Isaiah Five

In Isaiah five we’re presented with six woes. First To covetous land owners who buy up all the land until there is a shortage of houses and land. They live in splendor while others, their own country men, have no place to live.

Secondly is to alcoholics who wake early in the morning to drink, and continue to drink late into the night. Isaiah says “they do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord, nor do they consider the work of His hands”. He also adds “My people will go into exile for their lack of knowledge”.

The third woe is given to people who challenge, or dare, God to bring on His judgement through their “chords of falsehood” or lies.

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.”

Isaiah’s fifth woe is to the people who are wise in their own eyes. These people think they know it all, and they can’t be told anything.

The last woe is to people in authority who take bribes. These people justify evil through their bribes and take away the rights of the righteous.

When I first read through these woes I realized there are some parallels which can be drawn between Judah in Isaiah’s time and the world we live in today. What do you think? Does Judah sound a little like North America?


I think the more significant part of chapter five though is found in the first few verses. “Now let me sing to my Well-beloved a song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; so He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?”

Think for a second about the life of the Christian. Can I draw some more parallels?

First off God chose the best location for His vineyard (on a very fertile hill). Guess what, God chose you! Ephesians 1:4 says “just as He chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love”. We were chosen by God. God has a reason for choosing us, it’s not random, or by chance He has a purpose for us.

To plant the vineyard God would have had to cultivate the land (He dug it up and cleared out it’s stones). God cultivates the Christian by giving him a new nature, or a “new heart” as we often say.

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone compare the sin nature to stones, but this is kind of what it’s like. The farmer removes the stones from his field every year (I’m not sure this would happen in a vineyard). Through out the process of planting and plowing more stones are brought up to the surface, which the farmer removes before planting again. I think this is a picture of the believers maturity process. We are saved the moment we believe, but the rest of our time on earth God will be picking the stones of sin and self from our life. We call this sanctification.

God chose the best vines for His vineyard (planted it with the choicest vines). In John 15 Jesus says “I am the true vine, and My Father is The Vinedresser.” Later on He says “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.” What else can be said? Jesus Christ is THE VINE! God’s choice vine is the best!

God protected the vineyard (He built a tower in its midst). What better protection can there be then to be “in Christ”? Romans 8:31 says “What then shall we say to these things then? If God is for us who can be against us?” And later on in verse 38 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created things, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We have protection in Christ. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to be said about the believer’s protection in Christ.

Expecting a good harvest the vinedresser prepares a winepress. However He never gets the fruit He expected, instead He gets sour grapes. I think, unfortunately, this is a parallel to many believers. I have to be honest, this is a parallel to my life too. God is waiting for us to produce fruit, to yield a good harvest. All to often He's given sour grapes.

God has given us so much. We should yield for Him lives of commitment, faith, obedience, and service. Instead, like the children of Israel we tend to be disobedient, rebellious, and given to idolatry.

Sigh!

God asks “What more was there to do for My Vineyard that I have not done with it?” The answer... nothing! What more could God do for us... nothing! Our response to The Vinedresser should be lives of commitment, obedience, thanksgiving, love, worship, and service.

Let’s consider our lives. What’s your response to the vinedresser?