With Isaiah 5 comes a parable of a vineyard. It describes God diligently working in His vineyard, which in the end only produces worthless grapes. So in turn God rebukes His vineyard and leaves it to the weeds (verses 5-6). A similar thing happens in over in the New Testament in which Jesus rebukes a fig tree for not producing fruit, and so it withers and never produces fruit again (Matthew 21:18-19).
For those of us who grew up learning about parables, it's not difficult to deduce the meaning behind this one. Even so, the seventh verse in Isaiah 5 explains it for us anyway: "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant." So rather than producing good fruit for the Lord, His people are instead producing worthless fruit (or worse, no fruit at all).
Why is this? The conditions for yielding good grapes seem ideal in this vineyard: it's planted on a fertile hill (verse 1), and the Lord Himself has worked within it. He digs all around, removes stones, and above all, He plants the "choicest vine" (verse 2). And it is clear that God expects good fruit to come from His vineyard, as he builds a tower and a wine vat within the vineyard in anticipation of the upcoming harvest (also in verse 2). So we can't blame any of the conditions within the vineyard; indeed, God Himself even asks, "What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have no done in it" (verse 4)?
I think the problem is within the "grapes" themselves. The next group of verses in Isaiah 5 are titled "woes for the wicked" in my Bible (NASB translation). These woes describe the sins of God's people that resulted in their present, "sour grapes" condition. These sins include drunkenness (verses 11-12), pride (verses 15 and 21), lying (verses 18-20), and justifying the sins of others (verse 23). They suffer because of their lack of knowledge of God's righteousness and power (verse 13), and also because they have rejected the law of the One who first planted them (verse 24). These "grapes" were nothing before God chose them for His vineyard, yet they refuse to be anything more if it means depending on Him.
So how are we to be good grapes? The answer comes from Jesus Himself: "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). If we abide in Him, we will bear fruit, and not just any kind of fruit, but the GOOD kind, since Christ is the actual vine we get our nourishment from. This means depending on him, since "the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me" (John 15:4). That would be like a lone branch lying on the soil, fully expecting to grow and bear fruit apart from the vine from which it came. It just doesn't work, and likewise it doesn't work for us, either, if we try to live apart from God. So study His word. Pray often. Develop the gifts He has given you. Resist sin and other temptations. And don't be afraid of God's discipline; He is only "pruning" us so we can bear even more fruit for His glory (John 15:2):
"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." (John 15:8). May our ultimate concern be to bring glory to His name and to bear GOOD fruit for His kingdom.
For those of us who grew up learning about parables, it's not difficult to deduce the meaning behind this one. Even so, the seventh verse in Isaiah 5 explains it for us anyway: "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant." So rather than producing good fruit for the Lord, His people are instead producing worthless fruit (or worse, no fruit at all).
Why is this? The conditions for yielding good grapes seem ideal in this vineyard: it's planted on a fertile hill (verse 1), and the Lord Himself has worked within it. He digs all around, removes stones, and above all, He plants the "choicest vine" (verse 2). And it is clear that God expects good fruit to come from His vineyard, as he builds a tower and a wine vat within the vineyard in anticipation of the upcoming harvest (also in verse 2). So we can't blame any of the conditions within the vineyard; indeed, God Himself even asks, "What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have no done in it" (verse 4)?
I think the problem is within the "grapes" themselves. The next group of verses in Isaiah 5 are titled "woes for the wicked" in my Bible (NASB translation). These woes describe the sins of God's people that resulted in their present, "sour grapes" condition. These sins include drunkenness (verses 11-12), pride (verses 15 and 21), lying (verses 18-20), and justifying the sins of others (verse 23). They suffer because of their lack of knowledge of God's righteousness and power (verse 13), and also because they have rejected the law of the One who first planted them (verse 24). These "grapes" were nothing before God chose them for His vineyard, yet they refuse to be anything more if it means depending on Him.
So how are we to be good grapes? The answer comes from Jesus Himself: "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). If we abide in Him, we will bear fruit, and not just any kind of fruit, but the GOOD kind, since Christ is the actual vine we get our nourishment from. This means depending on him, since "the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me" (John 15:4). That would be like a lone branch lying on the soil, fully expecting to grow and bear fruit apart from the vine from which it came. It just doesn't work, and likewise it doesn't work for us, either, if we try to live apart from God. So study His word. Pray often. Develop the gifts He has given you. Resist sin and other temptations. And don't be afraid of God's discipline; He is only "pruning" us so we can bear even more fruit for His glory (John 15:2):
"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." (John 15:8). May our ultimate concern be to bring glory to His name and to bear GOOD fruit for His kingdom.
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