Understanding the Six Woes of Isaiah 5

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Antique brass balance scale on stone pedestal in old stone room with arched doorways and window

“Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes, to those who say, ‘Let God hurry; let him hasten his work so that we may see it. The plan of the Holy One of Israel – let it approach, let it come into view, so 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 clever in their own sight. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.”
Isaiah 5:18-23 NIVUK

There are six woes mentioned in Isaiah 5. These are declarations of God’s judgement for the sins of Judah. In verse 8, a woe was declared against those who were oppressing their neighbours and buying up their land and houses, thereby expanding their wealth and bringing them loneliness. Then in verse 11, we read about the judgement coming on those who pursue drunkenness, partying and sexual immorality. In verse 18, we read about those people who openly display their sins, even to the extent of dragging them behind them by the wagonload. In verse 20, we find people who are confused about the difference between good and evil, such is the decline in their morality. We all know people who are “wise in their own eyes”, I’m sure. People with an overconfident opinion of themselves and their capabilities. And, finally, there are those who boast about their prowess with alcoholic beverages. All these “woes” aptly describe the fallen state of society in Judah and, sadly, the state of our societies today. Some things never change and the devil never changes his tactics.

The third “woe” described a people who were not only displaying their sins very visibly, but they were defying God to do what He was threatening to do, obviously with no fear of our Heavenly Father at all. We know people like that today, and I have written before about my neighbour, who was not afraid of the prospect of hell, which he described as being “the big party downstairs”. Perhaps his attitude matched that of the sixth woe, of being ”wise in [his] own eyes”. People can become so accustomed to sinful behaviour that they no longer feel conviction. Instead of asking, “How can I please God?” they ask, “What’s the worst that can happen?” Sadly, that is something that they will find out one day, and it will be far beyond their biggest fears.

The next “woe” expressed moral confusion in a people who had rejected God’s standards and replaced them with their own. They redefined reality by saying that evil [is] good and good [is] evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter”. This is a serious problem in our society today, because we have so many people who, for example, maintain that men can become women and vice versa. Such people not only ignore God’s truth, but they also seek to blatantly overturn it. This happens whenever society celebrates what God condemns or ridicules what God approves. We pilgrims are called to maintain biblical discernment even when cultural values move in the opposite direction. The Apostle John wrote, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). We are that light, shining like beacons of hope and countering the lies and deceit the devil has confused the minds of people with.

Isaiah continued with the next “woe”: “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight”. This was the sin of pride and self-sufficiency. The people no longer sought God’s wisdom because they believed they knew better. Their confidence in themselves had replaced dependence on God. But we pilgrims know better, and we follow verses like Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”. We pilgrims know and understand that education, experience, and intelligence are gifts from God, but they become dangerous when they lead us to reject God’s authority. In the workplace, I remember some arrogant and proud managers with questionable morals, but who always seemed to know best; in the light of God’s truth, they fell woefully short. One of them came to a very sad end, sad particularly for his wife and young children as well, because his hobby of skydiving ended in tragedy with an unopened parachute. In those final moments, did God’s grace ever penetrate his personal cleverness and human wisdom? I wonder …

In the final “woe”, Isaiah was not simply condemning drinking; he was condemning a culture that admired drunkenness and excess as if they were achievements. Because of their sinful ways, we see what the outcome was in verse 23, speaking of those “who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent”. Was this the Judaean equivalent of the “old boys” and “laddish” behaviour we sometimes see today? Possibly, but the outcome of the alcohol-focused culture was injustice. We find even today that when personal pleasure becomes the highest value, justice, integrity, and responsibility often suffer. A culture that celebrates moral decline and excess can lose its ability to distinguish right from wrong.

There is much that can be learned from our verses from Isaiah today. 21st-century society seems much the same as it was in 700 BC, with open and defiant sin, moral inversion and confusion over what is right and wrong, self-reliance instead of God-reliance, and self-indulgent corruption and injustice. It is significant that in all the words describing the sinful behaviour of the Judaean people, the word “self” often crops up. In Isaiah’s day, these traits showed a society drifting away from God. We believers are reminded that spiritual decline rarely begins with outward collapse; it begins when people stop taking sin seriously, reject God’s truth, trust their own wisdom, and pursue pleasure above righteousness. For Christians today, the passage is both a warning and a call to live by God’s standards rather than the changing values of the surrounding culture. Paul was very much aware of this, and he wrote, “Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). I love this verse in the J B Philips translation, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity”.

Isaiah’s concern is not merely individual morality but the health of an entire community. When truth is reversed, pride is celebrated, justice is compromised, and society itself begins to unravel. God’s people are therefore called to be a faithful witness to His truth, wisdom, and righteousness. We pilgrims remember once again that we are beacons on a hill, proclaiming the light of Christ.

Dear Heavenly Father. We pray for our societies today that Your light will prevail over all the “dark paths of sin”. We also pray that Your grace will continue to give our friends and families time to find You amidst the noise and chaos of this sinful world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Overcoming Anxiety through Faith and Prayer

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“On that day of judgement they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats, while they crawl away into caverns and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs. They will try to escape the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty as he rises to shake the earth. Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?”
Isaiah 2:20-22 NLT

The remainder of Isaiah 2 continues with details of what will happen on “that day of judgement” when “only the Lord will be exalted”. The verses list a sobering and depressing series of catastrophes that will impact the Israelites, and all because of their sin, rebellion, and idolatry. It wasn’t just a minor inconvenience now and then, but a series of disasters as their society was dismantled and destroyed. And through it all, “Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down” (Isaiah 2:17a). Chapter 2 ends with the observation, “Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?” 

