What is the meaning of Isaiah 7:23? And on that day – Isaiah pinpoints a real, impending moment, not a vague possibility. – “That day” ties to the near-term Assyrian onslaught foretold in Isaiah 7:17–20. – Similar “day” language in Isaiah 2:11 and Amos 5:18 underscores the certainty of God’s intervention. – The verse reminds us that God’s timetable is exact; when He sets a day of reckoning, it arrives right on schedule (cf. Acts 17:31). in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver – Judah’s hills once boasted lavish vineyards; a single plot could command an enormous price (see Songs 8:11 for another “thousand silver” vineyard). – Moses had promised such agricultural riches for covenant faithfulness (Deuteronomy 8:7-10), and under Uzziah and Jotham the nation tasted that prosperity (2 Chronicles 26:10). – The exact figures emphasize how much will be lost: real vines, real wealth, real investment. God’s warning is as concrete as the silver the owners once counted. – Prosperity, while a gift, never guarantees security; only obedience does (Proverbs 11:28). only briers and thorns will be found – Productive vineyards will become wastelands, echoing Isaiah 5:6, “It shall be a briar patch and a thorn-field.” – Thorns entered creation after the fall (Genesis 3:18); here they reappear as a graphic badge of covenant curse. – Isaiah 32:13 repeats the pattern: “Over the land of my people thorns and briers will come up.” – The reversal is total: where fine grapes once hung, prickly, useless weeds now dominate. It is God’s way of showing that sin leaves nothing untouched. summary Isaiah 7:23 paints a vivid before-and-after picture. A specific day of judgment is coming when even the most valuable vineyards—worth a thousand shekels each—will be reduced to worthless scrub. The verse underscores two truths: God keeps His word with literal precision, and prosperity cannot shield a people who turn from Him. |
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