Thursday, December 31
Read the song in the above verses. What is the meaning of this parable?
God explains the meaning of the parable only at the end, in verse 7. By using a parable, He helps the people to look at themselves objectively in order to admit their true condition. God effectively used this approach with King David (see 2 Samuel 12:1-13). By calling this a (love) song, God reveals at the outset His motive toward His people. His relationship with them originates from His character, which is love (1 John 4:8). He expects a response of love in return. But instead of “grapes,” He gets “wild grapes,” which means, in the Hebrew, “stinking things.”
What does the Lord mean when He says in Isaiah 5:4, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, That I have not done in it?”.
God says in the next verses: “And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; And break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste” (Isaiah 5:5, 6).
When we sin, God does not immediately cut us off from Himself by removing His protection and destroying us. He patiently gives us an opportunity to receive forgiveness (see 2 Peter 3:9). He does not cut off anyone who responds to Him. He appeals as long as there is hope for a response. He does not immediately take No for an answer, because He knows we are ignorant and deceived by sin. But if He gets nowhere with us, He ultimately acknowledges our choice and lets us remain the way we have chosen to be (see Revelation 22:11).
If we persistently reject God's appeals through His Spirit, we can eventually pass the point of no return (Matthew 12:31, 32). Turning away from Christ is dangerous (Hebrews 6:4-6). There is only so much God can do, because He respects our free choice.
Take the concept found in Isaiah 5:4, about “What could have been done more to my vineyard,” and look at that in light of the Cross, where God offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, paying with His flesh for our violation of His law. What more could have been done for us than what He did there? How does dwelling on the Cross give us assurance of salvation and motivate us to repent and change our ways?
