Chapter 5

1 Under the parable of a vineyard God excuseth his severe judgement. 8 His judgments upon covetousness, 11 upon lasciviousness, 13 upon impiety, 20 and upon injustice. 26 The executioners of God’s judgments.

1. Now will I sing. Isaiah is at times a prophet of doom, and at times a prophet of hope. He speaks in kindly, endearing terms, and then in indignant words of anger and fury. In ch. 1:10 he addressed the leaders of Jerusalem as “rulers of Sodom” and the people as “people of Gomorrah.” Now he presents himself to Israel as a minstrel, singing a patriotic theme that would delight his people. Compare many of the psalms of David and the Song of Solomon (see Amos 6:5).

A song of my beloved. Like some of his fellow prophets, Isaiah was a skilled poet and presented many of his messages in the form of poetry and song (chs. 6:10–13; 9:2–21; 10:1–11, 13–19, 28–34; 11:1–9, 12–16; 12; 13:2–22; 14:4–21, 24–32; 15; 16:1–11; 17:1–6, 10–14; 18; 19:1–15; 21:1–15; 22:1–8; etc.).

My wellbeloved. The “wellbeloved” who had the vineyard was God; the vineyard was the nation of Israel (see Ps. 80:8–16; Matt. 21:33–41).

Fruitful hill. The “fruitful hill” was the land of Canaan, possibly with particular reference to Jerusalem.

2. He fenced it. The Heb. Фazaq, translated “fenced,” meant “to dig” in Biblical Hebrew. The translation “fenced” is based on post-Biblical Hebrew. The context makes clear, however, that the vineyard did have a fence, or “wall,” about it (Isa. 5:5; cf. Matt. 21:33). God set a protecting hedge about His people to safeguard them. Their location on the central highlands of Palestine, away from immediate contact with the nations about, was a safeguard. God’s law and His messages sent by the prophets were valuable safeguards designed to keep their steps from evil.

The stones. These, perhaps, represent the native peoples of the land, with their idolatrous religion and wicked customs.

The choicest vine. This represents the people of Israel, carefully selected by God Himself (see v. 7).

A tower. The tower represented the Temple (DA 596).

A winepress. This may be thought of as representing institutions like the schools of the prophets, which were God’s appointed means for inculcating such virtues and graces as righteousness, justice, honesty, and purity.

Grapes. The vineyard was planted for the purpose of bringing forth fruit, as was the fig tree in the parable of Luke 13:6–9 (see Matt. 21:19, 34). The grapes represent the fruitage of character, a reflection of the divine character Israel was to exhibit before the world (see pp. 27–30).

Wild grapes. Instead of producing the fruits of the Spirit, Israel brought forth fruits of the flesh (see Gal. 5:19–23). Deeds of cruelty and injustice, dishonesty and deception, intemperance and immorality, a disregard for the rights of the poor and distressed, the taking advantage of widows and orphans—these were the evils the prophets constantly rebuked; these are the “wild grapes” here mentioned.

3. Men of Judah. Isaiah continues to address the men of Judah and Jerusalem (see chs. 1:1; 2:1; 3:1; 4:3, 4), those who professed to be the people of God. The song of the vineyard, as such, is now ended, and the Lord, the “beloved” of that song, speaks to His people through the prophet.

Judge. Zion is called upon to render a verdict upon herself (see Matt. 21:40, 41). God again invites His people to reason with Him (see Isa. 1:18). His plea is just, and they will of necessity admit His justice—and their own guilt—if they squarely face the facts.

4. What could have been done? A question is often the most effective means of bringing home a truth. Isaiah makes it clear by this searching question that the Lord did everything that could possibly have been done for Israel. He provided them with every facility for the development of a character that would resemble His own, and they had only themselves to blame for their failure (see pp. 30–33).

5. Take away the hedge. God would remove His protecting hand from His people and allow their enemies to despoil and scatter them. As a result of transgression the vineyard would become a desolate waste.

6. I will lay it waste. God did not Himself desolate Israel, but by the withdrawal of His protection, permitted enemies from without, now Assyria and later Babylon and Rome, to accomplish His will (see on 2 Chron. 18:18; 22:8). Later, Isaiah speaks of the Lord’s making use of Assyria as the “rod” of His “anger” and the “staff” of His “indignation” for the punishment of Israel (ch. 10:5–7).

Nor digged. Care is essential if a vineyard is to be productive. Without pruning and cultivation it must eventually deteriorate and become a desolate waste. The cessation of pruning and digging points to the withdrawal of the means of moral and spiritual culture provided by the Lord (Luke 13:8; John 15:2).

