November 18: HOPE OR DOOM? TEXTURE IN ISAIAH’S BOOK

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. Isaiah 5:1

Isaiah’s inspiration for teaching his brethren comes directly from the Master Teacher, whose Holy Spirit constructs Isaiah’s writings, like a fabric with a beautiful raised texture. Isaiah weaves the hope of the conditional promises of God with the warp of warnings and the doom that results from disregarding Him. Many Bible scholars see the book of Isaiah as a miniature Bible. The first 39 of its 66 chapters echo foundational principles laid out in the 39 books of the Old Testament, while the last 27 chapters lay out the fresh hope that we find in Jesus who is the fulfillment of those principles in the New Testament.

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. (v.2)

These two verses are in a poetic format telling a brief story: After choosing an ideal location, a landowner planted a vineyard, thoroughly caring for it and cultivating it. He did all he could to make it a success and looked forward to a wonderful harvest. But to his dismay, worthless wild grapes appeared all across his vineyard. The original Hebrew for wild grapes also means “stinking things” – an added facet of smell to the visual!

Immediately, the LORD, speaking through Isaiah, addresses Jerusalem and Judah, where the tribes of Judah and Benjamin resided (remember that the rest of the Hebrew tribes had lost their identity through rebellion, having been dissolved and absorbed into the pagan nations that comprised Assyria): “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?

The parable metaphor is explained in verse 7 (below). In it, we can see that, as Creator, our Lord initiated the giving of every good thing for His elect. His vision for them, that they would show to the world the amazing riches of His goodness – was for the benefit of all who are lost and searching. Behind the story is the conviction of the Holy Spirit toward those who have known the Lord in the past, that they would recognize themselves in the story and repent…

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. Isaiah 5:7

To be continued…