Isaiah 5:24-30 – The Vineyard Destroyed
We see here what is to come upon the vineyard, what is to come upon Judah and Jerusalem. We start out as the fire devours the stubble. Nothing stands before the flame. The judgment is further lined out in a picture of another kind of plant, perhaps a grapevine. It is rotten at the root, and it dies off. The other picture here is of the little blossoms. If the root rots and it all dies, then the flowers turn into dust. God’s judgement is so fearsome that the hills and mountains tremble before it. The enemy armies come swiftly. They’re ready to do God’s task, ready to bring judgment upon this wicked vineyard. God compares them to lions. Isaiah then moves from the roaring of lions to the roaring of the sea. Like a tsunami the water grabs them. That is what this destruction from afar will be like.
When did this happen for Judah and Jerusalem? They had recently been warned with an earthquake. Later on, they were warned far more strongly when the Assyrians nearly overwhelmed them, they were warned with great defeat by the Babylonians, and shortly afterward, the kingdom of Judah was destroyed. The people weren’t, but they were carried off for a time by the Babylonians. After a couple of generations, they were allowed back. But then finally, after the people as a whole rejected Jesus, they were destroyed under the leadership of Rome in AD 70. So what is God referring to? All of these to some degree, culminating in the destruction in AD 70. No one has yet sadly delivered the Jews from what happened to them under the Roman Empire nearly 2000 years ago. None has come, and none shall until the day that Jesus brings them, as we read in Romans 11, to look upon Him and live. What about the people who were truly the people of God, the remnant that God often speaks of through Isaiah and other prophets? Let’s be sure that through this afflicting discipline, all the true people of God were kept safe and secure, although thousands fell around them.
Questions
- What pictures does Isaiah use to warn the people?
- What judgements did God send upon the people of Judah?
Prayer Points
- Pray that we would listen to God’s warnings.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.