ISAIAH CHAPTER 5 1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. a) The word beloved was translated "uncle" 16 times and "father's brother" 2 times, "beloved" 34 times, etc. Gill says that it may be a song given to him by King Amaziah, for according to tradition, Amoz, the father of Isaiah, was brother to Amaziah king of Judah. It could also be Israel, whom the prophet had a great affection for, in that they were his own people. However Gill thinks it more correct to be Christ, which makes more sense, since the vineyard is Israel and the owner of the vineyard is the LORD (Jehovah) of Hosts (vs 7). b) The song or parable is about the condition and state of Israel. Compare: Ma 21:33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: 34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. 38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. 39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. ... 45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. 46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. c) very fruitful = "the horn of the son of oil" Gill: Which designs the land of Israel, which was higher than other lands; and was, as some observe, in the form of a horn, longer than it was broad, and a very fruitful country, a land of olive oil, a land flowing with milk and honey. d) he fenced it: With good and wholesome laws and His almighty power and providence. The law of God was for their good and protection. It was never designed for one to earn salvation, but was to point them to Christ, however keeping God's law will bring peace and prosperity to a nation. e) gathered out the stones thereof: Gill thinks this to mean the heathen nations that occupied the land of Canaan before Israel arrived there. Stone representing their hardness and ignorance in worshiping idols of stone. f) and planted it with the choicest vine: The seed of Abraham. Remember Joshua and Caleb fully followed the Lord when they went into Canaan, and the people of Israel with them, while the ones who murmured fell in the wilderness before entering Canaan land. g) built a tower in the midst of it: A tower is where watchmen keep an eye out. So the watchmen here would be spiritual watchmen and the tower probably the Temple which was in the midst of them. Eze 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. Isaiah uses the word "watchmen" 7 times. In one place he says, "His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter" (Isa 56:10-11). h) also made a winepress therein: Which is used to tread grapes. It seems that in most cases it means judgement. For example we read: Isa 63:3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. Re 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Re 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. Re 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.\ Could the winepress be the judgement for His people's sins on the person of Christ. Some explain this to be the altar where a blood atonement was made for sins, which we know pointed the the work of Christ who shead his blood for His people's sins. Either our sins will be judged upon us or they were judged upon Christ, but sin will be judged, and the winpress seems to be conveying that message. i) and he looked that it should bring forth grapes: Everything was given that it might bring forth good grapes. This looking is humanly speaking. It was not that God was looking for one thing and was surprised by something else. But humanly speaking with all that had been done to such a vineyard, you would naturaly expect good grapes; but human depravity being what it is, wild grapes came up. Verse 7 tells us that the LORD looked for judgement and righteousness but found opression and a cry. j) it brought forth wild grapes: Bad grapes, rotten, Gill says. They were no better than the heathen nations around them. 3) And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? a) He had given them His law, etc. There was noting that God had done to cause them to err, but He had done nothing but good toward them, yet His vineyard, which was Israel, brought forth wild grapes. How much this speaks of the need of regeneration in the individual's heart, else all the outward benefits will prophit nothing. b) Parents raise children and give them all that they can in upbring, teaching them God's laws and why God's laws are right and good and yet mischief is in the heart of every child. 5) And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; [and] break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. a) Not about the good that he had done but about the judgement he was going to bring against the nation. Christ gave the same parable in his day. And we know that shortly after he was crucified by the Jewish leaders the city of Jerusalem, especially the temple was destroyed by the Romans. Lu 19:43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. Lu 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. b) come up briers and thorns: Heb 6:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers [is] rejected, and [is] nigh unto cursing; whose end [is] to be burned. c) the clouds that they rain no rain upon it: God's word had been removed from them. Israel rejected the word of God and the word was sent to the Gentile nations. Am 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 7) For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts [is] the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. a) Israel (10 tribes) and Judah (2 tribes, Judah and Benjamin) are both identified here. b) oppression and a cry: A cry from the oppressed because of unrighteous judgement. c) Gill says, "Here ends the song; what has been parabolically said is literally expressed in the following part of the chapter." 8) Woe unto them that join house to house, [that] lay field to field, till [there be] no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! a) Gill says that there are 22 blessings promised in the Psalms and here Isaiah pronounced 22 woes. Christ pronounced woes unto the Jewish leaders in his day. b) the sin of covetousness. There is nothing wrong with owning land and a house, but when there is an apetite to get more and more until there is no room for anyone else and they are sitting in the middle of it all by themeselves. Bonanza! "Your on Ponderosa land." c) God gave the land to Israel, Abraham and his SEED and not to one individual. d) The need to be content with what God has given us. 9) In mine ears [said] the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, [even] great and fair, without inhabitant. a) Not only was this true at the taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, but at the destruction of it by the Romans, of which this prophecy seems more to point. 10) Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. a) Bath = 4.5 gallons which is nothing for 10 acres. b) and ephah was 1/10 of a homer. So a whole homer (5 bushells and 5 gallons) would only yield a tenth of the seed that was planted. c) famine in the land 11) Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, [that] they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, [till] wine inflame them! a) drunkeness b) follow = to pursue it or run after. Not one drink but to continue until they are drunken. And not something done at bed time for health but done early in the morning when one should be about their business, but instead pursue drink and continue all day until night. 12) And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands. a) They have a form of godliness but their heart is far from God. Mt 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Ps 28:5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up. 13) Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because [they have] no knowledge: and their honourable men [are] famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. a) therefore: Because "they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands." and "because [they have] no knowledge" of the work of the LORD. Just as Psalm 28:5 pointed out. b) are gone: Even though it speaks in the present tense, it was yet future. Good as done! c) famine of real food and water and of Gods's word. 14) Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. a) hell: AV - grave 31, hell 31, pit 3; 65 1) sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit 1a) the underworld 1b) Sheol - the OT designation for the abode of the dead 1b1) place of no return 1b2) without praise of God 1b3) wicked sent there for punishment 1b4) righteous not abandoned to it 1b5) of the place of exile (fig) 1b6) of extreme degradation in sin b) Gill says the graves certainly will not be enough to bury all the dead, and a pit would have to be dug for mass graves. 15) And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: 16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. a) mean man: The common or poor man, the low man, low in social status. The poor man will be brought down to hell and the grave as previously described, as well as the rich and noble. Even the poor man will be humbled. b) humbled: The mighty man will be humbled when famine and distress, ruin and misery, come upon them. Then shall their pride be abased. c) Lord of Hosts: Hosts or armies that will come with him when he comes to judge the earth. Christ. d) Gill says that this speaks of the judgement brought against Israel after Christ was crucified. Christ was sanctified in righteousness by living a holy life on this earth. That he is the believer's righteousness. But it seems to be suggesting that he will be sanctified and righteous in judging wickedness. It is that he is exalted in judgement. That will never be more evident when he comes to judge this world and all the world will know that it is Christ who is judging and not Alah or some other false god. 17) Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. a) Gill says that this is speaking of the Apostles feeding God's sheep and that the strangers eating are the Gentiles who received the Gospel. 18) Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: 19 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 nigh and come, that we may know [it]! a) They do not just fall into sin, but draw sin to them with cords of vanity. They pull sin to them as it were a cart rope. b) They believe in God because they say "let him" and "let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh." The Holy One of Israel is the Christ. Gill says that this is the mockery that was given to Christ by the Jewish leaders. Christ had pronounced woes to the Pharisees who were hypocrites and thgis verse in Isaiah seems to be suggesting hypocrisy. 20) Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! a) This could apply to many things especially in our day of liberalism. They call abortion "pro choice" homosexuality and "alternate life style" and then the same people will turn around and call things that are good, evil. The same people would "save a whale and kill a baby." b) Gill says that some apply this to the Pharisees who called Christ evil and rejected the Gospel for the evil traditions of some of their fathers. c) We would say that it would even apply to the false teachers of our day who would pervert the Gospel and call pure and free grace evil and mix the notions of men into the Gospel. Christ is the light of the world and Christ is the truth. Salvation is totally in what He has done for His people and not some mixture. To say that salvation is by works or that someone can come to God some other way than through Christ is to put darkness for light, and light for darkness. I have heard religious men say that election is evil and yet the Bible teaches sovereign election. 21) Woe unto [them that are] wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! a) The Pharisees were wise and prudent in their own eyes. Lu 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men [are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 40 And [some] of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. Pr 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. Pr 26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? [there is] more hope of a fool than of him. Ro 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, Ro 12:16 [Be] of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 1Co 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 22) Woe unto [them that are] mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: 23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! a) Who would drink till they are intoxicated. Notice it says "MIGHTY to drink wine" not for medicinal purposes or as we drink wine in the Lord's supper. b) men of strength: Men of war (soldiers) or men of strength in riches who can afford strong drink. Or men of power, judges and civil magistrates, who are in a place of responsibility that affects others. As we see from verse 23 where they are in a postion to justify wicked men for a reward and condemn a righteous man. Judgement is gone out perverted by men of power who are given to strong drink. How this speaks of the Jewish rulers condeming Jesus Christ to the cross, a man who was the only righteous man who ever lived and releasing Barabbas, a thief. How Christ was betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. c) mingle strong drink: Evidently mixing with wine a stronger drink or stronger wine. Wine is not liqour. Liqour is distilled and wine is fermented. d) woe unto them: When God pronounces a woe unto something that should get our attention. Woe seems to be connected with judgement rather than chastisement. Chastisement is for our good but judgement is a woe. There were three woes pronounced in Revelation in connection to the judgement of this world. SEE: Re 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! Re 9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. Re 11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. Re 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 24) Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, [so] their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases [were] torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is] stretched out still. a) They despised Christ and rejected them, so God has judged the nation of Israel (his people, vs 25). And his hand is still stretched out in judgement against them and has not turned away. b) fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff: This speaks of the quickness and thoroughness of God's anger (vs 25). c) root and blossom: The complete destruction of their nation. Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. Mat 22:4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 26) And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: 27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: 28 Whose arrows [are] sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: 29 Their roaring [shall be] like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry [it] away safe, and none shall deliver [it]. 30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if [one] look unto the land, behold darkness [and] sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof. a) ensign: Hebrew = nec {nace} AV - standard 7, ensign 6, pole 2, banner 2, sail 2, sign 1; 20 1) something lifted up, standard, signal, signal pole, ensign, banner, sign, sail 1a) standard (as rallying point), signal 1b) standard (pole) 1c) ensign, signal b) hiss: Hebrew = sharaq {shaw-rak'} in the Qal stem. It means to hiss, whistle, pipe 1a) (Qal) to hiss (as a signal) c) The Romans who consisted of several nations and had extended their empire to many nations and who came from afar off and destroryed Jerusalem. d) tribulation period: Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: