I will make it a wastelandThis phrase signifies God's judgment and the removal of His protection and blessing. In the context of
Isaiah 5, the vineyard represents Israel, and the wasteland symbolizes the consequences of their unfaithfulness. The imagery of a vineyard becoming a wasteland is a powerful metaphor for divine judgment, reflecting the covenant curses found in
Deuteronomy 28:15-68. Historically, this foreshadows the destruction and exile that Israel would face due to their disobedience.
neither pruned nor cultivated
Pruning and cultivation are essential for a vineyard's health and productivity. The absence of these actions indicates neglect and abandonment. Spiritually, this suggests a withdrawal of God's nurturing care and guidance. InJohn 15:1-2, Jesus speaks of Himself as the true vine, and His followers as branches that require pruning to bear fruit. The lack of pruning here contrasts with the care God provides to those who remain in Him.
and thorns and briers will grow up
Thorns and briers are often associated with the curse of sin, as seen inGenesis 3:18, where the ground is cursed because of Adam's disobedience. In the prophetic context, these represent the consequences of Israel's sin and rebellion. The growth of thorns and briers signifies chaos and desolation, a reversal of the order and beauty God intended for His people.
I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.
Rain is a symbol of God's blessing and provision, essential for the fertility of the land. The withholding of rain is a direct act of divine judgment, as seen in the covenant curses ofLeviticus 26:19 andDeuteronomy 11:17. This phrase underscores God's sovereignty over creation and His ability to withhold blessings as a form of discipline. In a broader theological sense, it points to the spiritual drought that occurs when people turn away from God, as seen inAmos 8:11, where there is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
IsaiahA major prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah is the author of the book and is delivering God's message to the people of Israel.
2.
The VineyardSymbolic of the nation of Israel, the vineyard represents God's chosen people and His expectations for them to bear fruit.
3.
Briers and ThornsThese represent the consequences of Israel's disobedience and failure to live up to God's standards.
4.
The CloudsSymbolic of God's control over nature, representing His judgment in withholding rain.
5.
The WastelandThe result of God's judgment, symbolizing the spiritual barrenness and desolation due to Israel's unfaithfulness.
Teaching Points
God's Expectation of FruitfulnessGod expects His people to bear spiritual fruit. Just as a vineyard is meant to produce grapes, believers are called to live lives that reflect God's character and purposes.
Consequences of DisobedienceThe imagery of a wasteland and the absence of rain highlight the serious consequences of turning away from God. Spiritual barrenness results from neglecting our relationship with Him.
Divine SovereigntyGod's control over nature, as seen in His command to the clouds, reminds us of His ultimate authority over all creation. We are called to trust in His sovereignty and align our lives with His will.
The Importance of Spiritual MaintenanceJust as a vineyard requires pruning and care, our spiritual lives need regular attention through prayer, study of the Word, and fellowship with other believers to prevent spiritual decay.
Hope for RestorationWhile the passage speaks of judgment, it also points to the possibility of restoration. God’s discipline is meant to bring His people back to Him, offering hope for renewal and fruitfulness.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Isaiah 5:6?
2.How does Isaiah 5:6 illustrate God's judgment on unfruitfulness in our lives?
3.What actions can we take to avoid the "briers and thorns" mentioned?
4.How does Isaiah 5:6 connect with Jesus' teachings on fruitfulness in John 15?
5.In what ways can we ensure God's "rain" of blessings in our lives?
6.How can we apply Isaiah 5:6 to cultivate spiritual growth and maturity?
7.What does Isaiah 5:6 reveal about God's judgment on unfruitfulness?
8.How does Isaiah 5:6 reflect God's sovereignty over creation?
9.Why does God choose to withhold rain in Isaiah 5:6?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Isaiah 5?
11.Isaiah 5:5–6: Does the claim that God can command clouds not to rain conflict with modern scientific understanding of weather?
12.Isaiah 5:1-7: Does God's destruction of His own vineyard contradict the idea of a loving and merciful deity?
13.Psalm 86:5 - How can a God said to be 'abounding in steadfast love' align with the severity of punishments described elsewhere in the Old Testament?
14.Isaiah 65:24: If God answers before people call, why are there countless unanswered prayers and unresolved suffering?What Does Isaiah 5:6 Mean
I will make it a wastelandThe Lord speaks as the Vineyard’s Owner, taking full responsibility for what is about to happen. Judgment is neither random nor accidental; it is God’s deliberate act.
• Isaiah has just listed everything God invested in His “pleasant vineyard” (Isaiah 5:1-2). Because the people rejected His care, He now withholds it.
• Similar language appears inJeremiah 12:10-11, “They have made My pleasant field a desolate wasteland… no one lays it to heart”.
• The Babylonian invasion fulfilled this word historically (2 Chronicles 36:21). The ground really was left in ruins—literal proof that God’s warnings are accurate.
Application: When God removes His hand, even the most fruitful place turns barren. The verse urges a sober look at the consequences of persistent unbelief.
neither pruned nor cultivatedPruning and cultivating are signs of ongoing relationship. God’s withdrawal means He will no longer shape or tend His people for a season.
• Jesus echoes the image: “Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). Refusing God’s care leaves branches untended.
•Ezekiel 19:10-14 pictures a once-flourishing vine now “plucked up… the east wind dried up its fruit.” No pruning → no productivity.
• InLeviticus 26:34-35 God foretells land lying fallow during exile so “it will enjoy its Sabbaths.” Neglected fields show both judgment and mercy: the soil rests, but only because the people are gone.
Application: Discipline is grace; abandonment is terrifying. Better to receive God’s shears now than His silence later.
thorns and briers will grow upWhen a vineyard is left alone, nature quickly reclaims it. The imagery is purposeful—thorns first appeared after the fall (Genesis 3:17-18).
•Isaiah 7:23-25 expands the picture: once-cultivated hills become places “for briers and thorns.”
•Hosea 10:8 says, “Thorns and thistles will grow up on their altars.” Sin invites the curse’s symbols right into sacred spaces.
•Hebrews 6:7-8 warns that land yielding thorns “is worthless and near to being cursed, its end is to be burned.”
Application: Spiritual neglect never stays neutral; weeds of unbelief crowd out former fruit. The verse calls us to constant, intentional cultivation of faith.
I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on itRain is God’s blessing (Deuteronomy 11:14). To withhold it is to shut off life itself.
•Deuteronomy 11:16-17 ties drought directly to idolatry: “He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain.”
• Elijah embodies this principle: “There will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word” (1 Kings 17:1).
•Amos 4:7 records selective drought: “I also withheld the rain from you… yet you did not return to Me.”
God is so sovereign that even clouds obey His voice. When He withholds rain, no human effort can compensate.
Application: Our prosperity, crops, and daily bread hinge on His favor. Gratitude and obedience keep the heavens open.
summaryIsaiah 5:6 delivers a layered yet literal warning. God Himself will:
1. Turn the fruitful vineyard into a wasteland.
2. Cease pruning and cultivating, leaving it abandoned.
3. Allow thorns and briers—the curse’s emblems—to overrun it.
4. Command the sky to withhold rain, removing every source of renewal.
Historically, Judah experienced each step. Spiritually, the passage cautions every generation: reject the Vinedresser, and the vineyard perishes; submit to Him, and it flourishes.
(6)
There shallcomeup briers and thorns.--The picture of desolation is still part of a parable. The "briers and thorns" (both the words are peculiar to Isaiah) are the base and unworthy who take the place of the true leaders of the people (
Judges 9:7-15). The absence of the pruning and the digging answers to the withdrawal of the means of moral and spiritual culture (
John 15:2;
Luke 13:8). The command given to the clouds (comp.
2Samuel 1:21, for the outward form of the thought) implies the cessation of all gracious spiritual influences.
Verse 6. -
I will lay it waste; literally, I
will make it a desolation (comp.
Isaiah 7:19, where a cognate term occurs). Active ravage is not so much pointed at, as the desolation which comes from neglect.
There shall come up briers and thorns. The natural produce of neglected ground in Palestine (see
Proverbs 24:31). The "thorns and briers" symbolize vices of various kinds, the natural produce of the human soul, if God leaves it to itself. The words are scarcely to be taken literally, though it is probably true that "no country in the world has such variety and abundance of thorny plants as Palestine in its present desolation" (Macmillan, 'Min. of Nat.,' p. 103).
I will also command the clouds. Here at last disguise is thrown off, and the speaker manifestly appears as Jehovah, who can alone "command the clouds." The "rain" intended is probably that of his gracious influences.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
I will makeוַאֲשִׁיתֵ֣הוּ(wa·’ă·šî·ṯê·hū)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7896:To put, setit a wasteland,בָתָ֗ה(ḇā·ṯāh)Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1326:End, destructionneitherלֹ֤א(lō)Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808:Not, noprunedיִזָּמֵר֙(yiz·zā·mêr)Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2168:To trim, prunenorוְלֹ֣א(wə·lō)Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808:Not, nocultivated,יֵעָדֵ֔ר(yê·‘ā·ḏêr)Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5737:To arrange as a battle, a vineyard, to muster, to missand thornsוָשָׁ֑יִת(wā·šā·yiṯ)Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7898:Scrub, trash, wild growth of weeds, briersand briersשָׁמִ֖יר(šā·mîr)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8068:A thorn, a gem, the diamondwill grow up.וְעָלָ֥ה(wə·‘ā·lāh)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5927:To ascend, in, activelyI will commandאֲצַוֶּ֔ה(’ă·ṣaw·weh)Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6680:To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, orderthe cloudsהֶעָבִים֙(he·‘ā·ḇîm)Article | Noun - common plural
Strong's 5645:An envelope, darkness, a, cloud, a copsethat rainמָטָֽר׃(mā·ṭār)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4306:Rainshall not fallמֵהַמְטִ֥יר(mê·ham·ṭîr)Preposition-m | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 4305:To rainon it.עָלָ֖יו(‘ā·lāw)Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5921:Above, over, upon, against
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OT Prophets: Isaiah 5:6 I will lay it a wasteland (Isa Isi Is) 