Briers and thorns. The once flourishing vineyard would become waste and desolate. Instead of grapes it would produce nothing but briers and thorns. Even the heavens would withhold their blessings, and the land would become parched and barren. It is God who imparts life and blessing (James 1:17). The withholding of His blessings results in desolation and death.

7. The vineyard. God leaves His people in no uncertainty as to the meaning of His message to them. The specific application of this message to the apostate nation is reminiscent of Nathan’s pointed rebuke to David. “Thou art the man” (2 Sam. 12:7), and of Jesus’ scathing denunciation of the Jews: “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Matt. 21:43).

The house of Israel. Although Isaiah’s mission was primarily to the kingdom of Judah, some of his messages were fully as applicable to the kingdom of Israel. The parable of the vineyard was certainly intended primarily for Judah (v. 3), but the message of rebuke and coming doom was as appropriate for Israel as for Judah. The term “Israel” is often employed to designate the nation of Judah (see Isa. 1:3; 4:2; 8:18; 31:6; Micah 1:14; 3:1; 6:2). But the fact that here both “the house of Israel” and “the men of Judah” are mentioned would seem to indicate that the message applies to both nations. If “Israel” here specifies the northern kingdom, this prophecy was made before 722 b.c., when the northern kingdom fell. As that nation was approaching its doom, it can hardly be denied that a prophet of the Lord whose main concern was with Judah would occasionally cast a prophetic glance at Judah’s northern neighbor in its hour of crisis.

He looked for judgment. God looked for His people to exercise justice, but saw instead bloodshed, injustice, and oppression on every hand.

A cry. The “cry” came from those who suffered oppression or whose innocent blood was being shed (see Gen. 4:10; Deut. 24:15; James 5:4; Rev. 6:9, 10). The righteous do not treat one another in such a way that cries for help must ascend to heaven.

8. Woe unto them. Isaiah here begins the enumeration of a series of woes to come upon Israel as the result of the offenses specifically mentioned in connection with each woe. These offenses are the “wild grapes” of v. 2. Not all the sins of the people can be listed; only those most characteristic of that evil age are named.

Join house to house. This graphic picture represents the sin of covetousness and greed. God originally intended Israel to be a nation of small landowners. To guard against the formation of large estates he had provided the year of jubilee (Lev. 25:13; 27:24) and the law of inheritance for heiresses (Num. 27:1–11; cf. 33:54; 36). But these provisions had been disregarded, with the result that instead of a large number of small landholders there had grown up a class of wealthy proprietors, and another, of poverty-stricken, landless laborers. Many of the people had been reduced to virtual slavery, and others, not yet slaves, were forced to pay exorbitant rents. Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, also denounced this evil (Micah 2:2).

Midst of the earth. That is, secure a monopoly. The wealthy classes had no interest in the welfare of the people at large. They were concerned with their own interests exclusively. They did not care even if the poor were entirely wiped out of existence. The situation was rapidly approaching the place where the poor would soon lose any holdings they had, and the wealthy would be left to enjoy the products of the land.

9. Many houses. Those who dispossessed their neighbors in order to increase their own estates would not have long to enjoy the results of their oppressive measures. Instead of finding prosperity and happiness they would encounter poverty and national ruin. Things would come to such a pass that large and beautiful estates would be left uninhabited and untended.

10. Ten acres. The Hebrew word for acre denotes specifically the land that could be plowed in one day by a yoke of oxen. A “bath” was 5.81 U.S. gal., or 22 liters (see Vol. I, p. 167). In other words, the ground would yield practically no return.

An homer. Ten ephahs (the same volume as 10 baths) made one homer; its yield was only one ephah. Instead of the land yielding an increase, the harvest would yield much less than the amount of seed sown. The picture presented is one of utter failure and ruin.

11. Strong drink. The second sin listed is drunkenness and intemperance. The professed people of God were addicted to strong drink. They arose early in order to have more time for drink. From morning till night many thought only of wine (see Isa. 22:13; 28:7; Hosea 4:11; Amos 6:6).

12. The harp. Or lyre. Music was prominent in their drunken revelry (see Amos 6:5, 6). Instead of being used to the glory of God, music became a powerful tool in the hand of the enemy to bring ruin to the soul.

They regard not. In their wild and wanton revels the consciences of these gluttons became seared, truth and right were forgotten, and their hearts were opened to every form of evil. Lust took the place of love, and violence and terror the place of righteousness.

13. Are gone into captivity. Literally, “go into captivity.” The captivity had not yet begun (see on v. 7). Isaiah here sets forth the reasons for the captivity. He does not present the captivity as an accomplished fact. The people of Israel were taken captive in 723/722.

