By Jereme Vanderwoude
God plants fruitful gardens. In other words, God cannot have his garden, his vineyards, and his vines not bear the fruit his heart planned and desired.
Isaiah 5:1-4:
Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
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.
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?
FERTILE HILL
God planted his vineyard, which is the house of Israel (or His people), on a “very fertile hill.” God chose the right soil for his people to be planted in. God has also cultivated and tilled the soil of our hearts to be good soil for Him to plant in.
REMOVED STONES
He changed the soil of our hearts to be ready for his gospel and Word to be sown on it. God also dug the hill and “cleared it of stones…” God removed the heart of stone in us and replaced it with a heart of flesh. He removed all the hindering obstructions to his plantings. The gospel blood in like manner, freed us from chains and wounds that hinder fruitfulness.
CHOICEST VINES
He “…planted it with choice vines…”. Not any sort of vine but the best. In a similar manner, God gave us who believe, His Holy Spirit, the one who keeps us connected to the True Vine, where we receive the best nourishment of soul and spirit. And God gave Israel his testimonies to remember Him and all his promises (i.e. The Passover and the feasts) so that they could stay connected to Him.
BUILT WATCHTOWER
Verse 4 also says “…he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it…” God gave the house of Israel leaders, prophets, judges, and kings. God gave present oversight and watchmen to his people. God says in Isaiah 62:6, “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent.” And so too for us, God has given us watchmen, however imperfect they may be, who are “keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Heb. 13:17). How blessed are we, that we have a physical manifestation of God’s grace in those who voluntarily watch over our souls for our benefit and fruitfulness in Christ (2 Cor. 1:24). So God loves his garden vineyard so much that he would place a watchtower in it to protect it from all threats to its growth.
After considering all God has done for his vineyard, his Nation, and his Church, it is hard to believe that after all of it; the vineyard yielded only wild grapes. Here wild grapes represent the fruit of Satan’s soil. The soil of the world, the untamed, the uncultivated, the soil not chosen and set apart. Israel bore the fruit of the nations and her “wild” immorality, in spite of all God did for her. It should not have happened, it is unjust and a total tragedy.
GOD’S USE OF JUDGEMENT
God uses judgement or in the case of the Believer, He uses discipline in order to bring up the fruit he planted for. See Isaiah 5:5, God does to His vineyard garden 4 things:
- Removes its hedge
- Breaks down its wall
- Makes it a waste
- Commands the clouds not to rain upon it
And the result of these actions are:
- “It shall be devoured”
- “It shall be trampled down”
- “It shall not be pruned or hoed and briers and thorns shall grow up”
- “No rain upon it”
There is a Scriptural pattern of God letting His people experience life without his nearness and protection in order to awaken a softer heart and ears to hear. God will have a people that bear fruit. God will reap the harvest he planted for. God will not stand idly by while the garden He planted yields the fruit of the world.
Hebrews 12:11, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
1 Peter 5:10, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
May this lead us to hope in His faithfulness as in Philippians 1:6, “that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
But also may it lead us to great fear of the Lord and a “striving towards his rest”, so that “no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” (Heb. 4:11). It may be easy for us to fool ourselves into thinking we are bearing good fruit or fool others even when we are not but we cannot fool the living God.
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). God has sown good seed in His people, and He will reap a good harvest.
So we must consider if we are currently experiencing His discipline. Is there “wild” fruit in us we have ignored or justified away? Are we resisting the hand of the Vinedresser?
May God have all of what he desires in us and through us for His glory among the nations.
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