What is the meaning of Isaiah 5:25? Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people Isaiah has just outlined six “woes” (5:8-23) that expose Judah’s greed, drunkenness, moral confusion, arrogance, injustice, and corruption. “Therefore” ties God’s wrath directly to these sins. • God’s anger is righteous, personal, and purposeful—not a loss of control but His settled opposition to evil (Exodus 32:10; Romans 1:18; Hebrews 12:29). • The covenant relationship means greater privilege but also greater accountability (Deuteronomy 32:22). • When God’s own people reject Him, His love expresses itself in discipline (Hebrews 12:6), intended to shake them out of complacency and draw them back. His hand is raised against them to strike them down Ancient kings lifted a hand as the signal to attack; here the LORD Himself takes that posture. • “Stretching out His hand” is a recurring picture of judgment (Isaiah 9:12; 10:4; Psalm 106:26; Exodus 7:5). • The phrase reminds us that nothing can restrain God once He moves; human defenses are useless (Job 9:12). • Yet the same hand that strikes is also able to save (Isaiah 59:1). Discipline is severe, but restoration remains possible if the people repent. The mountains quake Creation itself trembles before its Maker. What seems immovable is shaken when God acts. • Nahum 1:5 “The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away.” • Psalm 97:4 “The earth sees and trembles.” • Earthquakes often accompany divine revelation or judgment (Exodus 19:18; Matthew 27:51). • The image underlines that this is not merely a political event; it is cosmic, God-initiated upheaval meant to jolt hard hearts awake. and the corpses lie like refuse in the streets The picture is deliberately graphic. Rebellion against God produces death, public shame, and defilement. • Jeremiah 9:22; 25:33; and Zephaniah 1:17 echo the same wording—bodies treated “like dung.” • It fulfills the covenant warnings of Deuteronomy 28:25-26. • Such devastation would come through invading armies (later fulfilled by Assyria and Babylon), yet the ultimate cause is divine judgment, not mere geopolitics. • God paints the scene starkly so that His people grasp the horrible cost of sin before it is too late. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised Even after severe blows, the discipline continues because the underlying rebellion remains. • Isaiah repeats this refrain four times (9:12,17,21; 10:4) to stress persistence of judgment when repentance is absent. • Amos 4:6-11 lists successive calamities, each followed by “yet you have not returned to Me.” God’s goal is repentance, not annihilation, but He will not withdraw His hand until hearts change. • 2 Kings 17:13-18 records this process historically: warnings, smaller judgments, then the fall of Samaria once hardness became final. • The phrase also implies hope: if the people would turn, the same hand would lower in mercy. God delights to relent when His purposes are accomplished (Jeremiah 18:7-8). summary Isaiah 5:25 is a sober snapshot of covenant judgment: • Sin provokes real, burning anger from a holy God. • His raised hand signals active, decisive discipline. • The whole creation quakes under His authority, and unrepentant people reap lethal consequences. • Yet even after severe chastening, the continuing uplifted hand shows God still seeks repentance. He will not compromise His holiness, but He stands ready to extend mercy the moment His people return. The verse calls every generation to take God’s warnings seriously, to flee from sin, and to embrace the salvation ultimately provided through the One who bore God’s wrath in our place (Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 5:9). |
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