My case is bad, Lord, be my advocate, My sin is red; I'm under God's arrest. Edward Taylor (C )

Transcription

1 Introduction Chapter five begins with a parable of the vineyard; continues with a pronouncement of judgment because of persistent paganism and ends with a promise of punishment for Israel s sinful ways. Isaiah had already warned the nation of guilt, of rebellion, hollow and hypocritical worship and injustice. The Lord God offered a pardon if the nation would repent. God s Word and God s Holy Spirit rightly convict us of sin. We live in a culture and a society that has lost its respect for godly guilt. We have been so accustomed to avoiding guilt, denying guilt, many of us have lost the ability to recognize guilt for what it can be; a healthy mechanism that warns us we have done wrong, and a protective mechanism that keeps us from further sin. Contrary to popular belief; guilt can be a healthy thing. Suppression of guilt can be a very unhealthy thing. When we fail, when we sin, when we rebel against God guilt gnaws at us, warns us, pleads with us to correct our irresponsible behavior. We must have a healthy, godly, biblical way to correct our mistakes, to confess our sins, to cleanse our hearts. We are guilty. We like sheep have gone astray. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a testimony to the collective sin and guilt of a fallen race. My case is bad, Lord, be my advocate, My sin is red; I'm under God's arrest. Edward Taylor (C ) The purpose of being guilty is to bring us to Jesus. Once we are there, then its purpose is finished. If we continue to make ourselves guilty-to blame ourselves-then that is sin in itself. Corrie ten Boom ( ) There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom.8:1) but there is certain condemnation for those who are not in Christ Jesus. We have a couple of choices we can deny God s Word and resist God s Spirit or we can confess our sin and acknowledge God s solution. In this present passage we see the people of Judea and Jerusalem guilty of outrageous behavior, and grievous sin. Isaiah changes his prophetic tactics; hoping to stir the people he speaks the Word of God this time in a song a song that is a parable. The prophet looked for a fresh hearing, a fresh way, to speak an old message; In the 1960 s Barry McGuire sang a song; The eastern world, it is exploding Violence flarin, bullits loadin You re old enough to kill, but not for votin You don t believe in war, but what s that gun you re totin And even the Jordon River has bodies floatin But you tell me Over and over and over again my friend 1

2 Ah, you don t believe We re on the eve Of destruction. The Parable of The Vineyard (vv.1-7) " Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes? And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help." (Isaiah 5:1-7, NKJV) A parable is an earthly story that describes a heavenly truth. Cal Thomas recently wrote in a commentary for World (Jan.20 th 2007; p.9); When one is CONVERTED, people look for changes in behavior that testify to a transformation of heart and mind. Isaiah s parable is a parable of expectation. In verses 1-2 we discovery the identity of the vineyard it is Israel. God himself planted the garden, laid out the vineyard on a very fertile hill, planting it with the choicest vines the very best plants available. He then brings the bitter indictment; at harvest-time the expectation is of sweet grapes and the reality is only bad fruit. Isaiah describes the Lord as my Well-beloved. Like the Song of Solomon, I m my beloved and He is mine. It speaks of intimacy and friendship. The Lord took steps to make sure all the elements for success were in place. What were those steps? An extraordinary land; a land of promise, a fertile land, a land with rich soil suited to grow grapes. The land was a hill, so it could receive unobstructed sunlight. The Lord cultivated the soil, removed the stones so nothing would obstruct the growth of the vines (v.2). God gave Israel every opportunity to know God, to walk with Him faithfully and in obedience and as long as they were faithful, they would live in peace and produce 2

