Therefore is the anger of Jehovah kindled against his people, and he hath stretched out his hand against them and hath smitten them; and the mountains trembled, and their carcases are become as dung in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.
This verse gives a cause and a warning. God struck His own people in anger, yet the closing line warns that more was coming. He does not empty His hand in one stroke, and these people had not read the meaning of the first blow.
The word "therefore" ties this blow to a charge laid in the verse before. And this was not God's first move against them.
"They have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people, and He stretched out His hand against them and struck them" (vv. 24, 25). God does not strike all at once. He sends partial judgments, and when they do not wake up, worse judgments. But God always shows forbearance and mercy first. So He is just in His judgments.
The reason the hand stays out is not in God but in the people. A blow that produces no turning has not finished its work.
God has chastised His people, but this has not yet dealt with their pride: they still trust in themselves. The anger of Jehovah is not yet turned away, and His hand is stretched out still. That is because the people do not turn to Him who smites them, and have not discerned His hand. And until this is seen, there is resistance and a strengthening of self in one's own power.
Darby goes on to show what the people put in place of a real return.
Sometimes the heart admits that the chastening has come because of known evil, and then would just reform itself a little. But the hand of God stays stretched out still, because there is no return to Him who smites — only an attempt to appease God with a certain amount of hypocrisy. The conscience has never dealt directly with God.
This sentence is not a one-off. Isaiah drops it here, breaks off for several chapters, then picks it up again in chapter 9 — and each return lands harder.
In Isaiah 5, woe was pronounced upon them six times, and now we get the hand of God stretched out in wrath four times over — verses 12, 17, 21, and Isaiah 10:4. There seems to be an increase of severity as we go on.
The same hand that struck from inside then signals to armies outside. The rest of the chapter shows what they leave behind.
He had dealt with them already, but the strokes are not exhausted. The avenging nations may be far away, but He would give them the signal, and they would come quickly. … "And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened by its clouds." This is the lot of man, and here of Israel in particular, where Christ is not. There is no deliverance, only judgment after judgment on the people and the land.
Commentators read the word "indignation" here as a fixed period, not an endless one. Isaiah himself names the moment it stops.
The prophet shows why God's indignation rose against His people: the idolatry of Israel, and above all the idolatry of their kings. He sends a chastening upon them. But whatever the first effects of that chastening, the evil broke out again with fresh fury, as evil always does, unless it is put away. That is why that terrible word sounds out: "For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still." His wrath burns again and again. Then, in Isaiah 10:25, we find the Lord saying His "indignation shall cease." But how? God uses the Assyrian invader there as the rod of His anger. When He has finished His whole work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, the indignation ceases in the destruction of the Assyrian himself, who forgot that he was only a rod in the Lord's hand.
Even while that refrain kept sounding, the prophet had two groups in view.
The righteous receive the glorious promise. The wicked, though their troubles are great and will grow greater, hear the prophet's words sound out their utter ruin: "For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still!" Even the great prophecy, the promise of a Son, could not turn away the Lord's anger, and was not meant to. It gave the righteous a sure word to rest their hope on, a foundation they could build on all through the time of judgment.
- Cause — They rejected the law of the LORD and despised the word of the Holy One. The hand went out against a specific contempt.
- Method — God does not strike all at once. Partial judgments come first, with forbearance and mercy going before them.
- No return — The hand stays out because the people do not turn to Him who smites them. A little reform mixed with hypocrisy is not a return.
- Escalation — The refrain starts here and sounds four more times (9:12, 17, 21; 10:4). Each blow is heavier, and the last calls in nations from far off, leaving darkness over the land.
- End — The indignation has a limit. In Isaiah 10:25 the Lord says it shall cease, and meanwhile the righteous had a promise to build on.
And he will lift up a banner to the nations afar off, and will hiss for one from the end of the earth; and behold, it will come rapidly [and] lightly.
Isaiah 5 ends the song of the vineyard with six woes, and this verse is where the sentence falls. God calls in nations from the far side of the world, and they come at once.
This verse is the last stroke in a rising sequence. One writer traces the chapter from the vineyard song, through the woes, to this closing blow.
