Isa. 5:1–30 Isaiah’s introductory diagnosis of Judah’s spiritual decline (chs. 1–5) concludes with a description of his generation’s apostasy and its consequences. The chapter is divided into the song of the vineyard (5:1–7) and the “wild grapes” that the vineyard produced (vv. 8–30).
Isa. 5:1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song. To Isaiah, God is both the Holy One and his beloved friend. Vineyard is explained in v. 7 as a reference to Israel and Judah (see Jer. 12:10; see also Ex. 15:17, where God plants them; for Israel as a vine, see Ps. 80:8–16; Jer. 2:21; Hos. 10:1; John 15:1).
Isa. 5:2 God supplied everything for his people to be a blessing to the world, as he had promised in Gen. 12:1–3.
Isa. 5:7 he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry! Sin turns good into evil.
Isa. 5:8–10 Leviticus 25 taught Israel to return purchased lands in the Year of Jubilee. Restoring property to the original owner ensured a fresh start for anyone who had fallen on hard times. Therefore, those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room do business without regard for God’s instructions (see note on Amos 3:15). By greedily accumulating land, the powerful drive the weaker people off the land that God gave them. a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah. God will see to it that these greedy landowners do not receive the profits they expect.
Isa. 5:14 The greed described in vv. 8–10 is answered with the appetite of Sheol, swallowing up the dead (see Ps. 88:3–6; Prov. 9:18; Isa. 14:15; 38:18).
Isa. 5:18–23 Isaiah issues four laments (Woe) over God’s people.
Isa. 5:24 God delighted in his people (“his pleasant planting,” v. 7), but they have rejected . . . and have despised him (compare 53:3).
Isa. 5:26 Nations, including Assyria, are summoned by the sovereign God with a mere whistle.
Isa. 5:27–30 Isaiah describes the approach of invading military forces. This is a far cry from the nations approaching Zion to learn the ways of God and cease from war (2:2–4).
Isa. 5:30 darkness and distress . . . light is darkened. Having rejected the light of the Lord that was offered to them (2:5), Judah and Jerusalem find that the so-called light they chose turns to darkness.
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