Isaiah 5:22

The Fifth Woe (Isaiah 5:22).

Isaiah 5:22

‘Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.'

This sentence is short but it is vibrant with significance. This is the final stage downwards. Man has replaced God in his own estimation. Man has become the ultimate arbiter, the all-wise one. God is no longer necessary. Now man propagates his own ways, and calls on all to follow. He no longer listens to God's word. He no longer wants God. He is self-sufficient. He has said in his heart that “there is no God” (Psalms 14:1). And he thinks that he knows exactly what to do. He has finally become the ultimate fool.

But such men regularly reveal their folly by their lives. Many a great thinker who has advised others has made shipwreck of his own personal life. For when it comes to living most men are fools. The armchair savant becomes the lonely divorcee.

Such were some in Isaiah's day, and sadly they were often advisers to the king (Isaiah 28:14 compare Isaiah 29:14). Instead of looking to Yahweh, and seeking a word from Him, they proudly looked to their own wisdom and knowledge, and consequently guided him to disaster. Was it to such that Ahaz listened when he turned to Assyria for help, binding and subjecting Judah to Assyria into the future? (See chapter 7). Was it to such that Hezekiah looked when he laid bare to the Babylonians what was in his treasure house? (See chapter 39). And so instead of trusting in God they trusted in their own wisdom and Judah and Jerusalem were led back into bondage.