3 fruit (Gal.5:22-23). He planted the choicest vine and gave His people His Law His Word commandments to govern their lives. We sometimes forget the purpose of the Law certainly to lead us to Christ to reveal our need for a Savior but the Law had the added component of revealing and building a just, a godly, a decent society. How were people to treat the poor? With compassion and mercy! God wanted Israel to have a just and secure and compassionate society. Next the Lord built a watchtower in the middle of the field to protect the field (v.2). A watchtower served as an instrument to see enemies from a distance and also to fight enemies from a position of advantage. What was the watchtower? I suspect in the parable it means the Temple in Jerusalem which spoke of the presence of God and the sacrifice for sin. The presence of God offers protection. And the Lord built a winepress. In the ancient world a winepress had two troughs. The upper trough was for trampling the grapes, and the lower one was used to catch the sweet juice. The harvest became a picture of the fruitful life God expected from His people. What was the result of all that effort? A big fat stinking disappointment. When the Lord looked for sweet grapes He got wild grapes (v.2). Wild grapes has a very unusual meaning it means rotten stinking grapes. We don t discover the identity of the stinking grapes until the end of the parable. There smites nothing so sharp, nor smelleth so sour As shame. William Langland (C C. 1400) So the Lord appeals to the people He asks two questions; what more could He have done for His vineyard? Why would a vineyard so loved, so cared for, so tenderly protected yield wild grapes? What does the Lord do? He removes the natural protections the hedge and the wall. The vineyard would be destroyed and other people would trample its dirt walk on its floor. This is a reference to an invasion by hostile powers, a foreign army. The Lord said He would make the nation a wasteland (v.6). Since the bitter rotten, stinking fruit was all the dirt patch would produce, there was no need for Him to cultivate it anymore. The vineyard would be left without rain and without protection. Rain was the source of life. Without protection thorns and weeds and thistles would overrun the vineyard. Isaiah identifies the wild grapes. For the vineyard of the Lord is house of Israel. The pleasant plants are the men of Judah His pleasant plant. Isaiah names the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. All Jews were accountable before God. The wild grapes were the corrupt fruit, from a corrupt people, the fruit of hypocrisy, the fruit of a people who professed to know God but did not obey God, who lived lives of persistent wickedness. The Lord lists several specific sins; the Lord looked for justice and righteousness but he found lawlessness, violence, oppression and distress. Instead 3

4 of bearing good fruit they produced fruit that stunk in the nostrils of God. The whole vineyard had become an unjust society, guilty of the worst acts of violence, lawlessness as well as oppression against the poor, the innocent, the defenseless. In the Hebrew language there is what is known as a paronomasia; words that sound very much the same but have very different meanings; the Lord looked for mishpat and behold mishpach he looked for JUSTICE MISHPAT and found BLOODSHED MISHPACH. He looked for tsedhaqah and there came tse aqah he looked for righteousness and there came a cry. We might say he came looking for measures and found a massacre he came looking for right and found riot. The Lord was looking for a godly people and found ungodly people. May I ask you a question? Why do you continue in sinful behavior? Why would you continue to act with violence towards your husband, your wife, your children? Violence includes the shedding of innocent blood. Violence translates to abuse using your words to assault others, physical abuse, sexual assault, acts of manipulation and coercion, forcing others to do things against their will, violence includes acts of cruelty, brutality, and terrorism. Remember lawless behavior is breaking both the laws of God and the laws of a just society. How can we call ourselves Christians and steal from our employers, steel from our churches, steal from our neighbors or even our customers? How can we cheat or lie or destroy property? Do we bring unnecessary stress, or distress upon people? Judges, attorneys and juries oppress the innocent when they rule against them and do not give them the full benefits of the law. Business and churches oppress people when they overwork their employees or do not pay fair wages. We oppress people when we do not pay fair wages for service rendered. We oppress people when we mistreat them, whether at school or at work or in the home or God forbid in the church. We oppress people when we put them down, abuse them, harass them, overload, suppress, trample or persecute them. God warns us against bearing sinful fruit and warns us against producing a harvest of sin and rebellion. "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." (Matthew 7:17, NKJV) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness," (Romans 1:18, NKJV) "being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, 4

