Isaiah 5:5

Isaiah 5:5 says, 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:  Isaiah said the people of Jerusalem might as well go away from there, since God was no longer going to provide them protection because of their rebellion against Him.  We cannot expect God to protect us just because we may gather with others in His name if we are not being obedient to His word.  This is not to say that we must obey God’s commandments in order to be saved, but that if we are saved, we should want to obey His commandments.  We are saved through faith in Christ alone, but we are also saved to be obedient to God.   

Verse six adds, 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. Still equating Judah and Jerusalem to a vineyard, God said He was no longer going to tend it.  It would be allowed to grow wild, and He would no longer send rain on it. We need to understand that just professing to be a Christian without then being obedient to God’s word is never going to bring His protection on us.  Even if we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, though we are forever saved, if we begin to disobey God’s word, we will no longer be assured of His spiritual protection in this world. 

Verse seven continues, 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. Isaiah reminded them that Israel and Judah, which should have been one nation, were called to be His people and to be fair in their treatment of people, but that He found only oppression in them.  Still, He heard the cry of those who did call on Him.  Even if we are oppressed by the world, or even by those who call themselves the church, if we cry out to God as believers, He will hear us.  It is then plainly stated that the vineyard referred to is the house of Israel and the men of Judah were to be His pleasant vine.  They had rebelled against Him, still expecting Him to protect them, but they found only oppression.  As Christians, we are God’s vineyard today, but if we disobey His commandments, we will find that we may no longer have His protection. We are still part of His everlasting kingdom, but in this life, we may lose His protection spiritually.   

Verse eight states, 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!  Matthew Henry says this refers to being so self-centered that people don’t want anyone to have a place to live close to them.  I know that many rich people today like to have vast mansions on lots of land so that they can be separated from everyone else and likely feel superior to them.  This should never be the attitude of God’s people.  We are not called on to separate ourselves from other people because of a feeling of superiority, but to reach out to the less fortunate with the love of God.  This is a warning to the greedy who want everything for themselves with no concern for anyone else.  They would leave no place for the poor and needy.  I sometimes wonder how God feels about our big houses while others live in hovels, and we have nothing but contempt for them.   

Verse nine adds, In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant.  God said that one day these houses, though they were great and fair, would be left desolate.  This may not happen in our lifetime, but when Jesus Christ returns, this will be the case.  Nothing here that we have valued so greatly will be of any importance then.  It will all be left behind.  God said that many of those great houses would be left desolate without inhabitants.  We should know as followers of Christ that nothing material in this world is going to last in the coming kingdom of God.  Only our good works will last when Jesus Christ comes again.  Yet, we often put more emphasis in what we own more than on what we have done for God.   

Verse ten continues, Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.  God warned them that the yield of these corrupt vineyards was going to be very little.   Even if we grow rich in the things of the world outside the commandments of God, it will amount to nothing when His judgment comes.  The same would be true of the vineyards and they would no longer be productive.  All our earthly riches that we may be so pound of are one day going to be worthless, and only the things that we have done for God will remain. 

Verse eleven concludes, Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!  God then warned of woe for those who drank strong drinks all day long.  I believe we could add many drugs to that list today.   I am not saying that those who have an occasional drink of alcohol are condemned, but those who only want to live for the pleasure that they believe that drinking or drugs may bring are not following God's commandments.  

Isaiah 5:1

 Isaiah 5:1 says, 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:  This is a reference to Jesus Christ, God’s well beloved Son, who planted a vineyard, the people of His church.  We should sing song of praise to Him because of this.  Of course, at that time they were looking forward to the Messiah coming the first time, but those who put faith in God and His promise of the coming Messiah were a part of His vineyard.   We today put our faith in the Messiah Who has already come, and that is Jesus Christ.

Verse two adds, 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.  Matthew Henry says this is a song to God, and here He reminds the people of Judah and Jerusalem of all that He had done for them.  He not only gave them a land flowing with milk and honey, but He put them a wall around them or put them under His protection.  He planted them to bring forth the choicest of fruit under His guidance, but they became as wild vines instead by rejecting their covenant with Him.  As Christians, we are to bring forth fruit as branches of the vine of Christ, and when we do so under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, it will be good fruit.  Too often though, we choose to not follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit and become as wild vines bringing forth bad fruit.   

Verse three continues, And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.  God reaches out to the people of Jerusalem and Judah as well I believe. He says they are between Him and His vineyard.  As Christians, we never want to come between God and His will being carried out.   

Verse four concludes, 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?  God then asked what more He could have done for His vineyard, His chosen people.  He had delivered them from bondage, kept them safe in the wilderness, and gave them a land flowing with milk and honey, and yet they chose to rebel against Him.  When Jesus Christ died for us, He gave us everlasting salvation if we put our faith in Him and promised that our spiritual needs will always be met, but this too often not enough for us.  There is nothing more that God can do than this.   

Isaiah 4:1

Isaiah 4:1 says, And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.  After so many men fell in battle, the balance between the number of men and women changed.  Women would be desperate to marry and have a man to call their husband.  They would be so desperate to do this that seven women would go to the same man and ask him to marry them while even promising that if he did, they would provide for themselves.  This was definitely not in accordance with God's will, and one man being married to several women isn't today, for whatever reason. 

Verse two adds, In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.  Though things looked bleak, there was coming a restoration of the people of God.  This was ultimately fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ but was temporarily fulfilled by when Hezikiah became king after Ahaz.  We may have Christian nations today, but the ultimate fulfillment of God’s word will occur when Jesus Christ returns in victory.   

Verse three continues, And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:  In that day, Isaiah said that all those left in Zion and Jerusalem would be called holy.  Holy means that they would be set apart from the world and set up as a part of God’s kingdom, which will not completely come until Jesus Christ returns.   We as followers of Christ are a part of Gd’s kingdom, but we won’t see His everlasting kingdom until Jesus Christ comes to escort us home.  

Verse four states, When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.  The people left after God’s judgment would be washed clean of the filth that had invaded His kingdom.  Once more, we need to remember that all of these people had been called God’s people by the world, but they were not called His people by God Himself, and those who were truly God's people would be cleansed of all filth, or unrighteousness.  When Jesus Christ returns, He will purge His church, those who believe in Him as Savior and Lord, of all the unrighteous things that may have invaded worship services.   

Verse five adds, And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.  Just as God did with Israel in the wilderness, He would protect His people then day and night.  Matthew Henry says that the cloud was to protect them from heat during the day and the shining, flaming fire was to keep them warm by night.  I believe that it might be more just a sign of His presence, since He could easily control the temperature if this was the only reason He was doing this.  He also points out that God was not just going to protect one place of worship, but He was going to protect every place that the people worshipped, including their homes.  As followers of Christ, our homes should be places where we worship God, and not just the church building where we gather to worship.   

Verse six adds, And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.  In this verse, it is stated that the tabernacle will be a place of refuge from the heat of the day and from the storm and the rain.  Even if we were to be physically destroyed by the elements, we are still forever protected spiritually as Christians.