AVOIDING FUTURE WOES 

ISAIAH 5:8-25

The predominant theme of the first half of Isaiah is one of darkness. Israel had forsaken the way of the Lord and had become, not a light to the nations around her, but like the pagan peoples. Her ways were ways of arrogance and oppression, war and injustice, of terror of enemies within and without.  In the beginning of Chapter 5 God explains through the Prophet Isaiah that he had planted, cultivated and cared for Isaiah like a farmer would care for his most productive grape vineyard. The farmer works hard with the hope that the field will bring forth good grapes.  Likewise God explains that he had blessed and care for Isaiah with the hopes that they would in turn produce good works.  They were to glorify him in the midst of these idol worshipping people that they too might come to know the true and living God.  Israel had instead brought forth poison grapes, or works unbecoming of those who belonged to God.  So God through the prophet Isaiah is now warning the people that He will not permit the people called by His name to tarnish His glory, or to splatter His character with their filth.

          In the passage that we have just read God speaks six woes on Judah as he warns them to change their actions and live as he has commanded them. Now Webster says that the word “woe” means great sorrow, grief, affliction, trouble or misery.  So God warns Israel of the great grief, sorrow, affliction, trouble and misery that will overtake them if they continue to walk in their ways.

          Many times when we think of God being angry at mankind we think in terms of his displeasure with the unsaved, but here we see that God speaks these woes not on those who have no covenant with Him but rather on those who are supposed to be his chosen people.  Today I want us to focus on these six woes in the hopes that we who are now called the people of God will learn from Israel and avoid having God speak woes upon our lives.  The title of today’s messages is, “AVOIDING FUTURE WOES.”

ISAIAH 5:8-10

          This first woe is pronounced upon those who are driven by material gain.  Some people were acquiring much land at the expense of their fellow countrymen.  Selling houses permanently in a walled city was allowed under the Law, but selling houses in unwalled cities and fields was allowed only until the Year of Jubilee when the houses would revert back to their former owners. Because God had given the people the land they were not to get rich at others’ expense. Because of this sin the big houses and mansions the people once enjoyed would be empty because many people would be killed, and their crops would fail. Normally a large vineyard would produce many gallons of wine, but here the amount would be a mere six gallons (a bath). And a homer (six bushels) of seed that would normally yield many bushels of grain, would yield only one-half a bushel (an ephah).  They would sow a bushel and gain just 1/12 the amount of seed back.   This means that they would be working to come up with less than they had initially. 

          In the New Testament we find Jesus often warning the people of the dangers of wealth. 

LUKE 12:15-21

          Though the world tends to base a successful life on what we have acquired, positions we hold and how powerful we are reported to be, these are not the standards of success used by God.  Jesus here tells us that life does not consist of one’s possessions. Personal worth and success are not to be measured in terms of material wealth or possessions.  In fact, in Jesus’ words, the person is a fool who labors to lay up treasures on earth rather than treasures in heaven.

 MATTHEW 6:24

          Jesus viewed money or wealth as a spiritual power, identifying wealth as an object of worship, a rival to God. In other words wealth is viewed as a spiritual being whose purpose explicitly is to draw our attention away from God and to him.  In Luke 8:14 Jesus warned that riches and the pursuit of pleasure may keep some from maturing in the faith.   The pursuit of material gain and pleasure threaten to choke the word out of us.  Though we may know what God says, if we are too attracted to material gains we will be tempted to ignore what the word says and pursue our own desires.  Though most of us have very little in the way of riches we must still admit that riches is a powerful foe.  For we spend the better part of our lives trying to acquire riches and material possessions. However, though he is powerful, do not be deceived into thinking he can not be beat.  The only way to defeat the power of mammon or riches is to give money or possessions away.  That is why we are told in Acts 20:35, “it is more blessed to give than to receive”.   If we continue to be driven by the desire to gain material possessions we to run the risk of one day hearing God say “woe be unto you.” 

ISAIAH 5:11-14

          This second woe is pronounced on those who are driven by the desire to satisfy their flesh.  These people spent many hours drinking and partying, but Isaiah predicted that eventually many would die of hunger and thirst and that hell would open its mouth wide to receive them. Our pleasures, if they do not have God’s blessing, may destroy us.   

GALATIANS 6:7-8 

          There is no mistaking what these verses say.  If we allow our flesh or our own desires to be the driving force in our lives and control us it, our flesh will drive us right to corruption or destruction.  We know that the flesh and the spirit are at war one with the other.  When we yield to the flesh then we deny the spirit and thus we shut God out of our lives if only for that minute.  Shutting God out of our lives allows sin to come into them.  Though sin tempts us with the promise of pleasure in truth sin brings with it great sorrow, grief, affliction, trouble and misery.  Thus sin brings with it woe.

