Isaiah 5:24-30--Woe to the Wicked

Isaiah 5:24-30​
English Standard Version

24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will be as rottenness,
    and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts,
    and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
    and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
    and the mountains quaked;
and their corpses were as refuse
    in the midst of the streets.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.

26 He will raise a signal for nations far away,
    and whistle for them from the ends of the earth;
and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
27 None is weary, none stumbles,
    none slumbers or sleeps,
not a waistband is loose,
    not a sandal strap broken;
28 their arrows are sharp,
    all their bows bent,
their horses' hoofs seem like flint,
    and their wheels like the whirlwind.
29 Their roaring is like a lion,
    like young lions they roar;
they growl and seize their prey;
    they carry it off, and none can rescue.
30 They will growl over it on that day,
    like the growling of the sea.
And if one looks to the land,
    behold, darkness and distress;
and the light is darkened by its clouds.

---

Picking up where we left off last time in the woes spoken over Judah and Jerusalem.  The LORD will burn away the rottenness of the Israelites like how fire burns away grass and stubble.  The flower blossoms will become as dust and ash.  Everything beautiful would be turned to ashes and smoke.  Why would He do this?  Because these people that were supposed to be His people and called by His Name have rejected His Law and despised His Word that was spoken to them through the prophets that He sent to them.  They have acted as if they had no Law and no Word of the LORD to follow and obey.  In many ways, that makes them worse than the Gentiles who never had the Law and the Prophets.

The same angel of the LORD that passed over them when He reached out His hand in judgment on the people of Egypt during the tenth plague will now reach out His hand in judgment towards the people of Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem.  Even the mountains will be shaken and won't be able to hide people from the fury of His wrath.  Corpses will pile up in the streets.  What will absit His righteous wrath?

The Gentile nations from far away will see that the LORD has turned against His people and will think that this is their time to finish them off and steal the Land and inheritance that was promised to them.  All of the enemies of God and His people will gather from the four corners of the world to make war against the LORD, His Messiah, and His people.  The chapter ends with us waiting in suspense to know if the LORD would let His people be destroyed or would He save them once again, even though they don't deserve it.  We know from the rest of the Bible that for the sake of His Name, He will act to save them and keep His covenant for them to be His people and He to be their God, even though they have deserted Him over and over again.  I am thankful that the LORD loves the unlovable and forgives those that we would call deplorable and irredeemable.  His covenant love is based off of His goodness, not ours.  Praise the LORD that when the LORD makes an ete4rnal covenant and swears by Himself, for there is nothing higher for Him to swear by, that nothing can change Him mind--not even the failures of His people that He has loved, redeemed, and caused to be adopted into His family.  Yes, the LORD will save His people in a mighty way.  The Day of the LORD is coming and will be a day of swift justice and wrath for the ungodly, (whether they be Jew or Gentile), and a day of salvation for all those who are called by His Name (whether Jew or Gentile).