Isaiah 5 opens a new prophetic message. Taken alone, it is plainly incomplete. Under "a song of my beloved touching his vineyard" it solemnly sets out the unfaithfulness of the house of Israel, despite all Jehovah's gracious care. It was so blatant that He could appeal to the proudest of them to judge it in their own conscience. Judgment had to follow. So, after six successive woes from verses 8 to 24, Jehovah declares His hand stretched out against them... The rest of the chapter announces an even heavier blow. Distant nations rush swiftly against them and roar, and the land has nothing but darkness — distress.
Another writer reads the chapter as God's government of this world at work on His own people.
Then in Isaiah 5 we have Israel judged as a responsible people in this world, according to the government of God in it. At the close of the chapter Jehovah strikes them from within, and brings enemies on them from outside.
Older translations read "hiss" where the ESV has "whistle." The word is not scorn. Elsewhere in Scripture the same call gathers God's own people.
Scripture often uses the word "hiss" for summoning (see, for example, Isa. 5:26; Isa. 7:18). It teaches here that the Lord, in His own way, will get the attention of His scattered people. He will make His mighty call reach their hearts. At the same time He will create in them a response to His word, before He works out their deliverance.
Another writer describes the sound itself.
"Hiss" is a sharp penetrating sound to call attention, and get immediate response.
These nations are nowhere near Israel's borders. The distance makes no difference.
He had dealt with them already, but the strokes are not exhausted... The avenging nations may be far away. But He would raise the signal to them and whistle for them, as for one far off, and "behold, quickly, speedily they come!" A most graphic picture follows of their energy and promptness, their equipment and fierce determination. No one can find shelter from it or escape.
The chapter never names the invaders. One writer names the empire behind them in Isaiah's own day, and the title God gives it.
And verses 26-30 reveal how all six woes would bring chastisement on them from outside. The nations would soon come down on them like a roaring lion. No doubt they were headed up in the mighty Assyrian of those days, whom the Lord called "the rod of My anger" (Isaiah 10:5).
Older translations call the raised signal a "banner," and the word runs right through Isaiah. This verse is its first appearance; the last ones turn the picture around.
The first mention of it is in Isaiah 5:26; "He will lift up a Banner to the nations." The last mention is in our chapter (Isa. 62:10); "Lift up a Banner for the peoples;" this is in view of the salvation and blessing of the city. So in Isaiah 49:22. God sets up His Banner to the peoples, and they bring the sons and daughters of Israel to Jerusalem.
One more passage says who the banner is.
"There shall be a root of Jesse, standing as a Banner of the peoples." Here we see who the Banner is. The Root of Jesse and of David is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Banner of God. He will drive away and destroy the enemies of God. He will gather and bless the people of God. Through Him all nations will be blessed.
- Signal — The raised standard and the whistle are one act: God calling. Older translations read "hiss," a word for summoning, and the call gets an answer at once.
- Summoned — Here He calls foreign armies, headed up in Assyria, whom He names the rod of His anger. Distance is no delay: they come fast.
- Sequence — This is not a stray threat. It follows six woes: God strikes Israel from within, then brings enemies from outside.
- Salvation — This is the first of many banners in Isaiah. God raises the last ones to bring Israel's sons and daughters home.
- Someone — The banner turns out to be a person: the Root of Jesse, Christ Himself. He drives away God's enemies and gathers God's people.
None among them is weary, none stumbleth; they slumber not, nor sleep; none hath the girdle of his loins loosed, nor the thong of his sandals broken;
In the closing scene of Isaiah 5, God whistles for a distant nation, and an army answers that never tires and never sleeps. Why would God call such a force against His own people, and what does this detailed picture show about the way He governs?
The chapter has already pronounced six woes on the people. One writer ties the marching army back to those woes, and names the power God had in view.
After the second woe we get no details of what would be involved until we reach verse 24. Then the pent-up wrath, deserved by the last four woes, comes into the open. And verses 26-30 reveal how all six woes would bring chastisement on them from outside. The nations that would soon descend on them like a roaring lion were doubtless headed up in the mighty Assyrian of those days. The Lord called him "The rod of My anger" (Isaiah 10:5).
God does not need to raise this army; He only has to call it.
He had dealt with them already, but the strokes are not exhausted. "For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still." … The avenging nations may be far away. But He would give the signal to them and the whistle, as for someone far off, and "behold, they shall come with speed swiftly." A most vivid picture follows of their energy and readiness, their equipment and fierce determination. No one can find shelter from them or escape them.
Two small details carry the weight of the verse. The first is the belt around the waist.
