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July 17 - Isaiah 5 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it is Sean here. It is a Monday.
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  It is the 17th of July and good on you for pressing play and
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  inviting me into your day. Be it a big one.
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  Or a relaxing one, or anywhere in between.
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  So glad that you and I get to do this.
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  We are going to continue reading through this epic book of
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  Isaiah. Now, the first five chapters of
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  Isaiah are these collection of oracles, this introduction to
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  the broad scope of the book of Isaiah.
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  And then from tomorrow we Commission the prophet, and then
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  he begins to talk against the king.
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  But we'll get to that. In the meantime, today we begin
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  with a beautiful song about the Lord's vineyard.
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  And then it gets ugly talking about what Judah is doing wrong.
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  Ah, yes, it will cover a lot of ground.
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  So why don't we do that together, reading together
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  Isaiah, chapter 5. Now I will sing for the one I
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  love, a song about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a
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  rich and fertile hill. He ploughed the land, cleared
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  its stones, and planted it with the best vines.
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  In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a wine
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  press in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of
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  sweet grapes, But the grapes that grew.
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  Were bitter. Now you people of Jerusalem and
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  Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard.
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  What more could I've done for my vineyard?
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  What have I not already done When I expected sweet grapes,
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  why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?
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  Now let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard.
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  I will tear down its hedges and let it be destroyed.
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  I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it.
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  I will make it a wild place, where the vines are not pruned
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  and the ground is not hoed. A place overgrown with briars
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  and thorns. I will command the clouds to
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  drop, No rain on it. The nation of Israel is the
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  vineyard of the Lord of Heaven's armies.
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  The people of Judah are his pleasant garden.
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  He expected a crop of justice, but instead.
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  He found oppression. He expected to find
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  righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence.
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  What sorrow for you who buy up house after house and field
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  after field, until everyone is evicted and you live alone in
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  the land. But I have heard the Lord of
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  Heaven's armies swear a solemn oath.
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  Many houses will stand deserted. Even beautiful mansions will be
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  empty. 10 acres of vineyard will not produce even 6 gallons of
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  wine. 10 baskets of seed will yield only one basket of grain.
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  What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning looking for
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  a drink of alcohol and spend long evenings drinking wine to
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  make themselves flaming drunk. They furnish wine and lovely
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  music at their grand parties, Lyre and harp, tambourine and
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  flute. But they never think about the
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  Lord or notice what he is doing. So my people will go into exile
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  far away, because they do not know me.
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  Those who are great and honored will starve, and the common
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  people will die of thirst. The grave is licking its lips in
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  anticipation, opening its mouth wide, the great and the lowly.
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  And all the drunken mob will be swallowed up, humanity will be
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  destroyed and people brought down.
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  Even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation.
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  But the Lord of Heaven's armies will be exalted by his justice.
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  The holiness of the Lord will be displayed by his righteousness.
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  In that day lambs will find good pastures, and fattened sheep and
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  young goats will feed among the ruins.
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  What's sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with
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  ropes, made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a
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  cart? They even mock God and say hurry
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  up and do something. We want to see what you can do.
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  Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to
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  know what it is. What's sorrow for those who say
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  that evil is good and good is evil?
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  That dark is light and light is dark.
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  That bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.
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  What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think
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  themselves so clever? What sorrow for those who are
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  heroes are drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they
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  can hold? They take bribes to let the
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  wicked go free, and they punish the innocent therefore, just as
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  fire licks up stubble. And dry grass shrivels in the
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  flame, so their roots will rot and their flowers wither.
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  For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven's armies.
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  They have despied the word of the Holy One of Israel.
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  That is why the Lord's anger burns against his people, and
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  why he has raised his fists to crush them.
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  The mountains tremble. And the corpses of his people
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  litter the streets like garbage. But even then, the Lord's anger
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  is not satisfied. His fist is still poised to
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  strike. He will send a signal to distant
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  nations far away and whistle to those at the ends of the earth.
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  They will come racing toward Jerusalem.
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  They will not get tired or stumble.
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  They will not stop for rest or sleep.
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  Not a belt will be loose, nor a sandal strap broken.
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  Their arrows will be sharp and their bows ready for battle.
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  Sparks will fly from their horses hooves and the wheels of
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  their Chariots will spin like a whirlwind.
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  They will roar like lions, like the strongest of lions growling,
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  they will pounce on their victims and carry them off, and
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  no one will be there to rescue them.
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  They will roar over the victims on that day of destruction, like
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  the roaring of the sea. If someone looks across the
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  land, only darkness and distress will be seen.
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  Even the light will be darkened by clouds.
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  What a terrifying description of consequences for your people.
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  And when it sounds like we listen to your anger pronouncing
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  judgment. We're reminded that this is a
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  warning saying don't go that way, please come back to me.
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  If you go there, this is what will happen, Lord you.
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  You want nothing but the best for us and you have a plan for
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  us which is so good. And when we start to go the
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  opposite direction, you cry out to us, you.
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  Prick our conscience to draw us back to avoid those
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  consequences. But sometimes our stubborn
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  humanity gets a better of us and we still can't help ourselves.
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  And even then, when we move away from you, you love us and you
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  reach out to us, and through Jesus you forgive us.
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  Ah, we are just so grateful for your kindness and provision for
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  us. We pray all of this in that
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  merciful kind name of Jesus. Amen.