ISAIAH 5:18-19

The third woe is pronounced on those who were rebelliously taking pride in their sin.  The people knew that they were sinning against God yet they wanted him to work on there behalf.  In fact they challenged God to swiftly come and show who he was and what he could do.  They showed off their sins as one would a new cart.  Most true Christians would never blatantly challenge God to come and do something about their continued sin.  However, there are many who claim to be children of God who show off their sin, bragging about what they have done as if they are showing off a new car.  James 4:17 says, “Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.”   To know what is to be done and then refuse to do it is rebellion.  I Samuel 15:23 lets us know that rebellion is just as bad as the sin of witchcraft and Exodus 22:18 lets us know that the Children of Israel were not to allow any among them who was a witch to live.  Witchcraft was punishable by death and rebellion was just as bad.  When we rebel against God we are saying that we know more than he does and that we are capable of making better decisions about what should be done than he is.  In rebellion we set ourselves up to be God of our lives.  Such a ridiculous action can only bring woe to us. 

ISAIAH 5:20

          The 4^th woe was pronounced on those who confused and confounded the standard.  When Christians do not carefully observe the distinction between good and evil, trouble and destruction soon follow. It is easy to say, “No one should decide for anyone else what is really right or wrong.” Some who call themselves Christians think that getting drunk isn’t wrong because it really isn’t hurting anyone else. Or some think that premarital or extramarital sex isn’t really wrong between consenting adults. Some think that aggressively pursuing money and power is just ambition. Christians with these attitudes confound the standard.  They leave the world wondering what is right or wrong.  If the truth be known, a person who is in right relationship with God knows what is right and wrong.  They have the Spirit of God dwelling in them to instruct them in the way to go and teach them God’s standard.  We make excuses for our actions because we are not willing to change and yet at the same time we don’t want to face the fact that we are dishonoring God and stand in jeopardy of being condemned with those blatantly declare themselves to be sinners.  Those who behave in this way think salvation is nothing but fire insurance. Those who think and believe in this fashion need to understand that without eternal life insurance, your fire insurance will be cancelled.  In Matthew 7:21 Jesus said, “Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.”  You don’t truly have fire insurance if you do not have a life insurance policy stamped with the blood of Jesus and sealed by the Spirit of God.  

ISAIAH 5: 21

          This woe was stated for those who were self-exalting.

Romans 12:3, 16

          We are encouraged in both of these passages not to be conceited and self exalting.  Whatever we have achieved, acquired, or mastered has been God’s doing not us.  Even when we are at our best we are still not good enough to deserve the rich blessings of God that he bestows upon us and certainly we will never individually or collectively deserve that great price that was paid for our salvation. 

MATTHEW 23:12

          It does not matter who you are or what you have, Jesus declares here that if you exalt yourself you will be abased or brought low.  God will not tolerate anyone setting himself up to be greater than God and stealing his glory.  If you are ever tempted to exalt yourself and think of yourself as on an equal plain with God, go back and read Daniel Chapter 4 and see what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar when he exalted himself rather than God.  In that story you will see the best example of being abased that I think you can find in the Bible or any other written record.

ISAIAH 5:22-23

     The final woe was spoken in regards to them who perverted justice.  Rather than being heroes and good government authorities, many leaders were known for their heavy drinking. They were ready to be bribed, not caring for the people they were ruling. They were more concerned for their own pleasure than for the rights of the innocent. Therefore they too would be judged.  Sometimes we get upset by the deceitful and crooked behavior of our politicians and governmental officials.  After we vote there is very little that we can do to control what happens in our state or our country.  What we can do is what the Bible tells us to do and that is to pray for our officials.  We must keep in mind that hearts of man can be turned by the hand of God.  Also we have many Biblical examples of how God has brought low many kings of this earth.  Even as God pronounced a woe on those who pervert justice among his people then, he will take care of those who do likewise now.

REVELATION 8:13

          The woes that we looked at in Isaiah were spoken to the people of God in an effort by God to turn the people away from evil and back to him.  The three woes that are announced here occur after the church is gone and thus are pronounced on those who have rejected God gift of salvation.  Just as God warned his people of the coming judgment resulting from their materialism, their unholy lifestyles, their rebellion, their perverting of the standard of God and of justice, and their self exaltation, so he continues to warn the world.  In our world today we are surrounded by all of the signs given by God describing the last days of this earth as we know it.  Many who are not even saved will boldly proclaim that these are the last days.  Realizing and believing that to be true will we heed the warnings given to Israel and avoid possibly hearing the woes of revelation or will we like the Children of Israel continue following after our own ways and being left behind hear and experience the 3 woes of Revelation.  I want to encourage us to learn from Israel so that we who are today the people of God can avoid being here to hear the soon coming woes.