A Song of Woe
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
The Parable of the Vineyard
The Parable of the Vineyard
Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!
In this song, God inspires Isaiah to draw a comparison and call on Judah to judge.
The vineyard
The vineyard is planted and carefully protected
This is a picture of what God had done for Israel
The produce
wild grapes
Not the desired outcome
tainted by inferior genetics
Israel had produced corruption and sin rather than a holy people
Play on words: justice…bloodshed…righteousness…a cry
God wanted equity
they gave Him iniquity
Right
they gave a riot!
The punishment
The vineyard to be torn down
God decreed judgment was coming and the sins of the nation would be judged.
AP: We should head this parable!
Throughout the Scripture, God’s moral expectations have remained the same.
We would be fools to ignore them and think we are exempt from God’s discipline!
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
This theme is often repeated in both OT and NT
Do justice
treat others as God has demanded
6 of the 10 commandments deal with this
Don’t oppress others
the poor, the weak, the powerless
AND
the wealthy, the strong, and powerful!
All have dignity and deserve justice
Love Kindness
Do good to others
Respond with compassion and concern
Meet needs, give comfort,
Walk humbly
humbling ourselves in loving submission to GOD
The Paganism of Israel
The Paganism of Israel
Isa 5:8-24.
Six judgments on specific sins are pronounced:
The pattern which followed is a pronouncement of woes
Each one illustrates the wickedness and excesses of the people and would warrant God’s judgment. His standards are the same today!
1. Rich have bought up all property
1. Rich have bought up all property
Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.
The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing: “Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”
God had given them the land
It was to remain within each tribe and family
They had corrupted that
They gathered huge estates and pushed others off their God given land
They left no room for the poor
They left no opportunity for others
Punishment- productivity slashed
what should have yielded more would yield less
IL: 6 bushels planted would yield 1/2 bushel!
2. They were God-rejecting drunkards
2. They were God-rejecting drunkards
Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!
They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.
Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst.
Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who exults in her.
Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low.
But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.
Lived only for their own carnal pleasure and took that to excess
Substituted carnal desires for living as God required
They spent all day drinking and seeking entertainments
They neglected their duties
The grave is compared to open mouthed beast devouring the leaders of Israel
3. Filled with deceit
3. Filled with deceit
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,
who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!”
They were deceivers and went so far as mocking God
They rejected and ridiculed God’s prophets
Almost daring HIM to judge them
4. Twisted truth
4. Twisted truth
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!
Substituted Man’s standards for GOD’s
Popular opinion in culture is NEVER a substitute for God’s word when seeking a moral compass.
They had things so backwards, they celebrated sins and criticized those following God’s Word
We see the same things in our society
Sin on display and celebrated
Parades honoring sexual morality
A demand that all comply
5. Relied on human wisdom
5. Relied on human wisdom
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
They were arrogant!
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
they were fools yet thought themselves to be wise
6. Corrupted justice
6. Corrupted justice
Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!
Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
The judges accepted bribes and adjudicated while intoxicated
The Punishment of Israel
The Punishment of Israel
Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps, not a waistband is loose, not a sandal strap broken;
their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.
Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar; they growl and seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue.
They will growl over it on that day, like the growling of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened by its clouds.
God was bringing judgment
calling in a distant nation to be His instrument of judgment
Their dead will rot in streets 5:25
Their dead will rot in streets 5:25
So defeated, none will be left to bury the dead
The streets would be lined with the slain
Foreign nations would take them captive 5:26-30
Foreign nations would take them captive 5:26-30
They were to go back into slavery
In Exodus, God delivered them from slavery and made them a nation
Now, they were to return to captivity and would be carried off
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
This parable, description of paganism, and pronouncement of punishment should be a lesson for us
God did not spare HIS people and city.
God punished sin without partiality
We had better not think we get a free pass!
