Today in God's Word—September 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
September 12, Isaiah 5
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! - Isaiah 5:7
Most of us would rather listen to a story than a lecture. Wouldn't you probably prefer a song to a warning or a rebuke? Good communicators know this about their audiences, and often begin a presentation with a story. Stories capture our attention and engage our emotions. A song is usually a story set to music. As such, the storyline becomes easier to remember, and more likely to motivate us to act.
My little brother used to watch a Saturday morning cartoon show about Fat Albert and other characters created by Bill Cosby. (I was a teenager, and too mature and sophisticated to watch cartoons. But I would spend some “quality time” with my brother and watch it with him.) In the catchy opening song, Cosby said he was "coming at you with music and fun, and if you're not careful you might learn something before it's done." That’s a reference to the teaching power of stories and songs.
Remember that God sent the prophet Nathan to tell David a story after the king sinned with Bathsheba. The story about a rich man stealing a poor man’s only lamb enraged the king, and he said that the wicked sheep stealer deserved to die. You recall Nathan's reply, don't you? "You're the man!” The story opened David's eyes to see the wickedness of what he had done in taking Bathsheba and killing her husband Uriah. He humbled himself and confessed his sin. God forgave David, but he had to live with the awful consequences of that sin for the rest of his life.
God sent Isaiah to the disobedient nation of Israel and Judah with a song. The song told of a man who created and cultivated a vineyard on a fertile hill. He cared for it and protected it, but when he went to get some of the grapes, he
only found poisonous berries growing there. Isaiah's song went on to tell how the owner of the vineyard removed its protection, allowed the weeds to overtake it and did not water it. And the punchline of the story was, "The vineyard owner is God, and you, Israel, are his vineyard." Because they had not honored God and done his will, God cataloged their sins and declared judgment against them.
Israel had turned away from God, and God was going to turn away from them. Their doom was so certain that Isaiah spoke in that perfect prophetic tense, telling what would happen as if it had already happened. Their cities would be abandoned, filled with empty houses. Their fields would be barren and the crop yields were catastrophic. They were addicted to substance abuse and the pursuit of pleasure. They were arrogant and defiant. They taunted God and turned morality upside down, calling good evil, and darkness light. So God stretched out his hand and brought judgment on them, because they had rejected God's law and despised his words. He would help their enemies instead of helping his rebellious people. Israel's prophetic forecast called for death, distress and darkness.
It's easy to read this story and see how Israel's stubborn rejection brought about their doom. But every nation that forgets and rejects God has the same certain doom in its future. Most of us can see and understand that it is true about Israel and nations. But do we hear and understand that we are God's vineyard and that he is looking for good fruit to come from the blessings and grace he has given us? Each of us should examine not just our nation, but ourselves in light of this sobering song and the lessons it teaches.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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