My Life, God's Vineyard

When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? (Isaiah 5:4)

Isa. 5:1-7; Matt. 21:33-45

What Is God Saying?

Isaiah uses many parables and illustrations to bring home the truth of God's yearning love for His wayward people. In chapter five we find The Song of the Vineyard. The theme of rejected love reaches people where they are. That it is hard to go on when love is unrequited on the human level is common knowledge. In this song, he wants them to sense how God must feel when His, the greatest of all loves, has been met with ingratitude and contempt.

The God of Israel planted His people as the choicest of vineyards. He placed the vineyard on a fertile hill (5:1). He cleared it of stones. (Visitors to Israel today would agree that few places on earth have more stones per square mile). He planted choice vines and set up a watchtower. His people had every advantage and protection from all harm. God had a right to expect a good harvest. He had done His part. What more could He do (5:4)? But when He looked for it to yield grapes, it yielded wild grapes. Later in the chapter, Isaiah speaks of the judgment God would bring on them because they failed to treat their privileged status with respect and gratitude. They took so much and gave so little. The cherished vineyard yielded the wrong kind of fruit. God had no alternative. He would remove the hedge and let sin reap its dread harvest. First, desolation, waste, clouds without rain, and diminished harvests. Then, the crushing blow of heathen kings and captivity. This is the tragic end of spurning God's love, failing God's trust, and forfeiting His favor.

How Does This Apply To Us?

Since we have all been the recipients of God's love, we must all examine our hearts to see whether we are truly honoring that love. If we love Him, we will obey His commandments. If we obey His commandments, we will have fruitful lives. God has made us His vineyard. He has given us every advantage and reason to expect a good harvest. We are responsible if the harvest is wild and bitter. We cannot blame someone else. May God never say to us, "I looked for it (the vineyard of our life) to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?"

Pray With Me

Lord, let me not dodge my responsibility for yielding the good fruit of holiness. The harvest of wild and bitter grapes is the result of an undisciplined life. It is bound to happen. I am responsible when it does happen. It cannot be laid on any other doorstep. You have the right to expect good fruit. As Your beloved, I am a vineyard planted on a fertile hill. Everything has been done by Your omnipotent hand. Every good gift has come from Your heart filled with love. Every circumstance has been arranged by Your perfect providence. The lack that brings about a disappointing harvest does not have its origin in You.

Nor can I blame other people or the breaks of life. The failure is mine. When I know bitterness in my heart and show it in my life, it is because my relationship with You has broken down. When wild grapes grow, it is because communion with You in prayer has been despised. It is because my service for You has been neglected. I have chosen not to abide in the true Vine. I have chosen to draw my life from some other source.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation. Let Your pardoning grace surround me as nourishing soil. Let the magnetism of my Lord's example draw me forth as the sun and rain bring fruit. Let the strength of a settled faith keep me from sin's withering blight. You shall look for and You shall find good fruit which will be to the praise of Your eternal love.

Through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.

Moving On In The Life of Prayer

Prayer is the nourishing soil that produces good fruit. In prayer, we choose to be quiet before God and let the sunshine of His love bathe our souls with cleansing and renewal. Prayer is a time for knowing God's will and growing where He plants us. Prayer leads us to the strength of a settled faith. Prayer provides the way to a harvest that pleases God, the Owner of the vineyard and Lover of our souls.