FRUITLESSNESS - SOUR GRAPES - NYOBS 72.10

FRUITLESSNESS - SOUR GRAPES

WHAT MORE COULD GOD DO FOR HIS VINEYARD?

First Word

·         Isiah’s Poem or Love Song is a vailed song about the owner of a vineyard and his efforts to get a good crop of grapes, only at the harvest to be disappointed with sour grapes. – Shortly after the song starts, Isiah unveils what the symbolism of the vineyard is all about.

·         Understand this is not a parable spoken by Jesus Christ, but by a Prophet who existed long before the son of God came as a man to provide the way for us back to God.

·         It starts out with the owner’s love which turns to exasperation and finally into wrath.

·         NOTE: I have used some 22 translations and about that many commentaries to nail down the term “Sour Grapes” and the results of FRUITLESSNESS.

Isaiah 5:1 – Selected a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
¹ Let me SING for my beloved my LOVE SONG concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. (ESV)

The Story Begins – but Veiled 

·         The owner of the vineyard has obtained a prize piece of land on a very fertile hill, in which to make His vineyard and then without delay He begins to work.

·         He plowed and broke up the stony Palestine soil in the vineyard, cleared and removed all the stones and hauled them out to the outer bounds of His property and heaped them up to form a protective wall and then added and additional hedge for protection.

·         Then He obtained the most superior “Sorek” grape vines that were noted for their deep RED color and carefully planted them with a trench about each row.

·         Next He built a tower in the midst of the vineyard establishing the management team that would hoe out the thorns, briars and weeds and watch out for animals that could damage the grapes and marauding thieves who would try to steal the harvest.

·         Then in expectation of an awesome harvest, He hewed and carved out of the nearby rocks a very large winepress complete with a cistern vat, deep in the earth to keep the harvest of sweet grape juices cool.

·         Then He waited for the harvest. – When grace does not work; corruption will.

Isaiah 5:2 – Plowed, cleared, planted, walled with watchtower
² He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. (ESV)

Isaiah 5:2- He fenced it and made a winepress
² And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. (KJV)

Isaiah 5:2 – Hoed soil, pulled weeds, built winepress & tower
² He hoed the soil and pulled the weeds, and planted the very best vines. He built a lookout, built a winepress, a vineyard to be proud of. He looked for a vintage yield of grapes, but for all his pains he got junk grapes. (MSG)

The Harvest

·         At the harvest there was a reasonable expectation for an excellent harvest, but all He found was hard, bad, worthless, sour, bitter, wild, corrupt, rotten, offensive, putrefied, stinking grapes.

·         The Elephant in the room is the question; “WHAT MORE COULD HE HAVE DONE?” – The different translation say; – What good thing shall I say that I will do to my people that I have not done for them? – What should one do more to my vineyard that I have not done for it? – What remains to be done to my vineyard and I had not done it? - What is there which I ought to do more? – What shall I do yet? – What to do more?

·         He then asks the men of Judah to judge between Him in His preparations of the vineyard and the results of the Harvest. – This request to JUDGE between the two has far reaching implications. -  HOLD THAT THOUGHT.

Isaiah 5:3-4 – What more was there to do?
³ And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
⁴ What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

Isaiah 5:4 - What more could I have done?
⁴ What more could I have done for My vineyard than I did? Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes, did it yield worthless grapes? (HCSB)

Isaiah 5:4 – Can you think of anything I could have done more
⁴ CAN YOU THINK OF ANYTHING I could have done to my vineyard that I didn't do? When I expected good grapes, why did I get bitter grapes? (MSG)

The Story Unveiled

·         It is at the judging of the vineyard that Isaiah reveals who “the beloved” is. -  We now learn that the owner of the vineyard is none other than God Himself and the vineyard is Israel.

·         Isaiah removes the veil and lets us see that this is not just a story about a vineyard, but about the nation of Israel being God’s prize vineyard and Judah being His choice vines.

·         Judgment begins on Israel; God removes the protective hedge so that the marauding enemy can come in and devour it. – Then he breaks down the walls so it will be trampled by animals. – Then He lays it to waste to such that briers and thorns grow up and then God commands the clouds to hold back the rain and this is just the beginning.

Isaiah 5:5-6 – I will remove my protection; curses not blessings
⁵ And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
⁶ I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. (ESV)

Isaiah 5:7 – The vineyard is Israel and Judah is the vines
⁷ 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! (ESV)

The Book of WOE’s

·          In the Book when a WOE is mentioned, its bad news, two is worse and three is devastating.  There are six WOE’s in this song and they are all against His prize vineyard Israel. – So God’s hurt, disappointment and His wrath is ultra-severe.  Had there been Seven WOES it would be the complete and utter destruction of the nation of Israel. - (Seven is completeness)

·         The Six WOE’s prophesized against Israel

·         1^st WOE – Their beautiful homes will become un-inhabited and desolated. – Their land will produce very little fruit, but enough to stay drunk.

·         2^nd WOE – They will seek strong drink and pleasure and forget the deeds of God and what He has done for them. – This will lead them into exile where they will thirst and hunger. – Many will rebel against God and will be doomed to Hell. – In God’s holiness and justice, men will be brought low and humbled and live as nomads among the ruins of the city.

·         3^rd WOE – Sin will be carried about in a cart drawn with ropes of lies and falsehoods.

·         4^th WOE – Men will begin to call evil things good and good things evil, they will put darkness for light and light for darkness, and put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

·         5^th WOE – Deceived; men will become wise and shrewd in their own eyes, in their own sight.

·         6^th WOE – Drunk; they will take bribes, acquitting the guilty and depriving the innocent. – Their grass will be devoured with fire and the root will rot. – Darkness and destress will come over the land - Earthquakes will kill many and their dead bodies will be discarded as garbage. – The enemy nations will be summoned and come against them quickly with sharp arrows and fast horses carrying them off into captivity and none can be rescued.

·         The Vineyard of Israel and its people rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 5:8-9 – 1ST WOE – Homes become desolate - inhabited
⁸ WOE to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.
⁹ the LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing: “Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.

Isaiah 5:10 – The grounds will yield very little fruit
¹⁰ For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.” (ESV)

Isaiah 5:11-12 – 2ND WOE – Drunk; they will forget about God
¹¹ WOE to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!
¹² They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands. (ESV)

 Isaiah 5:13 – They will go into exile with Hunger and thirst
¹³ Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst.

Isaiah 5:14 – Many will die in their revelry and go to hell
¹⁴ Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who exults in her.

Isaiah 5:15-16 – Man will be humbled and brought low
¹⁵ Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low.
¹⁶ But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.

Isaiah 5:17 – They shall live as nomads among the ruins
¹⁷ Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.

Isaiah 5:18-19 - 3RD WOE – They cart sin around with lies
¹⁸ WOE to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,
¹⁹ who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!” (ESV)
Isaiah 5:20 - 4TH WOE – Men will call evil good and good evil

²⁰ WOE to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (ESV)
Isaiah 5:21 – 5TH WOE Men will become wise in their own eyes

²¹ WOE to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! (ESV)
Isaiah 5:22 - 6TH WOE – Drunk taking bribes deprive innocent

²² WOE to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
²³ who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! (ESV)

Isaiah 5:24 – Fire devour the grass – The roots will rot
²⁴ Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 5:25 – Earthquakes – Dead people dumped out like garbage
²⁵ Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 5:26-29 – The enemy nations will come against them
²⁶ He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
²⁷ None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps, not a waistband is loose, not a sandal strap broken;
²⁸ their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.
²⁹ Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar; they growl and seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue.

Isaiah 5:30 - Darkness and distress will be over the land
³⁰ They will growl over it on that day, like the growling of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened by its clouds.

Decoding the Symbols

·         My Beloved - The Owner – Me - God

·         The Vineyard – Symbolic of the Nation of Israel in the midst of Jerusalem.

·         The Choicest Vines – The Seed of Abraham, Joshua and Caleb who truly followed the Lord leading the people of Israel. - Judah was planted in Jerusalem to be a special nation of Priests to the world.

·         The Wall; The Fence – Symbolic of the separation of Israel from the pagan nations to be a peculiar people just for Him. – Fenced with a well formed government and an excellent constitution with good and wholesome Laws.

·         The Hedge – The protection of Israel from its enemies.

·         The Stones – The removal of stones of old idolatries that would have hindered Israel’s development. – The removal of the seven pagan nations that inhabited the land of Canaan known for their hardness and stupidity for the worship of STONE idols.

·         The Tower – God built his sanctuary among them. - Symbolic of the Temple, a token of God’s presence and His management and care over the nation of Israel – His most excellent law and proper ordinances – Justice and Goodness -  

·         Winepress & Vat – Symbolic of the alter where the sacrifices would be brought – Fruits of righteousness – Wine of joy and adoration.

·         Wild Grapes – Contempt for God. -  Cursing and Swearing - Pride and Passion - Discontent and Malice. - Harsh and Cruel – Putrefied; the state of the Jews

·         Good Grapes – Contempt for the world – Praying and Praising - Humility, and Meekness - Love and Patience – Good thoughts of Affections, words and actions that are reflective of the Holy Spirit.

·         Ought do – He did everything that was desired, expected and enjoyed to make the Jews Holy and happy - To secured their welfare - Gave them the law - Sent them the prophets and teachers of the law.

·         Judge now – Between God and Israel - The ingratitude – The unfruitfulness -

·         The Question – Could God have given a more excellent Redeemer? – Provided a more full atonement for our sins? – Given a more excellent, purer and Holy Law? – Given higher hopes of eternal life?

·         The Six WOE’s – The vineyard left unpruned; overgrown with thorns and weeds. – The departure of the Spirit of God. – The removal of the Gospel -

The Take Away

·         Good purposes, thoughts and actions are a great beginning, but they are not enough; God expects good fruit from His vineyard.  If there is bad fruit, He will display his displeasure and remove His hedge of protection, break down His walls and lay the vineyard to waste.

·         God persistently sent his messengers to WARN Israel because he had compassion for them and for the land. But they kept mocking the messengers, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, and gave offerings to idols, until finally the wrath of the LORD rose against His people, and there was no remedy.

·         We are the vineyard, God had done all that He can do to provide us a way back to Him; to provide salvation for those who will just believe.  We are not members of the “Secret Service”, we are AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST - We are implored to be reconciled to God.

Life is choice driven and the choices we make today have eternal consequences.

What more could Christ do for us, that He has not already done.

Jeremiah 2:21 – How have you become a wild vine?
²¹ Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. HOW then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine? (ESV)

2 Chronicles 36:15 – God persistently sent messengers to them
¹⁵ The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. (ESV)

2 Kings 17:13 - Turn from your evil ways
¹³ Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” (ESV)

Jeremiah 11:17 - Provoked God to anger with offerings to Baal
¹⁷ The LORD of hosts, who PLANTED YOU, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” (ESV)

Mark 11:12-14 – Time is coming it will be too late to bear fruit
¹² On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.
¹³ And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it,
¹⁴ “MAY NO ONE EVER EAT FRUIT FROM YOU AGAIN.” And his disciples heard it. (ESV)  

Matthew 21:19 – Bearing no fruit, the fig tree was cursed
¹⁹ And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And THE FIG TREE WITHERED at once. (ESV)

Luke 13:6-9 – One more chance for fruit, then cut it down
⁶ And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
⁷ And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. CUT IT DOWN. Why should it use up the ground?’
⁸ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.
⁹ Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can CUT IT DOWN.’” (ESV)

2 Chronicles 36:16 – But they mocked till there was no remedy
¹⁶ But they kept MOCKING the messengers of God, DESPISING his words and SCOFFING at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, UNTIL THERE WAS NO REMEDY. (ESV)

2 Corinthians 5:20 - We are Ambassadors for Christ
²⁰ Therefore, we are Ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. WE IMPLORE YOU ON BEHALF OF CHRIST, be reconciled to God. (ESV)

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical

information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders

and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                     

A Commentary; Critical, Experimental and Practical - Eerdmans

All the Women of the Bible – Edith Deen

Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias

Apocrypha – Goodspeed

Baker Commentary on the Bible – Elwell

Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White

Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer

Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row

Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s

Bible Hub.com

Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein

Forgotten Books of Eden; The – World

Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale

Interlinear Greek-English New Testament - Baker

King James Version Bible – KJV

Lost Books of the Bible; The - World

Lost Books of the Bible; The - Bell

Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan

Missing Books of the Bible; The – Halo Press

Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest

Nag Hammadi Library; The – James M. Robinson

Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan

New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney

New International Version Bible (2011) – NIV

NOTE: The “new” NIV has been corrupted & made gender neutral.  AVOID IT.

Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Hugh J. Schonfield

Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament – Mac Donald

Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner

Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Pfeiffer & Harrison

Wikipedia –

Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney