8 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.
9 The Lord Almighty has declared in my hearing:
“Surely the great houses will become desolate,
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine;
a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain.”
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine;
a homer of seed will yield only an ephah of grain.”
11 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.
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes and timbrels and wine,
but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the work of his hands
As I read this this morning I was struck by the contemporary nature of biblical prophesy. It is so interesting the link Isaiah makes between the greed of adding house to house and field to field (8) and living on your own in the land (8). You own so much that you live alone. It reminds me of C.S. Lewis' the Great Divorce where people in the "grey city" can't stand to live in close proximity to one another, so it continues to spread.
It also shows the ultimate destiny of this greed policy is ruin (9) and a fall in productivity (10). A "bath" of wine is only about 22 litres (apparently a low yielding vineyard could produce nearly 1000 litres. A homer of seed (160kg) will produce only produce and Ephah of grain (16kg). In other words it would be mostly husks. Greed leads to low yields of wine and low quality grain.
Finally, living only for luxury and indulgance (11-12a) is seen as disrespecting the earth (12b). I don't think this is a polemic against alcohol and parties per se but is saying that indulgence costs the earth dear and does not care for creation.
How contemporary is Isaiah. This is especially true in a world where the 85 richest people own more than the poorest half of the world; in world where the greed to some leads to the financial crisis of 2008 and in a world where our indulgence is leading to climate change, etc.
to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
till they are inflamed with wine.
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes and timbrels and wine,
but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the work of his hands
As I read this this morning I was struck by the contemporary nature of biblical prophesy. It is so interesting the link Isaiah makes between the greed of adding house to house and field to field (8) and living on your own in the land (8). You own so much that you live alone. It reminds me of C.S. Lewis' the Great Divorce where people in the "grey city" can't stand to live in close proximity to one another, so it continues to spread.
It also shows the ultimate destiny of this greed policy is ruin (9) and a fall in productivity (10). A "bath" of wine is only about 22 litres (apparently a low yielding vineyard could produce nearly 1000 litres. A homer of seed (160kg) will produce only produce and Ephah of grain (16kg). In other words it would be mostly husks. Greed leads to low yields of wine and low quality grain.
Finally, living only for luxury and indulgance (11-12a) is seen as disrespecting the earth (12b). I don't think this is a polemic against alcohol and parties per se but is saying that indulgence costs the earth dear and does not care for creation.
How contemporary is Isaiah. This is especially true in a world where the 85 richest people own more than the poorest half of the world; in world where the greed to some leads to the financial crisis of 2008 and in a world where our indulgence is leading to climate change, etc.
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