The belt is a symbol of strength, and "girding up the loins" means active service. When God gathers the Gentiles to discipline Israel, the belt at their waist will not be loosened (Isa. 5:27). … In the present warfare the Christian is urged to fasten the belt of truth around his waist (Eph. 6:14). Truth is the very thing Satan will most oppose, and the very thing most people tend not to care about.
The second detail is smaller still. It is the strap that held a sandal on the foot.
The fastening, either by strap or ribbon, of the oriental sandal. Mentioned as a thing of the least value, and the untying of which was considered a servant's task. Gen. 14:23; Isa. 5:27; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:27.
Not even that snaps. The judgement arrives with nothing out of place.
One writer reads the invasion as having both a near fulfilment and a far one.
He will bring mighty strangers against them. Nothing can stop their advance, and they will carry the people into captivity. There shall be sorrow and mourning in the land, and the light of their heavens shall be darkened. At first this will be Nebuchadnezzar, and even Sennacherib. But it will be fulfilled still more fully in the nations that come against Jerusalem in the last days. They will overrun and invade all the land, and then capture the city.
Commentators differ on where the picture points. One writer takes the same summons and the unbroken sandal strap as a picture of Israel hurrying home to its own land.
"Hiss" is a sharp, penetrating sound that calls attention and gets an immediate response. The speed of the return shows in this: they never loosen the belt at their waist or untie the strap of their sandals. It is a day-and-night journey, with no sleep or slumber allowed to slow their progress. It is a most vivid and dramatic way of showing how eager the Lord's ancient people are to return to their own land.
- Call. The nations that march in this verse do not act on their own initiative. God gives the signal, and distance is no barrier — the ones "far away" arrive at speed.
- Cause. God answers the six woes of the chapter with discipline from outside. The Assyrian is the rod in His hand.
- Readiness. The belt speaks of strength gathered for active service. The invader never loosens his, and the Christian is urged to fasten on the belt of truth.
- Detail. Even the sandal strap, the cheapest item a person owned, does not break. Nothing about this judgement is left to chance or delayed by accident.
- Reach. Read it first of Nebuchadnezzar and Sennacherib, and then more fully of the nations that come against Jerusalem in the last days. One writer also hears in the same summons the eager, sleepless return of Israel to its land.
their arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hoofs are reckoned as the flint, and their wheels as a whirlwind.
God's answer to a people who had despised His law was not only words but an army, drawn in detail down to its hoofs and wheels. Two questions follow: who moves this war machine, and why are its hoofs like stone?
Chapter 5 has already listed woe after woe. One writer places this army at the end of a longer process.
In general, the present judgment is at the end of chapter 5. They have despised the law and the testimony, the Lord has smitten them, but this would not do, and He has brought the nations upon them.
Another writer ties all the woes to this blow from outside, and names the empire that delivered it.
And verses 26-30 reveal how all six woes would bring chastisement on them from outside. The nations would soon come down on them like a roaring lion. They were no doubt led by the mighty Assyrian of those days, whom the Lord called "the rod of My anger" (Isaiah 10:5).
The verse piles up detail: weapons ready, horses and wheels moving. One writer names the impression it all leaves.
The avenging nations may be far away. But He would give them the signal and the whistle, as for someone far off, and "behold, they shall come with speed swiftly." Then follows a vivid picture of their energy and promptness, their equipment and fierce determination. No one can find shelter from it, and no one can escape.
Flint is hard rock. A dictionary entry on the word shows where else Scripture uses that hardness.
tsor, 'rock.' God made Ezekiel's forehead like a diamond, harder than flint, because Israel was so stubborn. Ezek. 3:9. The horses' hoofs of God's executors of judgement will be like flint. Isa. 5:28.
Catch the phrase "God's executors of judgement." This army's hardness is not its own achievement. It is its assignment.
Isaiah did not invent this threat. One writer shows where the wording came from.
The prophet says in verse 26, "He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far … and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly." This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 28:49, which says, "The Lord will lift up a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies."
Older translations read "ensign" or "banner" where the ESV has "signal." So the flint hoofs and whirlwind wheels belong to the swift nation Deuteronomy had already named. The warning was old; only the arrival was new.
Being a tool in God's hand did not excuse the invader's pride. One writer follows the story into a later chapter.
