When you have done everything right, no mistakes were made, and still your project turns out bad, it can be a big disappointment. The fault must lie in something other than yourself. Perhaps the materials were not good quality. I am not a gardener, but I know that if someone takes the care to have good quality soil, the right amount of water and sunshine or shade, and the garden is planted in the correct climate zone, along with all the weeds pulled, a good crop should come. If not, perhaps there is something wrong with the seeds. Our Scripture passage for today from the Prophet Isaiah, gives a song or ballad that describes a vineyard that the Lord God planted, and what happened to it. Let’s take a look and see what we can learn from God’s Word.
This song that Isaiah wrote down early in his book is like a parable, as it is intended not for the enjoyment of the listeners, but instead it was written to teach us some important lessons the Lord wants us to learn. As Isaiah begins, he directs this song or ballad to his Well-Beloved (vs. 1). This was not the prophet’s wife. Rather, as he describes, the Well-Beloved is One who has planted a vineyard. The Well-Beloved is Yahweh, the One who is deeply loved by Isaiah, and He has planted a vineyard.
The Lord God planted His vineyard on the slopes of a hill, where it would get plenty of sunshine, and the rain would wash down the slopes and water the vines. The Lord cleared away all stones so that the soil was just right. The Lord built a tower in it and put a hedge around it to protect the vineyard from scavengers, whether human or animal (vs. 2). He also put in a winepress, as He was expecting a fruitful crop.
However, what type of crop did the Lord get from the vines that He planted? He planted good vines and expected to get good, sweet grapes, ones good to eat and to make into choice wine, yet it produced wild or sour grapes. There is nothing more disappointing than to have a taste for a nice, sweet grape, pop one in your mouth, and it is sour! These grapes were good for nothing! (vs. 2). Perhaps this was just a bad crop, a bad year. Perhaps He might have given it a couple of years to see if the vine consistently produced sour grapes, which it did. So, seeing the Lord did everything possible to produce good grapes, but they failed, He tears up the vineyard, breaks down the hedge, and lets it go to waste (vs. 3-6).
Like all parables in the Bible, this was not told just for entertainment purposes. There is a lesson the Lord wishes us to learn. The vineyard here is the nation of Israel, the people God had chosen. God had done all that He could in seeking a people for His own, a people who would be fruitful, and bring His message to the world. The other nations were to see how God’s people followed Him, obeyed His Word, and then received His blessings. God’s chosen nation was to bear fruit - to carry out His work and to uphold justice. However, their fruit was bad.
As punishment for being unfruitful, Israel was to become desolate, and open to invasion, as represented by the protective hedge that was removed (vs. 5). This parable showed that the judgment of God would bring the opposite of what they expected. The people Isaiah preached to felt that because they were the descendants of Abraham, God’s chosen people, it wouldn’t matter what they did or how they acted, they were the chosen. But God said that He looked for justice and righteousness in the people (vs. 7), and found none, so this vineyard would be trampled down and laid waste. This is a song of disappointment, heartbreak, and judgment. It is a final warning to those who have repaid God evil for good.
Jesus said “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matthew 7:20). He also taught us that He, the Son of God, the Messiah, is the Vine, and those who have accepted Him as Savior and follow Him, are the branches (John 15:1-8). As we remain connected to Jesus as branches to the Vine, through prayerful reliance on His Spirit, we have direct access to the spiritual nourishment that will produce sweet fruit.
The nation of Israel should have stayed connected to the Lord by obedience to His Word. Instead they ignored God’s Word and went after pagan gods. They went their own way, and ended up being wild grapes. As Christians today, we need to stay connected to the Vine of Jesus, by following Him and obeying the Bible, letting His Words abide in us. That way we will bear much fruit, good, sweet fruit.
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