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Summary of chapter 5

Isaiah tells of a friend, who, later on turns out to be the
Lord. The friend had a vineyard. He took good care, cleared out
the stones, put it on a fertile hill, planted choice vines, built
a watchtower, and a wine vat. But instead of good grapes, it
turned out wild grapes, small and bitter tasting.

In v 3 the friend begins to speak, and asks Jerusalem to
judge between him and his vineyard. Has he not done everything
for it? But it gave only bad fruit. So he intends to take away
the hedge that protected it and break the wall. It will be a
wasteland, not pruned, nor cultivated. He will order the clouds
to give no rain.

In v 7 we learn that the vineyard is that of the Lord, and
the vineyard is the house of Israel and the men of Judah. He
hoped for what is right, but saw instead bloodshed, and cries of
distress.

Woe to those who keep on adding houses to houses. They will
become desolate, the mansions without anyone to live in them. A
great vineyard will produce only a little, a large measure of
seed only a bit of grain.

Woe too to those who get up early to start their drinking
and keep it up late at night. They have music at their banquets,
but no regard for the Lord or the work of his hands. So the
people are destined to go into exile, and the powerful men will
die of hunger, the masses will suffer thirst. Sheep will feed
among the ruins of the rich.

Woe too to those who pull sin and guilt down on themselves
as if with ropes.

Woe also to those who call evil good, and good evil, who
make darkness light, and light darkness. To those who are wise in
their own eyes. Woe to those who are champions at drinking and
mixing drinks, who take bribes to acquit the guilty, while
denying justice to those who are innocent. Their roots will decay
and will burn in fire since they have scorned the word of the
Holy One of Israel.

As a result of all these things, the Lord's
anger blazes, the mountains shake, dead bodies lie in the
streets. Even so his anger has not yet run its course. For he
calls to far off nations, to the Assyrians. They will come
speedily. Their arrows are sharp, their bows keen, their horses'
hoofs like flint, their chariot wheels like a whirlwind. They
roar like a lion carrying off prey. On that day of the Lord they
will roar over it as the sea roars. If one looks at the land, he
will see darkness and distress and heavy clouds.

Comments on Chapter 5

Here is another shift:after the idyllic picture in the last
part of chapter 4, we suddenly find a threat, opening with the
imaginary song of the vineyard. Since antiquity the agriculture
of Israel has depended much on the unfailing produce of the
olive, fig and grape. Even in the long hot summers, the vine can
flourish because of its deep roots. The vineyard of course is the
People of God, The vine is a symbol of Israel. God transplanted
it from Egypt (cf. Psalm 80:8-13), and gave it every care and
protection. Yet it produces only sour fruit.

There follows a group of six woes:against those who
endlessly expand their ownership of houses and add field to field
until there is no space left. But God says the great houses will
be desolate, and the great vineyards will produce hardly
anything. Who to those who are pleasure lovers, who get up early
to start their drinking and stay at it late at night. Therefore
exile is coming and all will be brought low. God will be exalted
in His justice, that is His concern for moral order, and the Holy
God will show Himself holy by doing what is right. Woe to those
who are shameless sinners who make fun of Isaiah's words in 1:4
about the Holy One of Israel (cf. Jeremiah 5:12-14), Woe to those
who turn morality inside out, calling evil good and good evil,
(compare Romans 1:31:to not only sin but say sin is good is the
lowest degradation). Woe to those who are champions at drinking
and indulge in drinking bouts, and free the guilty for a bribe,
while condemning the innocent. So the anger of the Lord burns
against His people, and He will summon the fierce and speedy
might of the Assyrians against them on the day of the Lord - a
day often mentioned in Scripture, which sometimes means a nearby
time when God will right things, sometimes means the final
righting at the end of the world. The prophet also speaks of an
earthquake. This is likely to be that in the time of Uzziah.