Isaiah 5:1–7
Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 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; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? 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. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!
Reflection
This is a love song with a twist. A love song that reminds us of sin, our own sin. A love song that beckons us to make a decision, make a judgment in the end. A lover who cares for his beloved only to have the one he loves change and bear the fruit of sin.
The response of the lover is to let the vineyard go on it's own. To turn the vineyard loose to the wild. This is what we would do in such a situation. We would judge the sinner and turn the sinner loose to his own accord. We would separate ourselves from the sinner and cast him aside.
But, this love song with a twist is not how God has treated us in our sin. Our God has continued to love us and take us in and bring us back from sin. God has brought us from death to new life through the gift of his Son, Jesus, to live and die for the very sin that should cast us away. God came to us in the midst of our sin and saved us.
A love song with a twist and a God with a twist. God's twist saves us and makes us new. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
God, I know how you have tried with me. I know how you have cared for me. Forgive my sin. Forgive my wildness and save me. Save me that I may be yours and do your will. May I be made new... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment