Isaiah 5 THE SONG OF THE VINEYARD Isaiah was a very versatile man when it came to doing the work of the Lord. In passing on the message the Lord gave him for the people of Jerusalem and Judah, the poetic form he used in this chapter was that of a song. But what a song! This was no bedtime melody nor was it a song to please the people. The very fact of the message being put into a song makes it more of a funeral dirge. The Lord loves His people in spite of what they do or don’t do, but He does not let them get away with sin unpunished. How impacting it must have been when Isaiah stood and sang this warning message! Some people would likely have mocked, others would have been embarrassed. The mournful tune and the warning message would have been talked about all through the city. God gives warnings to us because He cares for us, not because He wants to destroy us. The Lord Jesus used this same kind of parable of the vineyard to warn the people of His day as to what they can expect when they “turn everyone to his own way.”
In both the Old Testament and New Testament, the vineyard is Israel. The religious leaders understood that when the Lord Jesus told the parable, and it is the same group of people in this chapter that were leading the Lord’s people astray. They were wicked husbandmen and that resulted in evil coming from a good land. The vineyard the Lord planted was in the best place because it was the place of His choosing. He had prepared the ground to plant the best vines to potentially produce good fruit. There was even a tower in the vineyard for protection and security from thieves.
It is the Lord’s intention for us to be fruitful in every way. When that is true, there is blessing for believers and unbelievers as the truth of God is publicly proclaimed. In contrast to the ways of the world system, God expects His people to uphold justice as He does and to give honor to Him, and benefits to His people from that which He has entrusted to us. As the prophet sang his prophecy, he briefly reviewed Israel’s history in the promised land. But what God wanted from them did not come. The fenced vineyard brought bitter fruit. His rebellious people dishonored the Lord and because of their sins there was no protection for them, no production from them and no prospect to avoid the judgment that was coming upon them. God’s verdict of their actions was guilty, and there were six woes that were pronounced on them. Failure to do what we know God wants, will bring unavoidable consequences and judgment; especially on those who are leaders of God’s people. When a person knows to do right and doesn’t do it, it is sin. When a person is warned as to what they know is wrong, and they go ahead and do it, that person will have to face the power of justice being done. There was a famine of righteousness in Israel, and that same problem is here in this country today.
The woes pronounced by Isaiah are like bad fruit. Selfish ambition produces covetousness and greed. Sinful pleasures, both physical and spiritual bring self-indulgence. The endless search for frivolous pleasure, does not satisfy and leads to dissipation. Unrestrained pleasures may destroy those who seek them because of wild drinking and substance abuse. Deliberate sins of presumption and defiance against the revealed word of God, leave a person or a nation open to divine judgment because of God’s holy displeasure. The perversion of moral standards and tried and proven values, lead to no restraint, no spiritual sense and is like a person dragging their sins behind them like a burden on a rope of bondage. Even if people call on the Lord, sin has to be faced and confessed, then truly forsaken.
A special woe is called on those who make up their own moral standards to suit themselves. Selfish pride, self- sufficiency and intellectual pride can bring a person down quickly. This will lead to suffering, breakdown of order and the loss of a peaceful society. Unchanging justice will demand and carry out judgment in the time, place and way the Lord chooses. Disobedience to divine standards and the miscarriage of justice will bring righteous retribution. Bad consequences are inevitable even though they may not come immediately. God gives room for repentance and restoration.
The transgressions of leaders, and consequently of the population was described in Isaiah’s song. The vineyard would be destroyed by enemy nations divinely directed to carry out the sentence God passed on his sinful people. A foreign power would come on them swiftly, strongly and noisily they would overwhelm Jerusalem and Judah. The bodies of the people would lie on the streets like garbage. They would be like a withered plant and dry stubble that burns quickly. Spiritual dry rot had settled in, and the people of Israel would be powerless against the enemies summoned by the Lord to bring justice upon His willful, sinful, rebellious people.
The warning is clear! We cannot sin against God and expect to get away with it. A sinful nation and sinful people pollute not only themselves but their children who come after them, and those around who follow them. The grace of God gives opportunity to repent and return to Him. The mercy of God withholds justice as long as God deems necessary. The love of God waits for those He has set His love upon to respond. But when all is refused, ignored and rejected, judgment will come.