5 disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:29-32, NKJV) The Paganism of Israel (vv.8-24) Now a series of judgments are pronounced against Israel for her sins. In the first judgment those who are rich have bought up all the desirable property leaving the rest of the people with no where to live (vv.8-10). In the second judgment the Lord God accuses the nation of becoming God-rejecting drunks, living only for carnal pleasure. In the third judgment God reminds them they are filled with deceit, they have mocked God, daring God to punish them (vv.18-19). In the fourth judgment God states they pervert, twist, distort the truth saying that right is wrong and wrong is right (v.20). In the fifth judgment God tells them they are wise, shrewd in their own eyes (v.21). In the sixth judgment the people are willing to post bail or release the guilty for a bribe but deny justice to the innocent (vv.24). Let s thing about warnings for a moment; the expression WOE means more than shame on you! It is something that precedes judgment. In our culture in court the Judge asks the jury How do you find the defendant, guilty or not guilty? If there is overwhelming, irrefutable, unassailable guilt, the next words out of the jury foreman s mouth guilty spreads a sense of doom on the accused and relief from the people who have been injured. 1. The warning against greed or coveteousness 2. The warning against drunkeness 3. The warning against deception 4. The warning against mockery 5. The warning against perverting morals, excuses for sin 6. The warning against pride, arrogance, injustice. First Judgment (vv.8-10) "Woe to those who join house to house; They add field to field, Till there is no place Where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land! In my hearing the Lord of hosts said, Truly, many houses shall be desolate, Great and beautiful ones, without inhabitant. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, And a homer of seed shall yield one ephah. " (Isaiah 5:8-10, NKJV) Landlords joined house to house making it impossible for the poor to live anywhere. 5

6 Truly, many houses shall be desolate. The vast properties would become deserted, empty, worthless. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath; that is a ten acre vineyard would only produce about six gallons of wine; and ten measures of seed would yield only about one measure of grain. When the Assyrians swept in the north and the Babylonians from the east, it would leave the land barren, desolate. It becomes a metaphor for God s judgment on the greedy and those who lust after more and more wealth. "And He said to them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. " (Luke 12:15, NKJV) Second Judgment (vv.11-17) "Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, till wine inflames them! The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the Lord, Nor consider the operation of His hands. Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Their honorable men are famished, And their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself And opened its mouth beyond measure; Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it. People shall be brought down, Each man shall be humbled, And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness. Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, And in the waste places of the fat ones strangers shall eat. " (Isaiah 5:11-17, NKJV) The Lord issues a severe warning against the drunk, against the substance abuser. Drinking was a huge problem in the time of Isaiah. Isaiah describes the lifestyle of a drunk, of the person who is absorbed by their addiction. They get up early just to get a little taste, they drink all day, they drink into the night. The drunk goes to the party, cool music (harps and strings); but they do not consider the Lord. Their doom is spelled out (vv.13-17). What is the judgment on the drunk? They are uprooted and vomited out of the land. They are led into bondage and exile. Because they don t know God (v.13). The drunk may say he or she knows God, but it is not true. The drunk or the addict suffers hunger and thirst (v.13). I suspect this means a siege would be stationed around the city and there are no supplies in or out of the city. They are cut off from the necessities of life. In real life how many drunks and addicts do you know? Do they crave their drink or do they crave their drug more than the very basic and essential things of life? More than food and more than water? Does the drunk or the 6

7 drug user ignore their health and their safety and their family? Are they willing to deny themselves in order to feed their addiction? The drunk and the addict face the wide open mouth of death (v.14). Death wants to swallow them. Whether rich drunk or poor drunk death swallows all. Whether famous or common all die. They all face the judgment of God. The drunk or the addict will be humbled (v.15). The rich, the famous, the poor, the not so famous will be shamed. The drunk and the drug abuser will witness a demonstration of God s justice and holiness (v. 16). God s righteousness would be exalted by executing judgment on all who disobey God and refuse to His Word. The drunk and the addict suffer utter devastation of their land (v.17). "Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy." (Romans 13:13, NKJV) " But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly." (Luke 21:34, NKJV) Third Judgment "Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope; 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 near and come, That we may know it. " (Isaiah 5:18-19, NKJV) Now the prophet Isaiah addressed the deceivers and the mockers. The people were so utterly deceived, so completely lost, so steeped in sin and wickedness; that they dragged their wickedness with them wherever they went. They could not leave their sin at home. Here is the colorful picture; they use large cart ropes to drag their sins along with them. The idea is that they have so much sin they load them into carts and drag them wherever they go. A spirit of deception gripped the people s hearts. As a result they mocked God and His judgment. I will never get caught drinking and driving. I will never get pregnant. They refused to accept that a day of judgment was coming. How like people today. Don t you judge me. God won t judge me. As it was for Israel so shall it be for us God s hand of judgment will fall on all who walk in deception and mockery sarcasm for the things of God. 7

8 "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds :" (Romans 2:4-6, NKJV) Fourth Judgment (v.20) "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! " (Isaiah 5:20, NKJV) The Lord issues a strong warning for those who would pervert values. There is good and there is evil. Confusion about morality existed in the days of Isaiah just as they exist today. Sin acts as like moral numbing agent. The darkness of sin substitutes the light of righteousness. In the minds of the perverted, in the minds of the unrighteous, no one has the right to tell them what they can and can t do. Not even God. No one tells me what to do. God prohibits certain sexual behavior. No matter how loud or how often you affirm your wicked behavior as acceptable behavior it remains wicked behavior. God has the right to put restraints upon behavior. The same is true of false worship. False worship is not good and not accepted. Idol worship cannot be good and bad. With the absence of clear definitions of good and evil comes the breakdown of the moral fabric of a society and justice. If good can be evil and if evil can be good than justice can become injustice and injustice can become justice. Values become twisted, polluted, perverted, strained. "useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself." (1 Timothy 6:5, NKJV) Fifth Judgment (v.21) "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! " (Isaiah 5:21, NKJV) Now the Lord issues a warning to those who are proud and arrogant throughout the nation. The conceited were condemned to suffer the punishment of God. Think of the people who are convinced they are absolutely about everything, about God, about the Bible about the truth. In their own eyes they are wise and prudent, they don t believe the Bible is necessarily true, they don t believe, the Bible is literal when it comes to seven days, Adam and Eve, a serpent and sin, and the cross of Christ as the only solution for sin. Instead of accepting God s Word, they trust man s opinion and so trust their own 8

9 opinion. They create a god of their own imagination, a god who recognizes their weakness, who excuses sin, who denies His own Word and His own sense of justice. The proud and the arrogant will experience the judgment of God. Sixth Judgment (vv.22-24) "Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man! Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. " (Isaiah 5:22-24, NKJV) Once again the Lord condemns those who are heavy drinkers, those in leadership, those who are judges. Even though they were drunks, unjust, and wicked in their behavior, they were looked up to as heroes, much like Mel Gibson, or U.S. Grant, or Steinbeck. When it came to drinking and greedy behavior, they were not to be outdone. These are the people who glory in the fact that they can out drink, out drug, out fight, out flirt, outoutrage the most outrageous behavior. BUT THEY WERE FORGETTING ONE THING the JUDGMENT OF GOD. They accepted bribes. They let the guilty go free and oppressed the innocent. A perversion of justice was taking place; the innocent were being exploited and mistreated. And God knew their sins. He was pronouncing judgment on unjust opporessors. "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16:10, NKJV) "And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous." (Exodus 23:8, NKJV) The sins and perversions catch on fire rather quickly. They are like are like straw and dead grass (see verse 24). The destruction is complete, like dead roots of a bush or a flower that has blown away. The Punishment of Israel (vv.25-30) "Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken; Whose arrows are sharp, And 9

10 all their bows bent; Their horses hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver. In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds." (Isaiah 5:25-30, NKJV) Judgment would be quick, sudden, complete (v.24). Rebellion and disobedience are an invitation to judgment. The Lord pronounces punishment for Israel and her sinful ways. Their bloated, dead bodies will rot like garbage in the streets (v.25). The Lord will bring gentile (foreign) nations into Jerusalem to capture and enslave the people (vv.26-30). The reason for God s judgment is not a matter of conjecture or speculation, the people rejected God s Word, and God s Law. They had been given God s Word as a guide, and they allowed their own wicked, perverse, thoughts, ideas and pleasures to serve as that guide. Having received the Holy Word of a Holy God they should have become a Holy people. Instead they were rotten grapes, sour grapes. Make no mistake---god expected sweet grapes and sour grapes aroused His anger. God describes the agents of judgment He will use the surrounding nations. God s anger against evil appears to be unchanging and persistent. His hand is raised against every generation that sows evil seed and reaps rotten crops. The warning has been given. Judgment is certain. Everyone must stand before God. Death is a certainty and a reality for all. We know we will die. We know the appointment is set. If we continue to walk in sin, if we reject Christ as Savior, we will face Christ as Judge. "I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. " (Jeremiah 17:10, NKJV) "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15, NKJV) 10

11 Conclusion Whoever profits by the crime is guilty of it. French Proverb 11