BEHOLD THE GRACE OF GOD
Isaiah 5
Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry! 1
Chapter five of Isaiah begins with a song. Imagine it is a popular pop song of the day and as the prophet begins to sing it, the people begin to join in. They know this song. It’s a love song.
This writing of the prophet is reminiscent of another prophet’s storytelling. The prophet Nathan was an accomplished storyteller as well.
2 Samuel 12
And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.2
A story about a man taking another’s young lamb is revealed to not really be about the lamb, or some unnamed character in a story, but about the king himself regarding his sin of adultery and murder. Serious stuff, but revealed in a story.
Just as Isaiah is recounting a love song and singing, there is an unveiling to come that will reveal this story is not really about grapes and a vineyard.
And as Isaiah is speaking the words of God to a hard-hearted people, undeserving of love, of life, of land, of hope...he calls them to stop and look and listen intently – to behold the God who is, who was, and who always will be. The unchanging God who loves them deeply, but because he loves them deeply will not simply allow them to continue as they are, nor ignore the heinous sins they have minimized.
Thus...a song. Behold God and listen. Behold God and look.
The song places God as the vinedresser who had a vineyard – a beautiful, fruit producing vineyard. It was created and tilled by him and yet, the fruit that is produced is not what it should have or could have been.
he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
This vineyard is producing bad fruit, not good fruit. The word translated “wild” here also means “stinky” so the prophet sings this song and the line states that the owner of the vineyard expected and desires tasty, good grapes, but instead had stinky, bad, wild grapes.
Why?
Verse 3 gives two possible reasons:
3
The failure is either on the owner or on the vineyard. And as we read in the first two verses, the owner did all the needed work and loved and protected and cared for the vineyard. He did it all.
Verse 4 states that he has done all he needed to do:
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4
that I have not done in it?
What more was there to do for my vineyard,
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
So, why are there stinky wild grapes?
When God looked to his vineyard for sweet, ripe, good fruit why is the production so bad? Maybe it’s God’s fault? That’s what many would say, right?
Many people we know, and perhaps some we know very well because they reflect in our mirrors, have moved from being primarily blamers to blamers with a side order of excuses.
Footnotes
1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 5:1–7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
2 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (2 Sa 12:1–7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
3 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (2 Pe 1:3). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
4 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 5:8). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. 5 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 5:11). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. 6 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 5:18). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
7 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 5:20). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
8 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 5:21). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
9 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 5:22–23). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
10 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (2 Co 6:1). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. 11 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 15:1). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