God used Assyria as the rod of His anger to chasten Israel (Isaiah 10:5-6) and other nations. But he was only the instrument in God's hand for carrying out His judgments. Assyria did not understand this, and boasted as if his military campaigns had succeeded by his own power. Therefore the Lord said, "Shall the axe boast against the one who chops with it? … as if the rod should shake itself against those who lift it up."
Commentators differ over whether this whole scene is only invasion. One writer reads the same speed and urgency as a picture of Israel travelling back to their land.
The speed of their return is shown by the belt of their waists not being loosened and the strap of their shoes not being broken or untied. The statement that none of the immigrants should be weary or slumber or sleep reminds one of the time when the Israelites came up out of Egypt.
That reading gains weight when the raised signal is followed through the book.
The first mention of it is in Isaiah 5:26: "He will lift up a Banner to the nations." The last mention is in Isaiah 62:10: "Lift up a Banner for the peoples." That one is in view of the salvation and blessing of the city. So is Isaiah 49:22, where God sets up His Banner to the peoples, and they bring the sons and daughters of Israel to Jerusalem.
- Signal — The army does not summon itself. God raises the signal and whistles, and only then do the arrows and bows arrive.
- Speed — They come fast and fully equipped, and no one can find shelter or escape.
- Flint — Hoofs hard as rock mark this army as God's executors of judgement, not just a strong nation.
- Rod — God can break the instrument He lifts. He punishes the axe that boasts against the hand swinging it.
- Banner — The same signal returns later in Isaiah. There it gathers Israel home and blesses the city.
Their roaring is like a lioness, they roar as the young lions; yea, they growl, and snatch the prey, and carry it away safe, and there is none to deliver;
Isaiah's song of the vineyard ends in a hunt, not in music: God calls in the nations, and they come so fast and so armed that their roar is a lion's growl over a kill. So who are these lions, who let them loose, and is "none can rescue" the final word over God's people?
Isaiah 5 has already pronounced six woes over God's people. The lion in verse 29 is what those woes cost.
After the second woe we hear no details of what it would involve until verse 24. Then the pent-up wrath, earned by the last four woes, becomes plain. And verses 26-30 reveal how all six woes would bring chastisement on them from outside. The nations that would soon come down on them like a roaring lion were no doubt headed up in the mighty Assyrian of that day. The Lord called him "the rod of My anger" (Isaiah 10:5).
The picture closes every exit. Speed, weapons, stamina and hunger are all in place, and the lion carries the kill away.
The avenging nations may be far away. But He would give them the signal and whistle for them, as a man whistles for someone far off, and "behold, they shall come with speed swiftly." A vivid picture follows of their vigour and promptness, their equipment and fierce determination. Nothing can shield anyone from them, and no one can escape… There is no deliverance, only judgement after judgement on the people and the land. Unrelieved darkness rests there.
Kelly draws the wider lesson from that darkness:
This is the lot of man — or rather, here, of Israel — where Christ is not.
The invaders roar as if the victory were their own. But the roaring nation is a tool in God's hand, and the tool does not outlast the job.
God uses the pride and wickedness of evil men to chastise His people. Afterwards He destroys the instrument. The Assyrian, God's rod to strike Israel, glorifies himself against God, who breaks the rod.
This is not a one-off. The same thing appears elsewhere in Scripture.
Here we see what we also see in the book of Habakkuk. God may use an evil nation to chastise His unfaithful people. But He does it only under His strict supervision and control.
Isaiah leaves the roaring nation unnamed here. Commentators see the invader of Isaiah's own century as the first instalment of something larger.
The Assyrian of the past is only a type of their mighty opponent at the end. Then Israel will enter into relations with Jehovah once more, in a living way and for ever. That time is hurrying on, but it has in no sense come yet. Right after it comes the Messiah's open reign of righteousness and peace. Then the earth will be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. So Isaiah 11 and 12 are the true and bright end of what begins so sadly in Isaiah 5.
"None can rescue" is true of the invasion Isaiah describes here. It is not God's last word about His people. Later in the book God takes up the same picture — prey held by a stronger power — and reverses it.
But Israel's foes are mighty. To mere human reasoning it may seem impossible that the poor, downtrodden Jew will ever get free from the oppressor. Jehovah answers their fears with a promise: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued." What is more, God will deal with those who have oppressed His people.
- Cause. The roar of verse 29 is not random violence. It answers six woes already pronounced over God's people. The pent-up wrath those woes earned arrives from outside.