The pathetic nature of human abilities can be seen in many national crises over the centuries, as one ruler after another led their people into wars and other catastrophes, often as they chased ideologies that were just as Godless as those the Israelites sought after. And today the practice continues with out-of-touch politicians and business leaders following the sad observation at the end of the Book of Judges – “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25). That’s human nature without a compass to lead them in the paths of righteousness. So today in the UK, Godless laws are leaving the stain of sin all over society. Abortion is a crime of the highest proportion and God will not allow such an atrocity to continue for long, I’m sure. The US has largely stepped back from the brink but the UK is even seeking to extend its scope. Then we have the ideologues who are promoting celebrations of all sorts of gender deviations. There are even going to be steps to make “Conversion Therapy” illegal, and I’m sure there will be other attempts to reintroduce Assisted Suicide in the Westminster Parliament. Our politicians surely tick the “What good are they?” box. It is no wonder that mental health, or should it be “mental ill-health”, is an endemic problem. 

We pilgrims must pray and keep praying that there will soon be a time when the wrongs are reversed, and the delusions that have gripped so many in our societies are resolved. But one form of mental illness that is increasing is caused by anxiety. Without a moral compass in our societies, people cast around looking for foundations that are solid and immovable, and, while most are debilitated by their feelings and emotions, some are turning to the Church because it is only there that they find the stability that they are looking for. Bible sales are also increasing, because it is only in God’s Word that something to trust can be found. But anxiety is something that is creeping over our society gradually but seemingly unstoppable. 

Are we pilgrims feeling anxious this morning? As I cast my eyes over the news today, there is much there to cause depression and worry. But God has a remedy, and many scriptures are there to help. The first thing that we do, must do in fact, is pray. Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. We should also turn to Romans 12:2, which reads, “Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”.  

Father God. We realise that as we think and pray Your way, through the help of Your Spirit within us, we are aligning ourselves to Your will and purposes. And we pray for ourselves, that we will grow in grace to be more like Your Son, Jesus. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Some Of Them Did

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.”
1 Corinthians 10:5-8 NLT

These verses today are in a section of my Bible entitled “Lessons from Israel’s Idolatry”. Paul was deeply troubled by the news of events unfolding in the Corinthian church. This situation was particularly influenced by the type of society in which the Corinthian believers lived, characterised by its emphasis on idol worship and the flagrant immorality that accompanied it. Part of the problem as well was that some of the Corinthians joined in with the idolatrous meals, eating meat that had been offered to idols, and in the process, upsetting more sensitive Christians who would not touch anything even remotely associated with idols. In Exodus 32, there is the account of the Golden Calf episode, where the Israelites persuaded Aaron to make a calf out of the gold jewellery donated by the people. In Exodus 32:6b, we read, “ … After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry”. Moses was up the mountain, and the Lord told him what was going on in the camp. He said to Moses, “How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt’”” (Exodus 32:8). Idolatry, pure and simple. The punishment was brutal, and we read later on that three thousand idolaters were killed by the Levites. “Moses told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone—even your brothers, friends, and neighbours.” The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day” (Exodus 32:7-8). But the retribution didn’t end there, and the last verse in Exodus 32 reads, “Then the Lord sent a great plague upon the people because they had worshipped the calf Aaron had made”. 

Paul warned the Corinthians about what would happen if God wasn’t pleased with them because of their idolatry. He implied that death would result, and that they should consider the events in the wilderness all those years ago as a warning. But it was clear that the Corinthians misunderstood what many Christians still misunderstand today. They believed their freedom in Christ—their freedom from following the law of Moses—meant they were free to indulge in sinful desires without fear of consequences from the Lord. But we pilgrims, of course, maintain that we don’t worship idols, picturing a Golden Calf hanging there in our imaginations. But there are many other kinds of idols that we need to be aware of. An idol is anything that takes the place of God, and when we consider that, we find that perhaps we do find objects or even people that we can idolise. A sobering thought for us Christians today. 

There is also the issue of sexual immorality, another blight on the Corinthian societal landscape. Paul wrote, “And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did”. And he continued with a warning about the consequences of such a sin, as we read in Numbers 25. The Israelites were in proximity to Moab, and we read in Numbers 25:1, “While the Israelites were camped at Acacia Grove, some of the men defiled themselves by having sexual relations with local Moabite women”. Summary justice resulted in one wrongdoer being put to death, having been caught in the act, and a plague followed that killed 24,000 people. “ … Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, but not before 24,000 people had died” (Numbers 25:8-9)—gruesome details but a sombre warning to the Corinthian believers.

So what about us pilgrims today? Idolatry and sexual immorality are two sins that have been a curse for the human race for many years. While it’s true that believers are saved from damnation through faith in Christ by God’s grace, Paul’s message is that believers everywhere must understand that the Lord will discipline them in this life, if necessary. Will that discipline come from plagues or even death? Will an idolatrous or immoral believer suffer an early death? Not necessarily to both these questions, but we should never underestimate the power of God’s justice. God, in His grace and mercy, will award plenty of time before He feels He has to act, and we must never assume that just because God is apparently turning a blind eye to our misdemeanours, that He is ignoring them. 

Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for Your grace, mercy and love, limitless and constant. Please forgive us for our waywardness and sins. We pray with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life”. Amen.