Intimate Indictment

Isaiah introduces himself as the singer of a love song that turns into a lament. Because vine and vineyard frequently represent God’s people throughout Scripture (Psa. 80; Hos. 10; John 15:1-8; Matt. 20:1-16), we are already familiar with what must have been a shocking and surprising twist. God has done all he could for his beloved vineyard: he found the best location, laboriously cleared away the stones, planted the best type of vine, and built a watchtower in it. But after two years there is no fruit and the singer appeals to the audience (3,4), declares God’s judgment (5,6) and gives the interpretation (7). It is all about Israel, the very people who are listening.

How are we to share God’s love and sadness? The love song celebrating a marriage becomes a bitter taunt of judgment and the promise of exile. Few passages in the Bible combine so poignantly the beauty of a love song with sorrow over sin. How might we express God’s heart for our churches and nations today? 

Isaiah has rich resources of memory and history to draw on. Israel had been promised a covenant relationship with Abraham, brought out of slavery in Egypt by Moses, and prepared for entry into the Promised Land by Joshua. Under David, her kingdom had been established in the land of Canaan, and she had enjoyed prosperity and blessing. Now, in eighth-century Judah, the threat of Assyria looms and the Holy One of Israel stands in judgment tempered by sadness over Israel’s sin. Her neglect of the poor, her hypocrisy in religion, her lack of true justice and righteousness, mean that her very purity and promise as the beloved partner of the Holy One of Israel is at risk. What can be done? As with Israel then, so with us today.

How much does God love his people, and long for them to be restored? List the aspects of his love for us, and the reasons for his lament.