‘And behold, (instead of that there was) joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we shall die.” '
But instead of weeping and mourning over sin the people had gone all out for a good and hilarious time. Rather than spiritual awareness they had sought carnal pleasure. They had wanted great feasts and barbecues, entertainment and pleasure, and mountains of food, and plenty of wine. Their policy had been that death might well be close so that the best thing to do was to enjoy life while they could. They had forgotten the moral and spiritual dimensions. And they had forgotten that if only they would trust in the Lord Yahweh death would not have been so close, because He would have delivered them. But instead of exercising faith they had been happy-go-lucky.
This all suggests that, whatever it was that they were rejoicing over, it had not removed the main threat. The slaying of oxen and sheep in this wild manner was a sign that they did not expect life to go on smoothly, for normally they would have preserved their cattle because of what they contributed to their lives. And their expectancy of imminent death suggests that there were problems that still lay ahead. (It may, however, have been that they were just citing a well known saying which reflected their casual attitude towards life, and that the slayings were of thanksgiving offerings).
So this was the sin of Judah. Like Ahaz they had had to choose between trust in and obedience to Yahweh, or trust in themselves and reliance on the weapons and defences that they could produce for themselves. And they had chosen the latter. To them what they could see had counted for more than what they could not see. But it was not really just a matter of lack of faith. Behind it all was the fact that they did not want to live as God required of them. That was the central point. They would, of course, have been pleased for Yahweh's help if it had been offered with no strings attached, but they did not want to have to submit to His commandments (compare again Isaiah 58:2-14). And so, as they could not have the one without the other, they rather chose self-sufficiency. And that was the iniquity that had so aroused His anger. They had hardened their hearts against Him. (And we need to ask ourselves, ‘Do we do the same?')