11. Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
12. And the harp, and the viol, the tabret and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts; but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands.
13. Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
14. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
15. And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled;
16. But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
17. Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
18. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope;
19. That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
20. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22. Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23. Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Golden Text: “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink.” Verse 11.
NOTE.—The above date, November 24, is chosen as a day for special consideration of the temperance question, hence the introduction of this lesson at this point. Next week the history of Israel is again taken up. Isaiah lived and wrote over one hundred years before the Babylonian captivity, and in the chapter before us brings to view some of the principal causes leading to the misfortunes that came upon his people. The first part of the chapter enumerates the blessings the Lord had bestowed upon Israel, his vineyard. In them he had established his temple; they were the custodians of his law; through them light should have flowed to the world, and about them were divine barriers. But they failed, and the judgments of God came upon them.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) Upon whom is a woe pronounced? Memory verse. (2) What is brought into their feasts? Verse 12. (3) Whom does such a course cause them to forget? Same verse. Note 1. (4) For this reason, what calamity would be brought upon Israel? Verse 13. Note 2. (5) What is the end of a course of selfish indulgence? Verse 14. Ans.—The grave. (6) Is there respect of persons in this judgment? Verse 15. (7) What will such a sweeping fate prove? Verse 16. Note 3. (8) What would become of their land? Verse 17. (9) By means of what figures is the evil said to be attached to one? Verse 18. Note 4. (10) How do they deride and mock the Lord? Verse 19. (11) Upon what other class is a woe pronounced? Verse 20. (12) To what extent are they deceived? Verse 21. (13) To what evil does the love of drink lead one? Verses 22, 23. Note 5.
NOTES.
1. The inevitable result of intemperance of all kinds is to cause men to become dulled in their perception of divine things. The gratification of appetite for the surfeiting of the physical senses is the curse of mankind. Sin in its nature is a doctrine of self, and the more one’s powers are perverted to selfish demands, the better worshiper he is at this evil shrine. So the text depicts the habits of those who are wholly enslaved to the god of drink, that their continual thoughts and purposes are for this one object,—gratification of appetite. The consequences,—“they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands.” That this is true at the present time, and one prolific cause of the moral darkness overspreading the world, is evident from the figures showing the amount of money spent in this country alone for liquor during the last year. This amount is $1,080,000,000, over two hundred million dollars more than the food item, and is the largest item of expenditure for any product or article of demand. Compare this with the supposedly unselfish giving for14 (702)foreign mission work, $5,000,000, for the same time. See also Prov. 23:30, 31.
2. True knowledge proceeds from the Lord, but when the abilities which he bestows are used in an evil cause, this wisdom becomes weak. Clearness of judgment depends largely upon the proper use of the physical functions. A sound mind necessitates a sound body. Abuse the latter, and the former is injured. It is on this well-known physiological fact that Paul bases a lesson to the Corinthians: “He that committeth fornication [including an inordinate indulgence of appetite] sinneth against his own body,” which “is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you.” A weakened mind, carelessness, poverty, and calamity are the downward steps where appetite holds sway. See Prov. 20:1.
3. Such an ending to all those who pursue their own selfish desires, to the disregard of God, proves the righteousness of his judgments. If the course of the sinner were right, he would be perpetuated in it, and God would not be all in all. Right-doing only can merit the favor of a holy God. But it is in just such common temptations to gratify self by indulging the appetite with those things that are evil, or the improper use of which will work evil, that the Lord comes in as a helper. God is a Saviour from the common and little temptations. Gain the victory by his help over these as they come, and the great temptations will not appear so great.
4. PAUL refers to sin as the body of death bound to him. Here the prophet depicts the sinner as a beast of burden fastened to the load, and that load is sin. The spiritual condition, too, of those who are deceived by sin is likewise implied.
5. The woes of the last verses of the lesson seem specially aimed at the teachers in Israel, the judges, and those in authority. The same prophet, in the twenty-eighth chapter, says (verse 7) that those who sit in judgment “have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.” Verse 23 of chapter 5 refers to the custom of wicked priests and rulers receiving bribes and giving judgment accordingly, which was one of the sins of long standing in Israel. The secret of the whole matter, the reason for such conduct and attendant disaster, is made plain by the Lord through his prophet, as follows: “Because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Verse 24. This is the secret now as well as then. The remedy is the Spirit of the Lord in the heart, reforming the man, for this alone can save from the woes pronounced against all manner of sin.
