A study of the Woes of Isaiah 5
“Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble,
“And the flame consumes the chaff,
“So their root will be as rottenness,
“And their blossom will ascend like dust;
“Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
“And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 5:24).
If there is any doubt about God’s willingness to express His displeasure to His people, this passage should remove it. Isaiah lays out the problem: Israel has “rejected the law of the Lord of hosts.” The prophet has reached the end of his discussion of the Woes, and here he expresses God’s reaction to Israel’s sins—God is highly displeased.
Israel’s destruction is already set as Isaiah expresses through his figures in the first four lines of this verse. It is not immediate, but it is coming. And God’s reaction should have been no surprise—since Adam and Eve, God has demanded obedience to His word.
Learning from Israel’s failures should be easy for us today. The New Testament is filled with passages that teach us to read God’s word, to listen to it seriously, and to obey what it teaches.
God’s love causes Him to care enough about us to provide a way for us to be redeemed from our sins so that we can come to be with Him someday—His just and righteous nature demands that He makes sure we have followed His way. Only the redeemed can be with Him in eternity.