Day 200, Isaiah 5-8

I found today’s reading to be quite confusing and difficult to understand. Most of it involved me using my NIV Study Bible to try and figure out what in the world a lot of it really meant…

The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed

When speaking of the vineyard, my understanding is that the Lord was speaking about Israel. God’s vineyard had every advantage, but when they looked to it to yield grapes, it yielded wild grapes.

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!
-Isaiah 5:7

Woe to the Wicked

Here was a series of six woes pronounced, followed by three judgment sections. It explained different ways the people were disobeying the Lord and sinning.

• 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.
  
• 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 do not regard the deeds of the Lord, or see the work of his hands.
  
• Woe to those who drawn 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!”
  
• 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 shrewd in their own sight!
  
• 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!

But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice,
and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
-Isaiah 5:16

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.
-Isaiah 5:25

When God takes action, even the mountains tremble. This is the language of theophany ( a manifestation or appearance of God.)

Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord

Isaiah had a vision of seeing the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. The train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim (angelic beings). Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

One called to another and said:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.
-Isaiah 6:3

Then the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. This was similar to the power of God’s voice that terrified the Israelites at Mount Sinai, when the mountain was covered with smoke.

Isaiah was dismayed because anyone who saw God expected to die immediately. He said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphim flew to Isaiah with a burning coal in his hand that he had taken from the altar. He touched Isaiah’s mouth and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.”

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord asking who he should send for them. Isaiah volunteered and said, “Here I am! Send me.” The Lord told Isaiah what to go and say to the people.

Isaiah’s prophetic commission would have the ironic but justly deserved effect of hardening the callous hearts of rebellious Israel. And so rendering the warnings of judgment sure.

The heavenly King spoke in the divine counsel and as a true prophet, Isaiah was made privy to that council, as were Micaiah (1 Kings 22:29-20) and Jeremiah.

Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz

At this point, the king of Israel went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it. The Lord told Isaiah and his son to go out and meet Ahaz, and say to him

“Be careful, be quiet, do not fear,
and do not let your heart be faint…’
-Isaiah 7:4

He continued that their enemies had devised evil against them and they would come to Judah to terrify it. They would try to conquer it for themselves and make their own king.

The Lord said that it would not stand or come to pass. Within sixty-five years Ephraim would be shattered from being a people.

If you are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all.
-Isaiah 7:9

The Sign of Immanuel

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz and told him to ask for a sign from the Lord. God was willing to strengthen the faith of Ahaz with a sign. But Ahaz refused, and said that he would not put the Lord to the test.

I will not ask,
and I will not put the Lord to the test.
-Isaiah 7:12

The Lord would give him a sign anyway. There would be a virgin who would conceive and bear a son, who would be called Immanuel. This name which means “God is with us” was meant to convince Ahaz that God could rescue him from his enemies.

Jesus would become the final fulfillment of this prophecy, for he was “God with us” in the fullest sense.

The Coming Assyrian Invasion

The armies came to attack. At first all seemed lost, but God was with them and they defeated their enemies.

Take counsel together,
but it will come to nothing;
speak a word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.
-Isaiah 8:10

Fear God, Wait for the Lord

The Lord spoke to Isaiah with his strong hand upon him. He warned him not to walk in the way of those people, or call conspiracies as they do. He should not fear or be in dread.

He was to honor the Lord of hosts, and honor him as holy. He was to let the Lord be his fear and dread and he would become a sanctuary and a stone of offense.

Isaiah would bind up that testimony and seal the teaching among the Lord’s disciples. He would wait for the Lord who was hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and he would hope in him.

He continued with questioning why anyone would inquire in the mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter, and not inquire in their God. Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?

Thoughts…

This last section really hit home with me. Even though I read about the rules previously over and over again it seemed, I still always questioned this. I like to do Angel Card Readings, but ever since I started reading the Bible I have questioned if this is something I should continue doing or if I were being hypocritical.

To understand what I’m talking about you can read a previous post of mine where I discuss a little about Angel Cards.

Even the woman who created the cards I use has stopped using them, or any other New Age material (which she spent her life building a career based around). She says now that anything along those lines is an abomination and a sin and should not be tolerated. She also says that yoga and Harry Potter are sinful though too…

I don’t know. I’ve questioned this for a while and am trying not to play around with them, except when someone asks me to do a reading for them. I would love to get others insight on this who have more experience studying the Bible.

What are your thoughts?
Comment below.