Isa 56:11 | KingComments | STEP | With begins a new section that continues through Isaiah 57. We are in a quite different atmosphere with a quite different tone. It is no longer about restoration, but about judgment. While the faithful nations and outcasts are being saved, judgment goes to the apostates in Israel, the followers of the antichrist. The beasts, that is the Assyrians under the leadership of the king of the North, are called upon to feast on the unbelieving part of the people of Israel ( ). This is due to the attitude of their leaders, who are watchmen of the people and have the task to warn the people of danger. The safety of the people, however, is not at all their concern (cf. ). They are blind to it ( ). They think only of their own convenience and enjoyment. They dream, lie down, slumber and are blind to spiritual values and reality. It is from this attitude, as it were, that the call goes out to the beasts to come and devour them. The LORD never judges without showing the righteousness of judgment. He does so by revealing the moral condition of the people and their leaders. These leaders only awaken from their own ease when they can indulge in pleasure-seeking, revels and drinking bouts ( ). They are dogs that fatten themselves to satisfy their lust for pleasure, but they cannot bark to warn the people. They are worthless shepherds. They go their own way, the way that gives them the most. If there is any thought of tomorrow, then only to revel even more ( ). All those who have been given a responsibility by the Lord Jesus to take care of His flock as shepherds must guard against a gradual decrease in their obligations toward the flock. They must also guard against lording over the herd or seeking sordid gain ( ). The situation outlined above also applies to today. Who still has the courage to take spiritual responsibility and to warn against the secularism of the church, against all kinds of modern idols such as psychology, the prosperity gospel, cultic fashion, for wolves in sheep’s clothing who spread error under the cover of Christendom? Who still warns the young people in the church against the charismatic errors of our time, such as speaking in tongues, visions and so-called prophetic messages? On the other hand, there must be a call to study God’s Word for themselves in order not to fall prey to every wind of doctrine.

‏ Isaiah 56:11

Judgment on the Wicked

With Isa 56:9 begins a new section that continues through Isaiah 57. We are in a quite different atmosphere with a quite different tone. It is no longer about restoration, but about judgment. While the faithful nations and outcasts are being saved, judgment goes to the apostates in Israel, the followers of the antichrist. The beasts, that is the Assyrians under the leadership of the king of the North, are called upon to feast on the unbelieving part of the people of Israel (Isa 56:9).

This is due to the attitude of their leaders, who are watchmen of the people and have the task to warn the people of danger. The safety of the people, however, is not at all their concern (cf. Jer 6:17). They are blind to it (Isa 56:10). They think only of their own convenience and enjoyment. They dream, lie down, slumber and are blind to spiritual values and reality. It is from this attitude, as it were, that the call goes out to the beasts to come and devour them. The LORD never judges without showing the righteousness of judgment. He does so by revealing the moral condition of the people and their leaders.

These leaders only awaken from their own ease when they can indulge in pleasure-seeking, revels and drinking bouts (Isa 56:11). They are dogs that fatten themselves to satisfy their lust for pleasure, but they cannot bark to warn the people. They are worthless shepherds. They go their own way, the way that gives them the most. If there is any thought of tomorrow, then only to revel even more (Isa 56:12).

All those who have been given a responsibility by the Lord Jesus to take care of His flock as shepherds must guard against a gradual decrease in their obligations toward the flock. They must also guard against lording over the herd or seeking sordid gain (1Pet 5:2-3).

The situation outlined above also applies to today. Who still has the courage to take spiritual responsibility and to warn against the secularism of the church, against all kinds of modern idols such as psychology, the prosperity gospel, cultic fashion, for wolves in sheep’s clothing who spread error under the cover of Christendom? Who still warns the young people in the church against the charismatic errors of our time, such as speaking in tongues, visions and so-called prophetic messages? On the other hand, there must be a call to study God’s Word for themselves in order not to fall prey to every wind of doctrine.