Isa 5:26-30 | KingComments | STEP | With a “therefore” and an “on this account” ( ) God’s irrevocable judgment follows. The vineyard ( ) turns out to be totally depraved. There is only one remedy: total judgment. The Divine judgment on all this is compared to a “tongue of fire” ( ) which will lick up everything they boast about as if it were “stubble” and “dry grass”. In the same sense, “their root will become like rot” and will have no life force to make the fruit tree bear fruit above the ground. As a result, “their blossom”, their splendor and the promise of fruit, will “blow away as dust”. No fruit will emerge and there will be nothing left of what seemed to become a harvest. This judgment will affect them because they have “rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel”. They treated with contempt the law, the written word of the LORD, as well as the oral statements of the Holy One of Israel through His prophets. The title “the Holy One of Israel”, regularly mentioned by Isaiah, makes clear in a special way the enormous distance that exists between man’s sin and the holiness of God. Their rejection of Him has burned His anger against them ( ). Because they have rejected Him, He will send a mighty enemy against them, His people. Because of that enemy, He stretches His hand against them to strike them down, that is to punish them. The thorny hedge and the walls of the vineyard are removed so that this enemy can come unhindered to destroy them, as it is said in in the song of the vineyard. The marching of this enemy – Assyria, prophetically the king of the North – will make the mountains quake. Because of his attacks, the streets will be filled with corpses as if it were refuse. And that is not the end of the judgments. The people will be beaten even more fiercely. Therefore, “His anger is not spent, but His hand is still stretched out” ( ), an expression that describes the progress of God’s judgment ( ). In follows a description of the invasion of the Assyrians. The description also refers to the invasion of the king of the North in the end time ( ). The LORD gives the starting signal for the advancement of the enemy. He lifts up a standard as a sign for the enemy to go to Jerusalem and fight as His army against His apostate people ( ). What a change compared to the time when He was their “Banner” ( )! Just as a beekeeper whistles his bees to himself, so the LORD will gather the enemy’s armies as His bees ( ). They will come, hasty and quick. It is a tireless army because it is provided with superhuman strength by the LORD ( ). They have no need for sleep or rest. There is no question of dozing off. Material failure will not occur. What the LORD did to His people in the wilderness, He does here with the army He sends to His people (cf. ). It is an army fully prepared for its task, with soldiers holding the weapons for immediate use ( ). They proceed at lightning speed, without fear and without compassion. The army attacks like a lion, roars, grabs its prey, and drags it away (in captivity) without any possibility of escape, and without anyone being able to come to their aid ( ). The expression “in that day” shows that the events that were coming then will repeat themselves in the future and then lead to a final result. To “growl over it … like the roaring of the sea” ( ) is an indication for the advancing armies that take possession of the land like flooding waters (cf. ; ). For God’s people there will be only “darkness [and] distress” in that day, with no view of light. “For what purpose [will] the day of the LORD [be] to you? It [will be] darkness and not light” ( ).

‏ Isaiah 5:26-30

The Distant Nation

With a “therefore” and an “on this account” (Isa 5:24-25) God’s irrevocable judgment follows. The vineyard (Isa 5:1-7) turns out to be totally depraved. There is only one remedy: total judgment. The Divine judgment on all this is compared to a “tongue of fire” (Isa 5:24) which will lick up everything they boast about as if it were “stubble” and “dry grass”. In the same sense, “their root will become like rot” and will have no life force to make the fruit tree bear fruit above the ground. As a result, “their blossom”, their splendor and the promise of fruit, will “blow away as dust”. No fruit will emerge and there will be nothing left of what seemed to become a harvest.

This judgment will affect them because they have “rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel”. They treated with contempt the law, the written word of the LORD, as well as the oral statements of the Holy One of Israel through His prophets. The title “the Holy One of Israel”, regularly mentioned by Isaiah, makes clear in a special way the enormous distance that exists between man’s sin and the holiness of God.

Their rejection of Him has burned His anger against them (Isa 5:25). Because they have rejected Him, He will send a mighty enemy against them, His people. Because of that enemy, He stretches His hand against them to strike them down, that is to punish them. The thorny hedge and the walls of the vineyard are removed so that this enemy can come unhindered to destroy them, as it is said in Isa 5:5 in the song of the vineyard.

The marching of this enemy – Assyria, prophetically the king of the North – will make the mountains quake. Because of his attacks, the streets will be filled with corpses as if it were refuse. And that is not the end of the judgments. The people will be beaten even more fiercely. Therefore, “His anger is not spent, but His hand is still stretched out” (Isa 5:25b), an expression that describes the progress of God’s judgment (Isa 9:11 ; 16 ; 20 ; Isa 10:4).

In Isa 5:26-30 follows a description of the invasion of the Assyrians. The description also refers to the invasion of the king of the North in the end time (Dan 11:40). The LORD gives the starting signal for the advancement of the enemy. He lifts up a standard as a sign for the enemy to go to Jerusalem and fight as His army against His apostate people (Isa 5:26). What a change compared to the time when He was their “Banner” (Exo 17:15)! Just as a beekeeper whistles his bees to himself, so the LORD will gather the enemy’s armies as His bees (Isa 7:18). They will come, hasty and quick.

It is a tireless army because it is provided with superhuman strength by the LORD (Isa 5:27). They have no need for sleep or rest. There is no question of dozing off. Material failure will not occur. What the LORD did to His people in the wilderness, He does here with the army He sends to His people (cf. Deu 8:4).

It is an army fully prepared for its task, with soldiers holding the weapons for immediate use (Isa 5:28). They proceed at lightning speed, without fear and without compassion. The army attacks like a lion, roars, grabs its prey, and drags it away (in captivity) without any possibility of escape, and without anyone being able to come to their aid (Isa 5:29).

The expression “in that day” shows that the events that were coming then will repeat themselves in the future and then lead to a final result. To “growl over it … like the roaring of the sea” (Isa 5:30) is an indication for the advancing armies that take possession of the land like flooding waters (cf. Isa 8:7; Dan 9:26). For God’s people there will be only “darkness [and] distress” in that day, with no view of light. “For what purpose [will] the day of the LORD [be] to you? It [will be] darkness and not light” (Amos 5:18).