Isaiah 5:18-30
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity,
And sin as if 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 near and come,
That we may know it."
20 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!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine,
Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away justice from the righteous man!
24 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.
25 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.
26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,
And will whistle to them from the end of the earth;
Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.
27 No one will be weary or stumble among them,
No one will slumber or sleep;
Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed,
Nor the strap of their sandals be broken;
28 Whose arrows are sharp,
And all their bows bent;
Their horses' hooves will seem like flint,
And their wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring will be like a lion,
They will roar like young lions;
Yes, they will roar
And lay hold of the prey;
They will carry it away safely,
And no one will deliver.
30 In that day they will roar against them
Like the roaring of the sea.
And if one looks to the land,
Behold, darkness and sorrow;
And the light is darkened by the clouds.
Woes are pronounced against the people who reject God here and pull sin like a cart behind them along the path because it is what they value. They taunt and tempt the Lord to do some miracle or tell some great revelation in order to prove Himself to them because of their purposeful disbelief. God used Isaiah to pronounce these woes, beginning with those who call evil things good and good evil, calling God a liar and setting up their own standards of right and wrong, even though upside down and backwards from the pronounced truth revealed already according to His word. These who reject Him also call darkness light and light darkness, as well as reversing sweet and bitter tastes in rejecting His creation made good and right. They are contrary to God and His word. They also are full of the pride of life as if they had wisdom of their own making and God has none; this rebellion is at the heart of sin (Genesis 3:1, 17) in rejecting the word of God. Woes are also given to those living in antithesis to righteousness and holiness, such as the drunkard and one who bribes to pervert justice at other’s expense. The expected and just result of this rejection and stand against the Lord begins with His wrath as a consuming fire burning the useless chaff (Luke 3:17) and utter loss of fruitfulness in their lives. This is spelled out in verse 24 as a result of rejecting His word and actually despising God Himself! God’s wrath was aroused against Israel as a nation then, but extends to everyone born on this earth who continues to reject and despise Him and His word. His anger will not be turned away from those who do these things now, but will face a certain judgment (Hebrews 10:27) forevermore. He will call the nations against these in the final battle as well on the earth before His coming as a last warning to repent and submit their pride in stopping their disbelief and disobedience of rebellion. His judgment will put down the rebellion of sin once and for all forever as His enemies are devoured and defeated along with their darkness. God will certainly call all to account and judge fairly in righteousness. The ultimate woe to those rejecting Him and His word is eternal punishment. Are we ready for the final judgment, or will we ignore the warning as Isaiah gave to Israel? Wise people will heed the gospel call to unearned forgiveness and reconciliation instead of face the consequence of pride and resulting rejection from God’s presence eternally in the New Jerusalem. Turn to Him and live!
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