The Danger of Defying God: Is God Judging America?

‘Woe’ is a little three letter word filled with meaning and emotion. It means to ‘curse’ or to ‘damn’. It is the assignment of justice. The emotion behind the word may be anger, but it is also used with much sorrow. Think of those who were watching as the twin towers fell on 9/11. Their gasps and cries expressed shock and dismay. They were overwhelmed with sorrow at the loss of life within the towers as they crumbled to earth. Sorrow was finally followed by anger toward a cowardly enemy. This is the emotion Isaiah feels as he repeats this little word several times in chapter 5.

1. Greed for Material Things. “WOE to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land. The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing: ‘Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants.” (Isa. 5:8-9) God is declaring a judgment on the Jewish people because materialism had become their idol. They worshiped things rather than the Creator.

There are parallels between ancient Israel and modern America that cannot be ignored. We have become a very materialistic society. The accumulation of wealth has become our idol. We willingly sacrifice our families and our health at the altar of materialism.

Our houses have become desolate. Millions of homeowners have been foreclosed on in the last several years despite President Obama’s $75 billion plan to save homes. Our community (Columbus, Georgia) has many “fine mansions left without occupants.”

Because of their disobedience and betrayal God brought famine into the land.

2. Lust for Drunken Pleasure. “WOE to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine.” (Isa. 5:11) God punished a society that had decided to replace worship of God with a lust for pleasure. We run after alcoholic beverages and various drugs to help relieve the pain and boredom in our lives. We pursue our own desires and have “no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of his hands.” (Isa. 5:12) These are cheap substitutes for the true Healer.

“There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the broken soul.” (African-American Spiritual)

The true God is patient and longsuffering but he cannot tolerate such disrespect indefinitely. So, God removed the restraints upon the Babylonians and they came into the land of Israel and carried them off into exile. “Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding; their men of rank will die of hunger and their masses will be parched with thirst.” (Isa. 5:13)

It is not hard to imagine thirst and lack of water in this part of the country. Florida, Alabama and Georgia have been raging a water war for over 20 years. Lake Lanier is a huge lake north of Atlanta that serves the city and those inhabitants that live south along the Chattahoochee River. There are approximately 5 million people who draw from the lake before its waters reach my area. It is very difficult to determine how to divvy the water fairly. Complicating the matter is the fact that Georgia has suffered drought conditions over the last several years. Few Americans have ever felt real thirst and hunger and they feel very comfortable that these elements will always be available in abundance.

Has American society outdone all others in its ability and willingness to seek pleasure and ignore God? If God released the Babylonians upon the Jews because of their defiance will God not also release judgments upon Americans if we don’t repent and turn back to God? There is no ‘teacher’s pet’ in this formula. God’s justice will not allow him to judge sin in one culture and ignore it in another.

3. Sin of Defiance. “WOE to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes.” (Isa. 5:18) A cart rope was made of unbelievably strong material. Its purpose was to attach a loaded cart to a beast of burden. The people of Israel were like mules pulling a cartload of iniquity behind them. They loved their sin and expended a great amount of effort to drag it about wherever they went.

They said, “Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so we may know it.” (Isa. 5:19) These people were defiant in their disobedience. They shook their fists in the face of God and challenged him to bring the judgment he promised. They said, “This is our sin. We love it more than we love you. What will you do about it?”

They were behaving as the Roman soldiers did when they spit upon Jesus and mocked him as he dragged his cross to Golgotha. “The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” (Luke 23:36-37) No good can ever come from mocking God. “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them” (Deuteronomy 32:35)

Our God, provoked to anger, is terrible in his wrath!

God forgive us for our arrogance. We sing, “God Bless America” and then assume that he will regardless of our own actions. We no longer hide our sinfulness and we have no shame for our evil ways.

Recently, a 56 year old man, scantily dressed in women’s underwear, boarded a passenger jet from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Phoenix, Arizona. When he arrived in Phoenix he was escorted away. It was astonishing that this man would pull such a stunt but the attitude he revealed was beyond belief. He had no shame. He was not hiding his face from the cameras. He was proud to have his picture made and wanted all to see.
We have become “haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning”. (Romans 1:30) We foolishly shake our fist in the face of God. We dare him to prove himself by reacting to our challenge.

Christians must sound a warning as Isaiah did, “They have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people.” (Isa. 5:25-26)

It sounds dark and hopeless but it is not. There is a solution to the dilemma in which we find ourselves. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)


Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.

What More Could He Have Done?

Isaiah tells the story of a man who planted a vineyard (Chapter 5) He chose some very fertile land in which to plant. Israel and the Jordan River Valley is home to some of the most productive land in the world. He worked extremely hard to build his vineyard.

“He dug it all around and removed its stones.” (v. 2) Wheel barrow after wheel barrow of rocks had to be removed. He worked for days to extract all the stones. There is a old saying that when God was spreading rocks about the earth in accidently spilled a great number in the area we call Israel. The owner of the vineyard had to hire a crew to remove all the rocks. He cut terraces in the land and used the rocks to fortify them.

“He then planted the choicest vine.” (v.2) He dug deep into his pockets and bought a very expensive, top-of-the-line vine stock. It was a vine known to produce the very best grape.

“He built a tower in the middle of it.” His vineyard was nearly complete and it covered many fertile acres. He was the envy of his neighbors. The tower was a two-tier affair. A watchman stood guard at the top of the tower to guard against thieves and wild animals and the bottom of the tower was used to store tools and implements to work in the vineyard.

“He then hewed out a wine vat.”(v.2)Tremendous effort was required to build this vineyard. The owner was very pleased with his finished product. He was anticipating filling his vat with bushels of grapes and dropping the rock on them to crush from them juices that would make the best wine in the area. He had risked a lot of money. He had contributed a great amount of time and effort and now it was time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

“He looked for it to yield grapes.” (v.2) But a tragic thing happened, instead, “it yielded wild grapes.” The fruit of this vine was weak. It produced tasteless berries that would provide a worthless wine. The owner was disappointed but also perplexed: “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?” he asked.

Isaiah’s song is tragic. It is the story of the country he loved so much. God chose the most fertile land in the world and gave it for the people he had chosen. He removed the rocks, the pagan peoples who were intent on destroying his people. He built a watch tower to protect his people from invaders. He did everything that could possibly have been done to plant a people who would produce spiritual fruit and glorify him.

What does a farmer do with a fruitless vineyard that produces worthless berries? He curses his vineyard. He vacates the watchtower. He removes the hedge about it and ceases to prune the branches and hoe the rows. Briars and thorns eventually overtake it. It is trampled by wild animals and vagrants. Finally, the rains cease and the vineyard is wasted and produces nothing of any value.
This vineyard (Israel) was planted at the crossroads of the world to bear witness of the glory of God. Their failure was miserable and they were worthy to be judged of God. So, famine overtook the land and God rose up an enemy (Babylon) to take them into exile. Their homes were emptied, their streets quiet and lonely.

This prophecy was for the people of Israel but I can’t help but see parallels for my own country. Several hundred years ago our forefathers came here (America) with intentions of building a society that would grant them freedom to worship as they pleased and in which they could bring glory to the God they loved. God honored the desire of their hearts by leading them to a very fertile land with abundant resources. They had been afforded a great opportunity to become that “city upon a hill” which would be a light to show the way to a darkened world. The blessings God showered upon the American people were phenomenal.

But, America, much like Israel, began a slow descent into disobedience and unbelief. What started as a slow, gradual process is now a very slippery slope. Like a water slide at Six Flags, we are plummeting into rebellion and defiance against the God who blessed us.

The briars and thorns are now overtaking the vineyard. The judgment of God rests upon America. Our economic system is in shambles, our politicians habitually lie to us, our citizens are addicted to pleasure and leisure, our families are fragmented, our judicial system is filled with weak-minded judges who are far more interested in promoting personal agendas rather than uphold foundational laws.

I think Jesus was weeping when he looked down upon the city of Jerusalem and said, “"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34) He foresaw the judgment that would come upon the city forty years hence.

O America, America. You despise the prophets sent to you and you ignore the message of truth. I think God must shed tears as he looks upon a once godly nation. “My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.” (Psalm 119:136)

Isaiah gives the reason the vineyard was cursed in verse 24. “They have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Many Americans have a twisted perception of God. They correctly see him as a caring Father whose love is longsuffering and patient and his mercy is incomprehensible. Many believe this perception gives them license to reject the laws of God. But his love for his children will not cause him to compromise his perfect justice. If God is not just God he is not God at all. His sorrow will finally turn to anger and his justice will be fearful and terrible.

He is now asking us, “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?”
Kevin Probst - Teaches History, Government and Apologetics at the high school level in Columbus Georgia.