Isaiah 5:1-7 Wild Grapes
Isaiah shares an allegory to impress on Israel and Judah how they have NOT been the ‘vineyard’ God intended. They are ‘wild grapes’ and will suffer for it.
I have never grown or even worked in a vineyard but I can relate to this allegory in terms of my lawn. I’ll get to that story later on. For now, let’s look at the frustration and disappointment shared in this story. Let’s look at it from the vineyard owner’s perspective first. Then we will liken it to God’s perspective regarding HIS ‘vineyard’.
Isaiah is not speaking of a vineyard of his own but one of a “beloved.” We know Who he is really referencing but we will pretend the person is a regular man who wanted to grow great grapes. The very first thing such a person would do is a little research and planning. They need to learn what is required of a vineyard owner. What it takes to make grapes grow. What soil is best and what additives to put into it. They need to know when in the season to do the tasks of planting, fertilizing, and picking. They have to learn to recognize fully ripe grapes. And they need to choose the kind of grapes they want to grow.
Next, he will need to find a good location. He will look at the soil, the amount of sun, and the availability of water. When considering a location, he needs to take into account the kind of grapes he wants to grow and to plan out where each of the structures required for a healthy vineyard would be. In our text, he will include a wall, a watchtower, and a wine vat. He will remain in the planning stage until he purchases a piece of property. Then the hard work begins!
The vineyard owner in our story found a spot on top of a very fertile hill, but even this spot needed work. It was not a previously planted vineyard. He had to start from the beginning. He had to clear the land of weeds, plow the soil and remove all the large stones from it. When the soil is properly prepared, then he can plant his seeds.
It’s time to tend the vines. Watering, tying them up, watching for bugs, and observing how they are growing all occupy the new vineyard owner. This is not a one season process. It takes two to seven years for grape vines to produce fruit. (I looked that up.) This vineyard owner is investing years of his time and effort into making his vineyard grow; not to mention his money.
FINALLY, grapes are on the vines! But wait, something went wrong. These grapes aren’t the sweet and juicy grapes he intended to grow. After ALL this time and effort, he has tiny tart grapes; wild grapes. Grapes not fit for even the worst wine.
He now has a choice to make. Does he throw up his hands in surrender, pull up what has grown and start over, or try to save what he has already planted? I’m thinking that the vineyard owner in the story tried the third option for a while before going with the first option. I can’t see anyone throwing in the towel after one attempt. Not someone who had put that much effort into the project to begin with.
After trying and trying and trying again, the vineyard owner admits defeat. He has tried everything he can think of and nothing works to make his grapes any better. No soil amendments, no watering plan, no grafting or replanting program, and no amount of desire he puts into this vineyard changes the outcome.
“I’ve had enough!” It’s time to cut his losses. Instead of trying to sell the vineyard to someone else, this vineyard owner takes out his frustration on the vineyard. He tears down the walls and barriers he had put in place to prevent the outside vegetation for encroaching on his vineyard, he tramples down all that he has planted, and he turns his back on the vineyard. “If it wants to be wild, let it.” It has so angered him with its refusal to comply with his ministrations that he would rather see it choked out than tended by another. “NO ONE will grow grapes here EVER AGAIN!”
That’s a hard place to be. It is a place of utter frustration and defeat. It is a place of anger and judgment.
God planted a ‘vineyard’. Isaiah tells us that His vineyard was Israel. You could go all the way back and claim mankind as His vineyard but then there wouldn’t be any ‘wild grapes’ to compare with. Let’s look at God’s process.
God started His ‘vineyard’ with one man (family). His name was Abram. God picked Abram from among ALL the inhabitants of the earth. We are not told what it was about this man that got God’s attention, but choose him He did. This was God’s seed.
God nurtured this ‘seed’ and watched as first a shoot began to spring up and then as it became a vine. God nurtured Abram’s faith and groomed him to the place where he trusted God completely. Even enough to take the life of the son God had given him in his old age; the son of promise, Isaac. Isaac was spared by God and grew into a man who fathered Jacob and Esau. Jacob/Israel fathered 12 sons.
The first vine had reached the place where it needed to be ‘tied up’, supported, while it filled out. This was the time in Egypt. While in Egypt there was a LOT of filling out in the ranks as well as some unruliness in the vines. The practices given by God to Abraham were not being followed.
It was time to untangle the vines and get them separated into orderly runners. This ‘untangling’ was done through the plagues. God got His people’s attention as much as He got Pharaoh’s in this process. But the untangled runners still lacked strength and wanted to go back to the comfort of the mass they once were.
