Isaiah 5: Group Study Handout

How to use: read Isaiah 5 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.

Overview

A song is sung about a vineyard on a fruitful hill. The beloved has prepared it well, but it yields wild grapes (vv. 1-2). God calls the people of Jerusalem and Judah to judge between him and his vineyard. He questions what more he could have done, and then declares his judgment. He will remove the protection around the vineyard, and it will become a wasteland (vv. 3-6). The vineyard represents the house of Israel. God looks for justice but finds oppression instead (vv. 7-10).

Key verse

“What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield wild grapes?”
Isaiah 5:4 (WEB)

Outline

Isaiah 5:1–2 The Song of the Vineyard
Isaiah 5:3–6 God's Judgment Announced
Isaiah 5:7–10 Israel's Moral Failures
Isaiah 5:11–14 Woes Against Indulgence
Isaiah 5:15–24 Consequences of Rebellion
Isaiah 5:25–30 Impending Judgment

Discussion questions

In v2, what specific actions does the beloved take to prepare the vineyard?
What does the phrase 'wild grapes' in v2 signify about the vineyard's produce?
The woes in vv. 8-23: what moral failures are being addressed through these proclamations?
In v25, why does it say 'his hand is still stretched out' despite the judgment?
When have you been tempted to 'call evil good' as mentioned in v20?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Isaiah 5: Proverbs 17, Hosea 4, Psalm 46.

Before next time: read Isaiah 6.