{"id":66225,"date":"2019-11-26T13:22:07","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T11:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=66225"},"modified":"2023-05-24T13:55:52","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T10:55:52","slug":"bad-grapes-in-the-vineyard-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/bad-grapes-in-the-vineyard-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Bad Grapes In The Vineyard Of God"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The fifth chapter of Isaiah opens with the short, but memorable parable of the vineyard, telling the story of connection and alienation between a farmer and his land.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The farmer has spent weeks, months, perhaps even years tending to the vineyard. He has invested effort, time, and sweat, and toil to ready everything: the fences, the watchmen\u2019s hut, the winepress. He has plowed, weeded, and planted \u2013 and now waits for the seeds to grow into grapes. In horror, he watches as the grapes that do grow are from an inferior breed, smaller, quick to spoil and easy to rot \u2013 not suitable for wine or any greater purpose. So in frustration he picks up stones and breaches the fence, inviting the animals to trample \u2013 as he leaves the vineyard to return to nature, never expecting to return, himself, again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who is the vineyard and who is the farmer? \u201cFor the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts Is the House of Israel, And the seedlings he lovingly tended Are the men of Judah\u201d (verse 7). God invested so much in his people over decades and centuries, but they failed to grow as they should \u2013 and in punishment, they will be left open to be trampled by the animals of the field (5:7). God is the farmer and Israel is the vineyard.\u00a0 We are expected to grow into good grapes, with meritorious action – but instead we grow as bad grapes, a sinful people who fails to meet the mark. Just as the farmer removes the fence, God will remove the protection from around His people, inviting the nations – the animals of the field – to trample the vineyard, until there is nearly nothing left.<\/span><\/p>\n

Readers of the parable have been moved by the beauty of its poetry, and by its thorough criticism of the Jewish people. Readers often do not notice that there are still two silver linings in this punishment of the vineyard. First, the owner of the vineyard does not choose to burn the vineyard, which would mean total destruction \u2013 instead, the animals come in and eat from the vineyard.\u00a0 While burning destroys the vineyard entirely so it will never grow again, animals will still leave some fruit uneaten, or let seeds fall to the earth after they have eaten the fruit. Thus, we (again) find the motif of near total destruction, but included within the promise that one day it will grow again, much as we saw in the previous chapter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A second hopeful possibility lies in the fact that farmer still loves his vineyard (and in fact, perhaps would not have felt the betrayal so strongly were there no longer any love), despite having invested so much and feeling so betrayed. And so, he cannot bring himself to destroy the vineyard on his own. 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