Paul the Poke

Isaiah 5:13-14 Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; and Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.

The Hebrew grammar of verse 13 indicates the exile is a foregone conclusion. It is written in what we would consider the past tense in English. It is a done deal, you are exiled. Even though, the event is yet to happen in the time of Isaiah’s writing. The deportation out of the land occurs not because of their actions. The Jews are kicked out of the land because of a lack of discernment or understanding.

The irony of the judgment is this. The rich, greedy, and materialistic who loved to throw big banquets and feasts will have nothing to eat. They will be afflicted with hunger and famine. The people, who loved to get up and start drinking till late in the evening, will have nothing to drink. There will be a lack of water.

Their destination is Sheol. Strong’s defines sheol as the underworld, a grave, hell, a pit. This is the Old Testament designation for the abode of the dead. It is a place of no return. The wicked are sent here for punishment.

The city of Jerusalem in all of its glory and majesty, the people in all of its noise and celebration will sink into Sheol.  There will be no limit to the amount of death and destruction.

This entry was posted on July 14, 2012 at 4:39 PM and is filed under Isaiah with tags exile, Isaiah, isaiah 5, Israel, jerusalem, party, sheol. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.