Isaiah 5:20

August 15, 2023

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Here we can see that this passage from the Old Testament is the prophet Isaiah making a strong declaration, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, of what will happen to those that misconstrue the Lord’s guidelines and Biblical principles. One thing that we need to understand is that the Lord put rules in place for our protection because without them we would have no moral compass.

Unfortunately a lot of Christians do not take the time to read, study, and apply God’s Word to their lives so they suffer painful consequences. Make no mistake about it; sin and evilness is an abomination in the sight of the Lord that He will not have any part of. This is the very thing that separated us from Him in the first place. So when the Word of God mentions that word “woe” it is usually followed by a strong warning of judgment to come.

The prophet Isaiah is speaking to the people of Judah who were becoming so corrupt that they were calling evil good and good evil. There were plenty of other warnings of judgment that the Lord is using the prophet Isaiah to pronounce to the house of Judah. One of the things that they did that was evil in God’s eyes was indulging in strong drink.

Isaiah 5:11 exposes, “Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them!” In other words the Lord is stating that they are drinking as if it should be a common part of their day even though God is clear about drunkenness being a sin. They became so accustomed to integrating intoxicating drink into their activities that they disregarded the Lord entirely.

One of the worst things that anyone can do as a believer of God is to disregard what He says in the Holy Bible. It is truly the guideline of how we should live our daily lives. God is so clear about His spiritual rules and regulations that He explains what He had to do because of the extreme sin that was taking place: “…Sheol (Hell) has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure…”

The Lord literally had to enlarge hell so that more people could fit because of how many were turning away from God, disobeying His principles, and listening to the devil’s lies. One thing that we need to understand is that the Lord never meant for any one of us to go to hell, in fact it was created for the devil and his demonic kingdom, 2 Peter 3:9. We put ourselves there because of blatant and unrepentant sin.

Let’s take a closer look at the primary verse of Scripture that we are dissecting Isaiah 5:20. The word used for “darkness” is the Hebrew word “ḥōšeḵ” which means evil sin done in the secret place. Nothing is hidden from the Lord as He sees all. So, when you live in unremorseful wickedness and you don’t see anything wrong with it; that is a very dangerous place to be. God does not take that lightly.

As Christians we are God’s vessels, a place of light put here on Earth and He holds us to a high standard. Can you just imagine trying to be a witness for Jesus but your life is filled with darkness, sin, bitterness, and negativity? You are a reflection of the Lord the moment that you call yourself a believer of Christ and others will be watching how you conduct yourself at all times. Take that into consideration when you want to live outside of God’s will for your life.

Evil is increasing rapidly and in order for us to be able to stand against the wickedness that will intensify in these last days we need to saturate our hearts and minds with the Word of God and take it seriously! That way we can spot blind guides in the form of misleading pastors, false teachers, and false prophets that promote fake doctrines.

We are warned to stay far away from people that are lovers of money, lovers of themselves, lovers of pleasure, boastful, proud, and unforgiving, etc. God is clear about what happens to people that display this kind of wickedness; they will not inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Corinthians 6:9.

Additional words that we need to take a closer look at are the words “bitter” which is the Hebrew word “mar” meaning: bitter water or food; and the words “for sweet” which is the Hebrew word “māṯôq” meaning sweet. The comparison that Isaiah was attempting to get across to us is the dangers of making sin seem like it is a good and sweet thing when in actuality it is leading a lot of people to eternal damnation. It’s as if you are trying a certain food for the first time and being told that it is sweet but when you put it in your mouth it is bitter (pungent in taste or smell) the opposite of sweet.

You don’t realize it until it is already in your mouth. The same scenario happens with sin and evilness; people don’t truly understand the repercussions of their actions until they begin to reap the consequences. The prophet Isaiah is warning the children of Judah of danger and destruction that they were heading into and the same advice applies to us today.

Jesus gives us the perfect illustration of what it would look like if you had your heart and mind corrupted with immorality in Matthew 6:22-23. He states, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

In other words light (goodness) comes into your eyes creating the lamp or good into your entire body. Darkness (evilness) does the exact opposite; it corrupts or covers your whole body with darkness. So, if all that you are allowing into your eye gate is wickedness can you just imagine the extent of negativity that is saturating your mind, heart, and soul?

I have articles regarding what you need to be mindful of when it comes to your eye gates and ear gates: Guarding Your Eye Gates-Part 1, Guarding Your Eye Gates-Part 2, Guarding Your Ear Gates-Part 1, and Guarding Your Ear Gates-Part 2.

The prophet Isaiah is warning of judgment to come to those that walk using their own sight instead of being leg by the Lord. We are living in a time where wickedness is increasing by the minute. The devil has a major target on our children and we need to be mindful of his tactics and schemes. It is our responsibility to keep watch over them.

The problem is a lot of us don’t take the time needed to get into God’s Word to learn the Biblical Principles and guidelines that are going to keep us out of harm’s way. It isn’t called warfare for no reason, the moment that you decided to live for Christ you became an enemy of the kingdom of darkness. An adversary that wants nothing more than to kill, steal, and destroy you! Do not allow yourself to become a casualty of war but instead put on your armor and be a powerful warrior in the army of God!

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Isaiah 1:18

Who is the Prophet Isaiah

The Armor of God-The Sword of the Spirit

The Armor of God-The Helmet of Salvation

The Armor of God-The Shield of Faith

The Armor of God-The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

The Armor of God-The Belt of Truth

The Armor of God-The Breastplate of Righteousness

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing