism to hyper-calvinism, every man and his dog wants the Bible to
agree with whatever he desires to teach to the naive and gullible! There is always
a selfish reason behind the false teachings of all heretics. Just as there was
a selfish reason behind satan carrying out the first false teaching in the
Bible, every heretic and false shepherd since is simply carrying out the orders
of his master satan, instead of the counsel of God. (Note Isaiah 5:19 above)
Isaiah 30:1-2 – 1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith
the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but
not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: 2 That walk
to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves
in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore
shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of
Egypt [your] confusion.
Woe to those who think they know
more than God, to those who seek to rewrite the Bible to make God agree with
them! Woe to them who claim more authority and understanding than God.
Isaiah 29:15-16 – 15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from
the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16
Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the
potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or
shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
Isaiah 5:22 – Woe unto [them
that are] mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
The sixth woe. Woe to them that
think it a heroic deed to drink all day and all night – see Vs 11 above. Such
people get drunk (for that is what happens to people who love their drink!);
they boast of their great deeds, their might, their strength. Just note how
many drunk boaties have caught the largest fish or whatever! As the saying goes,
drink makes everything they do bigger. Because they are drunk, they cannot
think straight; they say many things that they wouldn’t even consider when
sober.
Woe to them who are great heroes
of drinking; they boast of their prowess with a wine glass (or beer glass)! Woe
to them who boast about how much alcohol they can drink at once! For these are
truly mighty men of great strength! Woe to them who boast how good they are at
driving (or any other activity) yet cannot drive straight! Woe to them who
think they are under total control when blind drunk!
Isaiah 5:23 – Which justify the
wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
take away the righteousness – declare guilt instead of innocence, and can be seen as
the opposite of “justify”.
Woe to them who, when drunk, take
bribes from the wicked in order to set them free. Woe to them who, when drunk,
judge against the righteous in favour of the wicked. Woe to them who, when
drunk, acquit the wicked and condemn the righteous. Woe to them who declare the
righteous to be wrong by making judgment against them.
This verse presents the two sides
of false judgment. The wicked are justified, while the righteous are adjudged guilty.
When taken with Vs 22, either
these people do these things because they are drunk, or it is the people who
regularly get drunk (those who drink more or less “24/7”) who judge unfairly,
or they are simply the ruling class which in Isaiah’s day was apparently
associated with riches, greed, selfishness, over-indulgence (probably not only
in alcohol), injustice, to name but a few of their characteristics.
Is the church today any different?
How many church leaders today: Are
twisting doctrines to meet their needs?
Are rewriting the Bible to justify
their lies?
Are treating with justice only
those who agree with their doctrines?
Are mighty in their own eyes and
wise in their own sight?
Are rich beyond reasonable need
because of their greed for more and more all the time?
Are in favour with the world when
Jesus said that Christians would be hated by the world?
Are teaching as God’s doctrines
the commandments of man?
Are building their own selfish
empires at the expense of the genuine Bible-believing Christian?
How many church-members are
looking for a spirit-induced “high” when they attend their Sunday morning
“nightclubs” with their loud hypnotic pulsing, heavy beat rock music and their
group “togetherness”? It may not be an alcohol-induced high, as found in many
nightclubs, but the human response to the stimuli is similar in each case. And
many can also be on a “high” when into doctrines-of-devils heresies that come
complete with demons to take control of the consequences of super-enthusiasm
for such false doctrines.
Just ask yourself a serious
question: how many Christians today actually test all spirits as per the
Biblical command in 1 John 4:1-2? And, how many of them would be shocked to
find out that what they mistakenly assumed to be an act of God’s Spirit was
actually of demonic origins? How many don’t test all spirits because they are
fearful of what they might discover?
And how many will escape the
judgment of God? Will ignorance save them? Or that they were misled by false
teachers? Israel couldn’t escape God’s judgment, nor could Judah. The Church
today will fair no better, it seems!
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