I love beautiful flowers and plants, but unfortunately I have no real talent for gardening. I leave that to others with more ability. In our Scripture passage for today, from this week’s Lectionary readings from the Book of Common Prayer, the Prophet Isaiah gives a parable about the vineyard which God planted, and unfortunately came up with very disappointing results. As we look into this message from Isaiah, let’s apply its teachings to our lives.
Isaiah recounts in our passage a message from the Lord of the vineyard that He planted in a garden. God prepared the ground in a choice area on a fruitful hill, and there He planted His special vineyard. With all of the care given the plants, the Lord expected it would bring forth good grapes. However, that was not the case. Instead of good grapes, ones that would be nice and sweet both for eating and for wine, wild and sour grapes, inedible ones grew.
This parable of Isaiah’s is a parable of judgment. God is the Gardener, and the nation of Israel is the vine. Several times throughout Scripture God uses the image of a vine for the nation of Israel. God had chosen Israel to be His special people in order to bring His message to the rest of the world. He had carefully brought His people out from slavery in Egypt, and planted them in the very fruitful land of Canaan, delivering them from their enemies, and providing them with all they needed. However, despite all of God’s love and care, what did they do? Did they remain faithful to Him? No, even before they were settled into the Promised Land, they were turning to the false, pagan gods and idols of the surrounding nations.
God’s chosen nation was to bear fruit, to carry out His work of being Yakweh’s emissaries to the world, and to uphold His truth and justice to everyone. Israel did bear fruit, but it was bad fruit. They were not spreading the Lord’s message to anyone. Instead they were becoming idol-worshipping pagans like their neighbors. They were becoming just as corrupt and wicked. The good grapes that God had planted had now become wild, sour grapes that no one could eat.
God, the vineyard Owner, had made every conceivable provision for the vine to be productive with good fruit. He had given the nation of Israel a good, choice area in which to live. It was their Promised Land. And just as He had provided for all of their needs throughout the wilderness wandering, He continued to provide for them when they settled in the land. The Lord was as nurturing and caring towards them as a loving parent is to their child. As Isaiah said in verse 4 - “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?” The fault did not lie with God. It lay with the vineyard, which was now giving wild, sour, and useless grapes.
People who own vineyards or orchards, or any other vegetable or fruit garden, when they have a vine, tree, or plant that is not producing, they cut it down. The Lord God tells us through His prophet Isaiah, what He was going to do with the vineyard (vs. 5-7). As punishment for her unfruitfulness and unfaithfulness to Him, became desolate and open to any nation to invade her. Babylon was just one instance.
This message can be applied to believers today. Today the Lord God has given the Church the responsibility to spread His message to the world, and to be people of truth and justice. What kind of fruit are we bearing? Jesus said that “By their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:20). We are to be known by our fruit. Are we, for all practical purposes, like wild, sour grapes, grapes that are totally useless to God? Or are we the type of grapes the Lord desires, sweet and tasty, good for His use?
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