CRIES OF DISTRESS
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Opening Prayer
Coming to your Word today, Lord, I seek you and look for truth. I am grateful to know you will never disappoint me and always meet my needs.
Read ISAIAH 5:1–7
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Song of the Vineyard
5 I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?
5 Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it.”
7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
Reflect
Have you been to a vineyard? Even if not, you can still picture the neat rows of vine after vine and imagine the careful cultivation, time, and effort needed to tend and care for grapes.You may recognize this parable–if not from Isaiah 5, then from Jesus’ take on it (see Matthew 21). Those listening to Jesus would have known Isaiah’s version and also, first-hand, how hard it is to grow things—especially vines.
Look again at verses 1 and 2 and see the things the ‘loved one’ did to plant and guard his vineyard so he could make wine. No expense was spared, including buying the best grapes and finding the ideal location. He had good reason to expect an excellent crop, followed by some delicious wine. But the result of his efforts is repeated at the end of verse 2 and in verse 4: Was the crop what he had hoped for?
Reading about God’s anger (vv. 5, 6) should make us uncomfortable. But this parable helps us understand why he was angry. Calling and forming his people wasn’t only hard work; it was a labor of love. And he was rewarded with bloodshed and injustice (v. 7).
Apply
You are a part of the vine in God’s vineyard: the church. How has he lovingly and carefully planted and cultivated you in your faith journey? Think back to some key people and moments, and give thanks to God for all he’s done.
Closing prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for my church family. Use us to build up one another’s faith and work together, testifying to who you are. In all that we do, enable us to bear fruit that is pleasing to you, fruit that will be of eternal value.
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