Woe to the Scoffers

Isaiah 5:8–25

Isaiah 5:8–25 NKJV

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.” 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. 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.” 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! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight! 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. 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.

Isaiah 28

28:1-4 Destruction to come for the “crown of pride”. Ephraim (Israel) will meet its doom.

v.1 - Samaria used to be on a hill (crown), a glorious city. Now a crown of pride is among them.

28:5-6 A Crown of Glory for the Remnant

28:7-13 The Error of the Priests and Prophets

v.9-10 - Hatred for God’s truth evident among His people.

v.11-15 - Delusions of safety because they have worked it all out (supposedly) - Political solution to a moral problem.

28:14-15 Warning to the Scornful Rulers in Jerusalem

28:16-22 The Precious Cornerstone

v.16-22 - The cornerstone is the ONLY thing that is solid.

28:23-29 Difficulty of the Doctrine of God

Where is the Hope? Isaiah 55

I. Try to figure out what God wants, and you will never find it.

II. God’s ways are better and higher.

Ed Bragwell - God’s righteousness so much higher than Israel - they SHOULD and COULD have thought His way, but they didn’t. More an indictment than a statement of fact.

III. God’s ways work.

IV. Hold to God, and you go from the thorns to the blessings.

Scoffers in the “last days”:

2 Peter 3:3 “knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,”

Jude 17–19 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.

Babylon:

Habakkuk 1:10 “They scoff at kings, And princes are scorned by them. They deride every stronghold, For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.”

Zophar’s words (directed at Job, but nonetheless true):

Job 11:3 Should your empty talk make men hold their peace? And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?

Nature of a Scoffer:

Proverbs 9:7–12 “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”

Proverbs 13:1 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

Proverbs 14:6–8 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy to him who understands. Go from the presence of a foolish man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge. The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, But the folly of fools is deceit.

Proverbs 15:12 A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise.

Proverbs 19:25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.

Proverbs 21:24 A proud and haughty man—“Scoffer” is his name; He acts with arrogant pride.

Proverbs 22:10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

Proverbs 24:8–9 He who plots to do evil Will be called a schemer. The devising of foolishness is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men.

(Zophar)

Job 11:7–9 “Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.

Contrariwise...

Psalm 1:1–3 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.