Woes Bring Judgement; Prevent Judgement By Avoiding The Woes
Word-of-the-Day: ‘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.’ (Isaiah 5:20)
Isaiah chapter 5 is known for its list of ‘woes’ against those who willfully sin, and rejoice in their committing these sins. The list includes those who use wealth to shut out others by buying homes and property for their own greed (Isaiah 5:8); those who overindulge with drink and revelry continually, without care for their God, their nation, and the others around them (Isaiah 5:11-12); and those who are deceitful and through deception or bribes harm the innocent around them (Isaiah 5:18, 21-23).
All these woes can be summed up in Isaiah 5:20. In Isaiah’s time, as it is today, there were people who insisted what was ‘right’ was wrong, and what was ‘wrong’ was actually right. It often followed the pagan religions of Baal, Asher, and Molech, or the false worship of numerous ‘gods’ for each natural object or event, such as the Egyptian gods of Ra (the Sun), Khonsu (the Moon), and Anubis (Death).
These foreign gods, throughout the history of Israel and Judah, would replace the rightful worship of God, as the Jews were convinced the worship of these false gods would bring results more favorable to them in a manner they desired. When, either through their own ineptitude or by the direct intervention of God, these gods of course failed them (as they didn’t exist), they took one of two routes; they would return to God in repentance or they would double-down or switch to a different set of ‘gods’ to change their luck.
These woes were often a result of the practices involved in worshipping these false gods. Drunkenness and debauchery, child and female sacrifices, and blood-letting were some of the practices toward these fake deities. They followed the human desires of self-satisfaction, self-gratification, and self-pleasing; sin is often the result of people pursuing their own desires (their ‘wants’) over the desire of God and the needs of those surrounding them.
The desire to please one’s self overrides the needs of one’s family or neighbors, and especially the desires God wants of us to worship Him and our obedience in following His instructions. God does not always immediately demonstrate His displeasure or anger over us when we sin, but it is there, and without repentance will come eventual consequences.
These sins were not just ‘Old Testament’ sins. We have in modern society those who unfortunately practice Isaiah 5:20 daily. The promotion of evil as good in sexual deviancy, gender fluidity, and abortion today are parallel to the ‘woes’ of Isaiah’s time. The worship of ‘self’, money, and greed, in addition to the false worship of other gods, and even in the false worship of God Himself – the worship of God through ungodly practices that are not of the Biblical instructions, practices of violence and works without Faith.
God also provides in Isaiah 5 a list of ‘judgements’ against those ‘woes’ He provided Isaiah. Those who bought the homes and property would eventually lose them, and their grand properties would become vacant and desolate (Isaiah 5:9-10); the revelers would suffer and eventually die or become humbled and, as was the case one hundred years later, exiled to Babylon (Isaiah 5:13-15). The deceitful will face God’s anger and permanent destruction by fire and eternal separation, a picture of the final judgement of the wicked (Isaiah 5:24-25).
It is important for those who commit the woes to take note of the judgements. These judgements are broad and not necessarily the only ones that will be carried out in our mortal lives, but represent the primary punishment of disobedience; without repentance there will be an eternal judgement against the sinner, if not one that also is implemented upon the mortal life of the sinner.
We must first, as Jesus commanded, to love God, then love ourselves, and then love our neighbor, or the people around us. If we truly love God, we will endeavor to love ourselves by worshipping God properly per the instructions of Scripture and the guidance of Holy Spirit (which will not contradict the Word), and in our attempt to live without sin and repenting when we do.
We are to live as an example of God as an outward demonstration of our Faith to those around us, those who we interact with daily. Sharing God’s Word with them by action and words are part of the Great Commission that Jesus gave us prior to His Ascension.
All of us sin, and we must be careful not to vilify the sinner but the sin they commit. All people are worthy of Salvation and thus are worthy to hear and see Jesus’ Gospel message through us. Not all will receive it warmly, and some will reject His message, but that is their decision.
It does not negate your obligation of obedience to the Lord to the greater populace. Move along, don’t get discouraged or fearful but try again with the next person you encounter. We can prevent the judgements upon others if we give them the opportunity to repent and consider following Jesus through our own witnessing.
The biggest lesson is don’t ‘Isaiah 5:20‘ yourself into believing a lie that you can’t witness or provide God’s Word to others. The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves, that we are doing good when we are wrong or that we are wrong when pursuing good – stop that! Do what is Righteous by Jesus and His Word, and in your example may others see and hear the Word you communicate to them.