- Instrument. The lion is a rod. The Lord calls the Assyrian "the rod of My anger". He gives the signal and the nations come.
- Grip. The verse describes a grip nobody can break. Nothing shields, no one escapes — only judgement after judgement, and unrelieved darkness.
- Limit. The rod is never out of God's hand. He uses an evil nation to chastise His unfaithful people, but only under strict supervision. Afterwards He breaks the rod that glorified itself against Him.
- Rescue. The Assyrian of the past pictures a greater opponent still to come. Yet the same book that says none can rescue also promises that the prey of the tyrant will be rescued. What begins so sadly in Isaiah 5 ends brightly in Isaiah 11 and 12.
and they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. And if one look upon the earth, behold darkness [and] distress, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
The song of the vineyard ends with no harvest and a black sky. An army roars in like the sea, and whoever looks out over the land sees only darkness. Two questions follow: who are these invaders, and is this darkness the last word over God's people?
A man scans the land for relief and finds none. One writer says what that darkness means for Israel:
A vivid picture follows of their strength and speed, their equipment and fierce determination. No one can find shelter from them or escape. These foes will roar against Israel. But they are not yet named... Such is the lot of man, and of Israel here in particular, where Christ is not. There is no deliverance, only judgement after judgement on the people and the land. Unrelieved darkness rests there.
Two details matter. Isaiah does not yet name the enemy. And the darkness marks an absence: Christ is not there.
The armies are not an accident of history. God Himself brings them. Another writer traces who they turn out to be:
He will bring mighty strangers against them, whose progress nothing can stop, who will carry the people into captivity. There shall be sorrow and mourning in the land, and the light of their heavens shall be darkened. At first this will be Nebuchadnezzar, and even Sennacherib. But more fully it will be the nations that come against Jerusalem in the last days. They will overrun and invade the whole land, and then capture the city.
Another writer sees the invaders "headed up in the mighty Assyrian of those days, whom the Lord called, 'The rod of My anger'" (F. B. Hole).
The comparison to the sea is not decoration. One writer explains what the restless sea stands for, and hears its roar in the world today:
The world in which the godly man finds himself is in turmoil and upheaval. The waters roar, and the mountains shake with their swelling. Often in Scripture the sea, in its restlessness, is used as a symbol of the nations in a state of turmoil (Isa. 5:30). Today, can we not hear the roar of the waves as, in every part of the world, we see the nations in a state of upheaval, revolution, and conflict? As a result, the rising violence and growing corruption of men are overthrowing ancient constitutions that have stood for centuries. Forms of government that seemed as stable as the mountains are falling too.
The same writer sets the believer's answer beside the roar: "But, says the Psalmist, 'Therefore will not we fear,' for 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.'"
The darkness is the last stage of a story that began with every advantage. God had done everything for His vineyard and received nothing back:
Nothing was lacking on God's part. But the nation as a whole had turned away from Him, broken the covenant, and completely corrupted their ways... There was no fruit fit for God under the law. Where man stands on the ground of responsibility, there is nothing but failure. Law must take its course, so judgment follows.
The point is not that God's care was thin. It is that human responsibility, tested under the best possible conditions, produced nothing.
Verse 30 leaves the reader in the dark. The chapter breaks off rather than concludes:
Isaiah 5 opens a new prophetic message. It is clearly incomplete if taken alone... The rest of the chapter announces a still heavier blow. Distant nations rush in and roar against them. Nothing is left for the land but darkness and distress, with the light darkened by its clouds. Isaiah 6 clearly interrupts the song, and so do Isaiah 7 to 9:7. Only at Isaiah 9:8 does the lament begun in Isaiah 5 start again.
So the darkness of verse 30 is not Isaiah's last word on Israel. The chapter breaks off, and other messages come in before the lament returns.
- Planted. Nothing was lacking on God's part. He gave His vineyard His law and looked for fruit.
- Wild. Man on the ground of responsibility produces only failure. Law must take its course, so judgment follows.
- Sent. God brings mighty strangers whom nothing can stop: Nebuchadnezzar and Sennacherib first, then the nations that come against Jerusalem in the last days.
- Roaring. The sea pictures nations in turmoil and revolution. That roar overturns what looked as stable as mountains, and it can still be heard today.
- Dark. Look at the land and there is no rescue, only judgment on judgment. That is the lot of a place where Christ is not — and the prophecy stops there rather than ending, taking up the lament again only at Isaiah 9:8.