No knowledge. Sin is folly. Those who engage in sin show themselves not to be wise, but foolish. Sin pays wages, not of prosperity, peace, and honor, but of ignominy, woe, and death. He who chooses sin, chooses death. Clearly and repeatedly God had pointed out what the results of transgression would be. Also, past experience had frequently shown the terrible fruitage of disobedience. Now the people of Israel and Judah were revealing their complete lack of “knowledge” by persisting in evil and thereby ensuring their own destruction. They were “destroyed for lack of knowledge,” because they had “rejected knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).

14. Hell. Heb. sheХol, the figurative abode of the dead (see on 2 Sam. 12:23; 22:6).

Enlarged herself. That is, in order to accommodate the increased number of arrivals from the land of the living.

Their pomp. The nobility of Jerusalem, the multitudes of the people, all who glorified in their present pomp and took pleasure in their iniquities, would alike go down to destruction.

15. The mean man. Compare ch. 2:9, 11, 17. Men of all classes would be humbled, the small as well as the great. The coming destruction would spare none.

16. Exalted in judgment. That is, honored and vindicated in His acts of justice. Sin ultimately results in humiliation, but in the end, righteousness and justice bring honor and glory. The acts of the Lord are such as to bring Him honor and glory before all the universe.

Sanctified in righteousness. Literally, “the holy God shows [Himself] holy in righteousness.” God’s righteous dealings with men prove Him to be holy in character. God’s people are to become like Him in character. Israel had lost sight of the fact that God is holy, and accordingly failed to understand either the importance or the meaning of righteousness. Conscious himself of God’s exalted character, Isaiah had the constant burden that Israel might also become holy and righteous. This ideal he keeps ever before them.

17. After their manner. The Hebrew may also be translated, “in their pasture” (see Eze. 34:11–15). Restored Israel is presented as lambs feeding happily and peacefully together.

The waste places. The Hebrew text of the remainder of v. 17 is obscure. The rendering of the RSV, “fatlings and kids shall feed among the ruins,” is based on the LXX and is appropriate to the context. According to this proposed rendering, lands that lie waste today will be transformed into pasture, in which domestic animals will feed together in peace.

18. Draw iniquity. The third woe is addressed to those who persist in their evil ways, fully aware of what they are doing. They are willingly bound to their iniquities with cords, as it were, and perversely resist every influence designed to set them free (see ch. 61:1).

A cart rope. A cart rope is thicker and stronger than a mere cord, and represents an advanced stage of rebelliousness in which the wicked are bound to their sins with bonds impossible to break. By persisting in evil they are sealing their own doom.

19. Let him make speed. These sinners boldly challenge God to go ahead with what He proposes to do about their spirit of perversity. They are defiant in their rebellion against Him. Isaiah constantly pointed out the certainty and nearness of the coming doom. The name of his second son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz (ch. 8:3), means “Speed the spoil, hasten the prey.” This name was intended as a sign to Israel of the nearness of the doom Isaiah so frequently foretold (ch. 8:18). But the people flouted the divine warnings. To Isaiah’s solemn messages of impending judgment they tauntingly replied, “Let God hasten the doom you keep telling us about. We would like to see it with our own eyes.” Thus they invited their own destruction. Compare Mal. 2:17; 3:13.

20. Call evil good. He who persistently resists the warnings that God in His mercy sends, will ultimately become so perverse in his thoughts that he is unable longer to distinguish between good and evil. He honestly thinks right is wrong and wrong is right. When perversity reaches such a pass, doom cannot be long delayed.

21. Wise in their own eyes. Confident that they know better than God, these perverse impenitents become “vain in their imaginations,” and their “foolish heart” is locked in darkness (Rom. 1:21; see DA 213). Their vaunted wisdom is consummate folly (Rom. 1:22). The world is filled with men who look with disdain upon those who believe God and obey His word. They find fault with everything God has done and all He proposes to do. It is men of this type who today are bringing woe upon themselves and the world about them. What these men need is to heed the sublime words of the psalmist, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).

22. Mighty to drink wine. This woe is akin to that pronounced against the drinkers of wine in vs. 11, 12. But the woe there is simply against a group of abandoned revelers. This woe traces the relationship between drink and the injustices mentioned in v. 23 as resulting from its use. These men are “mighty” in their drinking and valiant in their practice of iniquity.

23. Justify the wicked. That is, “acquit the guilty.” Right means nothing to this class. They are willing to exonerate the most wicked of men for the sake of material gain. For a bribe they will pronounce a righteous man guilty and declare the wicked innocent. They are without moral scruples. Their mode of living is expensive, and they will stop at nothing to secure the needed means. A country has reached a sorry state when men of this type sit in the judgment seat.

24. The flame consumeth the chaff. Literally, “as dry grass designed for the flame sinks down.” Dead Sea scroll 1QIs (see Vol. I, p. 31; Vol. IV, p. 86) reads, “as a flaming fire he sinks down.” The latter resembles the reading of the LXX, “burned together by an unrestrained fire.”

As rottenness. These men are utterly corrupt, and they will perish in their own corruption. As quickly as dry grass catches fire and is reduced to ashes, so will they be consumed.

The law of the Lord. Terrible are the results when the law of the Lord is rejected (see GC 586), for without it there is no way of determining what is good and what is evil. It was because these men had cast aside God’s law that they sank so low in iniquity as to engage in the practices described in vs. 8–23.

Despised the word. God’s word is always true and just. But these men despised His holy word (see on v. 21), and when men take this attitude there is little hope for them.

25. The anger of the Lord. See on Judges 2:20; 2 Kings 13:3; 17:11. It is a fearful thing to stir up the anger of the Lord. The Lord God is “merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Ex. 34:6). He ardently loves the sinner, but utterly abhors sin. He will not clear the guilty; in fact, He cannot do so and be consistent with His own character—unless and until the guilty person repents of his evil ways. When iniquity reaches a point beyond which there is no hope, divine forbearance ceases and the ministry of wrath begins (5T 208; 9T 13). At the time of Isaiah’s message the iniquity of Israel had almost reached such a pass.

The hills did tremble. Probably a reference to some terrible earthquake that must have wrought great destruction and was regarded as a judgment from Heaven. Such an earthquake apparently took place at some time during the reign of Uzziah, possibly during the latter part of his reign, a few years before his death. This may have been the earthquake not long before which the prophet Amos received his call (Amos 1:1). The memory of this earthquake was still vivid in the minds of the people when Isaiah delivered this message.

Torn. Literally, “as offal,” or “as refuse” (RSV). At the time the earthquake struck many fled into the streets, where they were killed and their bodies scattered about.

His hand is stretched out. That is, in judgment (see chs. 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4). For the turning back of God’s anger, see Ps. 85:4; Isa. 12:1; Hosea 14:4, and for His hand being stretched out to smite and destroy, see Ex. 3:20; 9:15; 2 Sam. 24:16; Isa. 14:27.

26. An ensign. Heb. nes, “signal,” “sign,” “standard.” In ancient times the fastest means of communication was by signal fires or smoke displayed from hilltop to hilltop. Similarly God announces that He will send a message to the nations. This ancient means of communication provided Isaiah with a figure he frequently employed (see chs. 11:10, 12; 13:2; 18:3; 49:22; 62:10). God’s “ensign” might be a sign on earth or in the heavens, and was any message the Lord might send, whether by angelic or human messenger, by natural phenomena, or by any other means He might employ to speak to the hearts of men. When God speaks to the nations they will respond by sending forth their armies (see ch. 5:26–30). In this case Isaiah refers particularly to the Assyrians, soon to invade Palestine (see ch. 10:5–7).

Hiss. Literally, “whistle.” As the “ensign” was a signal to the eye, so the “whistle” would be to the ear. Both would be understood by the nations, which would respond speedily to the Lord’s call.

27. None shall be weary. The picture of vs. 27–30 is of an army rapidly advancing (see ch. 10:28–33). The army presses on in perfect order toward the accomplishment of its appointed task. Nothing would hinder it. Compare the manner in which God hindered the Egyptians as they advanced contrary to His will (Ex. 14:23–25).

Among them. The Dead Sea scroll 1QIs (see Vol. I, p. 31; Vol. IV, p. 86) omits this expression, as does the LXX.

28. Whose arrows are sharp. The army is ready for battle. Their weapons are sharp, their horses are in condition for the long, hard journey, and the wheels of their chariots revolve like a whirlwind.

29. Their roaring. That is, their battle cry. The army approaches like a lion—fierce, bold, strong, and determined. The prey will not escape. God has given this army its marching orders, and the divine purpose will be accomplished.

30. They shall roar. The prophet here turns to another figure of speech, comparing the approach of the Assyrians to the waters of a flood that sweeps all before it and leaves desolation and ruin in its wake (see ch. 8:7, 8).

Behold darkness and sorrow. The figurative roaring of the sea is accompanied by the darkness and terror of the tempest.

Ellen G. White comments

1, 2 COL 214, 284; GC 20; PK 17

2     COL 215

3–7AA 15; COL 290; PK 19

4     COL 218, 298; DA 596; GC 20; 1T 510; 2T 123; 5T 117, 195, 240

7     COL 214, 285, 298; PK 17, 711; 8T 114

8, 11, 12          PK 306

11–138T 114

20   AA 431; GC 192, 229, 557; GW 264; MH 346; ML 87; PK 178; 1T 332; 3T 207, 324; 5T 62, 438

20, 21  PP 360; 8T 114

22   PK 306

22–24MH 346

23, 24  PP 360

24        8T 97, 115