What is the meaning of Isaiah 24:11? In the streets they cry out for wine “In the streets they cry out for wine” paints a scene of public desperation. • Wine, a symbol of God-given gladness (Psalm 104:15), is gone; the people clamor in open places because scarcity touches everyone. • Their cry is not repentance but a frantic search for the comfort they once took for granted, echoing Lamentations 2:12 where children “cry to their mothers, ‘Where is bread and wine?’” • The Lord had warned that unrepentant nations would feel this drought of delight (Joel 1:5; Isaiah 16:9-10). • The image reminds us that when God withdraws blessing, worldly pleasures cannot fill the void. All joy turns to gloom “All joy turns to gloom” shows the inward result of outward loss. • What was merry becomes heavy; festivities fade, as Amos 8:10 foretells: “I will turn your feasts into mourning.” • Isaiah has already stated, “The new wine dries up” (24:7), linking material ruin with emotional collapse. • True joy is rooted in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). When people reject Him, gloom is the natural consequence, not merely an emotion but a sign of divine judgment (Jeremiah 7:34). • The verse also cautions us personally: sin can drain the heart of cheer long before visible judgment falls. Rejoicing is exiled from the land “Rejoicing is exiled from the land” completes the picture: celebration itself is driven out. • Jeremiah 25:10 describes the same penalty—“I will banish… the sound of joy and gladness.” Joy is treated as a captive, forcibly removed. • The word “exiled” mirrors the fate awaiting the people; as they will leave the land, so their songs depart first. • God’s judgment touches culture: no weddings, no harvest songs, no city festivals (Hosea 2:11). The silence testifies that life divorced from the Lord cannot thrive. • Yet Scripture holds out hope: when hearts return, God restores “the oil of joy instead of mourning” (Isaiah 61:3) and, in Christ, a joy no one can take away (John 15:11). summary Isaiah 24:11 pictures a society under God’s righteous judgment: external scarcity, internal despair, and the total evacuation of gladness. Wine is missing, joy has turned dark, and even the sound of rejoicing has been expelled. The verse warns that when people reject the Lord, He can remove both provision and pleasure; but it also urges us toward the only lasting source of joy—Himself, who alone can reverse the exile of rejoicing and fill hearts with everlasting delight. |
    |