Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
Isaiah 5:17 pictures the reversal that follows God's judgment for selfish indulgence and forgetting Him, when the wealthy and rebellious fat ones are brought low and their lands are left ruined and desolate, so lambs graze freely in their usual manner where the rich once lived and strangers feed in the deserted waste places. It stands in the woes upon intemperance and unfruitfulness in Isaiah 5:11-23, where rising early for strong drink and feasting while disregarding the work of the Lord brings captivity, hunger, and humbling, showing that the promises to the vineyard were not unconditional. The warning reaches every class from highest to lowest, for indulgence in wine and kindred drinks and gluttony dulls the moral senses and causes forgetting of God, and whatever comes between a person and God in this way is idolatry. It is a divine prediction of the corruption, drunkenness, greed, oppression of the poor, and hoarding of land and wealth characteristic of the last time when human rule is nearing its end, giving merciful warning that the second coming of Jesus Christ is near. Even in that captivity the innocent and trusting are cared for while strangers occupy the abandoned estates of the luxurious, and the full end of envy, strife, and contention between capital and labor, the lowly and the rich, will come only in the new earth under Jesus Christ as king, not by human government or socialism.
Setting and Meaning
Isaiah's message was given to Judah from 760 to 700 B.C. during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, in a book filled with Gospel truth. Its opening chapters, chapters 1 to 5, describe the backsliding of God's people in that time, which serves as a type of last-day apostasy.
The chapter compares Israel to a carefully tended vineyard that produced wild grapes, portraying the unfruitfulness, backsliding, and departure from God of Israel and Judah. Against that departure it pronounces woes that warn of the sure consequences of such a course. God's removing its protection and withholding rain as judgment for rebellion shows that the land promises were not unconditional.
The verse belongs to the woes of intemperance in Isaiah 5:11-23. It follows the warning against rising early for strong drink and continuing until night, with feasting and music while disregarding the work of the Lord. That course brings captivity from lack of knowledge, hunger and thirst, enlargement of hell to swallow glory and pomp, and humbling of the mean, the mighty, and the lofty, while the Lord of hosts is exalted in judgment and God is sanctified in righteousness.
As the outcome of that judgment for selfish indulgence and forgetting the Lord, the verse pictures a reversal in which the wealthy, rebellious, and prosperous fat ones are brought low. Their lands are left ruined, waste, and desolate. Lambs then graze freely after their manner in their usual pastures where the rich once lived. Strangers or wanderers eat in the deserted waste places once occupied by the prosperous.
Prophecy of Last Days
The verse belongs to a prophecy of the corruption and judgment that mark the last time, when human rule is nearing its end. The warning against drunkenness with its misery, crime and licentiousness, and against even the very beginnings of sin, shows that the last days will be like those conditions. That likeness is a merciful warning and a sign in the social world that the end of all earthly things and the second coming of Jesus Christ is near.
It is a divine prediction warning about wealth amassed through disregard and oppression of the poor, and about the judgment and upheaval that follow such gain. It warns against greed and the hoarding of land and wealth. The wealthy landowners' places are left desolate, with lambs grazing freely and strangers feeding there.
The bringing down of the mean man and the mighty man and the lofty, together with provision for lambs and strangers from the waste places of the fat ones, shows the end of distinction, envy, strife and contention between capital and labor, between the lowly and the rich. That end will come only in the new earth, beginning at the close of the millennium and lasting throughout eternity. It will not come by human government or socialism, but by coming into harmony with God and His ways as subjects of the kingdom of God, subject to the laws of God, with Jesus Christ as king upon the throne in the city of the New Jerusalem.
Warning and Care
The warning reaches every class from the highest to the lowest, for indulgence in wine and kindred drinks as well as gluttony dulls the moral senses and brings forgetfulness of God. Whatever in this way comes between a person and God is idolatry. Even in captivity the innocent and trusting will be cared for. The abandoned places of the well-to-do who had lived luxuriously will be occupied by strangers, with their deserted luxurious estates left to be fed upon by others.