God created order for those who came out of Egypt through their wandering in the desert. He kept at this task until the vines grew strong enough to hold their position where He placed them instead of rebelling against the stakes they were tied to. He continued working with His people through the judges, the priests and the prophets.
They were growing well but they began to ‘need’ amendments; they wanted a king. God incorporated this amendment into their makeup and continued to watch them grow. It was time that they should be producing fruit. A small portion of the vines were doing better than the rest. The larger section was WILD and rebelled against every effort He made. The smaller section would cooperate in fits and spurts but even it never really produced a good harvest. EVERYTHING He did, the protection He provided, the blessings He bestowed, the guidance He offered, and the LOVE He lavished on His vineyard could not get it to produce the fruit He so desired. It was time for drastic measures!
God pulled up the worst part of the vineyard and severely cut back what remained. He began pouring even more effort into the remnant that held promise.
When that still didn’t bring the fruit He desired, He pulled down the walls and let the outside world in. Israel and then Judah went into captivity. Israel was absorbed into the rest of the world. Only Judah survived captivity and returned to begin again.
God then send Jesus into His vineyard. The ONE TRUE VINE that would grow His way NO MATTER WHAT! Jesus became the vine that gave the life and fruit that Judah wouldn’t. Those who are grafted into Him WILL bear fruit. If not, they are cut off.
God’s original ‘vineyard’ has been left to fend for itself. It has core memory of what it was supposed to do but it lacks the life of the True Vine. Without that life, it WILL fail. Try as it might, it cannot do it alone. Only those who grab onto and accept Jesus can grow the fruit acceptable to God.
God didn’t surrender ownership of Israel to Satan. They are still HIS vineyard but they are overgrown with the weeds of the world. They are not being tended. They are not pruned or hoed any more. Briars and thorns have grown up. “He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an out-cry!” (verse 7b).
There will still be those who come from God’s vineyard and are grafted into the True Vine. Those will bear fruit and receive the rewards held for them. The rest will be trampled and burned up with the rest of the wild things of this earth.
Where are your roots? Are they of their own making or are you ‘grafted’ into the True Vine? Have you given Jesus control of your life and let Him work in you? He is the ONLY source of life there is. And He’s ready to welcome you into His family too.
Let me share the story of my lawn with you. It’s not nearly as important as what we just shared but it gives you a little perspective on me. First of all, I’m NOT a gardener. I do what I can but I have limits too.
My lawn withers at the beginning of every summer. It used to be covered with star thistle. I have longed for a green lawn that would survive the summer. So here is what I have done.
One year, I diligently watched over the lawn and at the first sign of a star thistle growing, I pulled it out, put it into a plastic garbage bag and transported it OFF our property. I also did this in the pasture we own. It was beautiful the next year! Not a star thistle in sight. Until the people who were raising cows in our pasture brought star thistle seeds in from other places. My pasture now has star thistle again but I keep a close watch on my yard and it hasn’t sprouted here again.
The next year I tried hydroseeding my lawn with grasses that are supposed to be hardy. I sprayed over what I have in the early spring and diligently watered it and tended it for weeks. Nothing sprouted. Come to find out, I should have thatched my soil (gone over it with a tool that puts little holes in the soil where seeds can get into). I don’t have a thatcher nor do I have the strength and energy to spend on that task.
I next tried watering my lawn with above ground sprinkler systems. My water pressure is too low to do the job. I would get some sprinklers that worked well while others would barely put out anything. I even tried using timers so they would only run during the night so no one would be using any water to take pressure away from them. It didn’t work either.
I am at the point now where the only solution I know of is to till up ALL my grass, remove it from the soil, add amendments, and plant new seed. This is the only way I will get the lawn I desire. But, again, I don’t have what it takes to do this; especially the money it would need. So I simply water my grass daily with sprinklers, moving them all around, until we get past the one day of the summer I really need workable grass for. Then I let it do as it pleases.
One day I will have a real lawn with inground sprinklers. If I have to wait until Heaven for that lawn, so be it! But I’m still hopeful for the home I have now.
Father God, thank You for Jesus. Thank You that You allowed me the opportunity to be grafted into Your family. I am sorry for all You had to go through in Your process to get to this place. The place where sins weren’t just covered over but truly forgiven. The place where You offer True Salvation.
I pray the fruit grown on my branches is pleasing to You. Don’t let me allow ‘wild grapes’ to sneak into my heart. I trust You and KNOW that any pruning You do is necessary in my life in order to keep me a ‘healthy vine’ that bears the kind of fruit You desire. And thanks for ‘tying me up’ in the places where I need support. I would like to see a picture someday of what Your vineyard looks like.
