The Lord calls to the animal kingdom to devour the soon-to-be slain sinful leaders. "Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!" (Isaiah 56:9) I believe this has to do with the invasion of the northern and southern kingdoms by Assyria and Babylon in the Old Testament. Many of those nations' nobles and priests and other high officials perished. But a similar event happens in the end times in Revelation 19:17 when one of the Lord's angels calls to the birds of the air to come and feast on the bodies of the slain who had rebelled against the Lord and who did not want His kingdom to come.
Why is the Lord inviting animals to feast on the fallen leaders? Because the leaders had a responsibility to remain faithful to Him and to be a godly example to their subjects. He explains that in this next portion. "Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep." (Isaiah 56:10)
In the analogies above, the Lord is comparing the nations' leaders to watchmen and to guard dogs. In ancient times there were watchmen posted on the city walls so they could alert the occupants of the city if they saw an enemy army approaching. But the leaders are so spiritually and morally bankrupt that they are about as useful as blind watchmen. They are also compared to a mute and lazy guard dog. A dog like that wouldn't be able to give a warning to the occupants of the house. In this same way the wicked leaders are useless in warning people that the Lord's judgment is coming if they do not repent.
The remaining verses compare the reprobate leaders to dogs who think only of satisfying their hunger, to shepherds who don't watch over the flock, and to people who live only for today. "They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain. 'Come,' each one cries, 'let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.'" (Isaiah 56:11-12)
The verses above paint the picture of people whose minds are focused on carnal pleasures rather than on the kingdom of God. They are materialistic. They are excessive in everything they do. They are living by the motto, "You only live once!" They don't believe the Lord's judgment is coming but instead believe that everything will keep going on just as it is today. They are complacent, not worried about ever having to answer for their idolatry and immorality.
But judgment did come and things did not continue going on as they always had. The same will be true in the end times, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, who said that many would be like the people in the days of Noah. While Noah was building the ark, people thought he was crazy. They thought everything would continue to go on as it always had. They didn't believe that the Lord was going to judge them. They were "partying hearty", as the saying goes, "until the flood came and took them all away". (Matthew 24:39)
Let us not be like the people of Noah's day or of Isaiah's day. Today is the day for anyone who doesn't already know the Lord Jesus Christ to accept Him as their Savior. We don't know what may happen tomorrow. We live in a fallen, ever-changing world where things will not always go on just as they have been. The time is now.
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