Isaiah 5:17 pictures the reversal that follows God's judgment for selfish indulgence and forgetting Him, when the wealthy and rebellious fat ones are brought low and their lands are left ruined and desolate, so lambs graze freely in their usual manner where the rich once lived and strangers feed in the deserted waste places. It stands in the woes upon intemperance and unfruitfulness in Isaiah 5:11-23, where rising early for strong drink and feasting while disregarding the work of the Lord brings captivity, hunger, and humbling, showing that the promises to the vineyard were not unconditional. The warning reaches every class from highest to lowest, for indulgence in wine and kindred drinks and gluttony dulls the moral senses and causes forgetting of God, and whatever comes between a person and God in this way is idolatry. It is a divine prediction of the corruption, drunkenness, greed, oppression of the poor, and hoarding of land and wealth characteristic of the last time when human rule is nearing its end, giving merciful warning that the second coming of Jesus Christ is near. Even in that captivity the innocent and trusting are cared for while strangers occupy the abandoned estates of the luxurious, and the full end of envy, strife, and contention between capital and labor, the lowly and the rich, will come only in the new earth under Jesus Christ as king, not by human government or socialism.
Setting and Meaning
Isaiah's message was given to Judah from 760 to 700 B.C. during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, in a book filled with Gospel truth. Its opening chapters, chapters 1 to 5, describe the backsliding of God's people in that time, which serves as a type of last-day apostasy.
The chapter compares Israel to a carefully tended vineyard that produced wild grapes, portraying the unfruitfulness, backsliding, and departure from God of Israel and Judah. Against that departure it pronounces woes that warn of the sure consequences of such a course. God's removing its protection and withholding rain as judgment for rebellion shows that the land promises were not unconditional.
The verse belongs to the woes of intemperance in Isaiah 5:11-23. It follows the warning against rising early for strong drink and continuing until night, with feasting and music while disregarding the work of the Lord. That course brings captivity from lack of knowledge, hunger and thirst, enlargement of hell to swallow glory and pomp, and humbling of the mean, the mighty, and the lofty, while the Lord of hosts is exalted in judgment and God is sanctified in righteousness.
As the outcome of that judgment for selfish indulgence and forgetting the Lord, the verse pictures a reversal in which the wealthy, rebellious, and prosperous fat ones are brought low. Their lands are left ruined, waste, and desolate. Lambs then graze freely after their manner in their usual pastures where the rich once lived. Strangers or wanderers eat in the deserted waste places once occupied by the prosperous.
Prophecy of Last Days
The verse belongs to a prophecy of the corruption and judgment that mark the last time, when human rule is nearing its end. The warning against drunkenness with its misery, crime and licentiousness, and against even the very beginnings of sin, shows that the last days will be like those conditions. That likeness is a merciful warning and a sign in the social world that the end of all earthly things and the second coming of Jesus Christ is near.
It is a divine prediction warning about wealth amassed through disregard and oppression of the poor, and about the judgment and upheaval that follow such gain. It warns against greed and the hoarding of land and wealth. The wealthy landowners' places are left desolate, with lambs grazing freely and strangers feeding there.
The bringing down of the mean man and the mighty man and the lofty, together with provision for lambs and strangers from the waste places of the fat ones, shows the end of distinction, envy, strife and contention between capital and labor, between the lowly and the rich. That end will come only in the new earth, beginning at the close of the millennium and lasting throughout eternity. It will not come by human government or socialism, but by coming into harmony with God and His ways as subjects of the kingdom of God, subject to the laws of God, with Jesus Christ as king upon the throne in the city of the New Jerusalem.
Warning and Care
The warning reaches every class from the highest to the lowest, for indulgence in wine and kindred drinks as well as gluttony dulls the moral senses and brings forgetfulness of God. Whatever in this way comes between a person and God is idolatry. Even in captivity the innocent and trusting will be cared for. The abandoned places of the well-to-do who had lived luxuriously will be occupied by strangers, with their deserted luxurious estates left to be fed upon by others.