Reflecting on Isaiah 5:1-7

Isaiah 5 is a combination of three prophecies of Judgement against Jerusalem and Judah. The first prophecy is a love song (but it was written as though it was from someone who had a broken heart), the second prophecy is judgement against the social injustice in Judah and Jerusalem, and the third prophecy is a prediction of the invasion of a forign military force that God himself summons to attack his people. This reflection is on the first of the three prophecies; “The song of a disappointed vineyard owner.”

Isaiah 5:1-7 is written in the form of a poem or song, and it is about a field owner who cleared his field so that he could plant a vineyard. He planted choice vines so they would produce the best grapes, and built a watch tower in the midst of it with a winepress so that he could make the best wine as soon as the grapes were ready. So he invested time and energy, expecting to gain the best return from his investment, but when it was time for harvest he noticed that the choice vine strangely produced beushim (stinking/worthless grapes).

Within the context of these beginning chapters of Isaiah, we can see that the vineyard is a metaphor for the promise land that God promised Moses and Israel when he delivered them from Egyptian slavery, this was the land that God prepared in advance for Israel by clearing away the stones of other nations from it. God planted Israel in Cannan as a choice vine; his very own people. And since then Israel grew into two powerful kingdoms, Jerusalem and Judah, but they did not bear the fruit that God expected, rather than following God’s covenant laws they drifted away and began to follow the ways of other nations. Rather than enab (good grapes) they instead became beushim (stinking/worthless grapes).

Then there is a question posed by the author of this song asked to Jerusalem and Judah: “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?” - Isaiah 5:3-4

Remember that Israel was an agrarian society, so the metaphors of vineyards, choice vines, and grapes would have been easily understood by them. Therefore this question is a rhetorical one, but it reads as though it was a question asked by Jesus after he explained the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, and in the same manner in this song in Isaiah 5 the answer follows the question to avoid any confusion on what the right answer might be.

“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.” Isaiah 5:5-6

This is the judgement of Judah and Israel, the vineyard that the owner was sorely disappointed in because they did not produce the righteousness worthy of all the work that was done on their behalf to produce good deeds. The hedge of protection around the vineyard will be removed and its wall broken down, leaving it vulnerable to any attack. It will become a wasteland and the owner will no longer tend to it so that it will be overgrown with weeds and thorns. Then the vinedresser gives us insight into Who He really is for he will command the clouds not to produce any rain for the vineyard, causing every vine to shrivel up and die. 

The vineyard owner had become so disappointed in the useless grapes that were produced that he decided to forget the vineyard and spend no more time tending to it, and this poem concludes by repeating the reason why he makes this decision, and the meaning behind this parable.

“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!” Isaiah 5:7

So we see that the vineyards Israel and Judah, were forgotten by God, but it was not because God woke up on the wrong side of His bed in heaven, neither was it because he made a mistake when he planted his people in the land that He promised Moses he would. It was solely because of the worthless fruit, God expected justice and righteousness to reign in the kingdoms of his people, he found bloodshed and heard a cry.

What would God find in your country, your church, and even your own life if he came looking for good grapes, and what should he do if he found  beushim (stinking/worthless grapes)?

In Mark 11:12-25 a similar story is found that tells of Jesus cursing a fig tree and clearing out the temple in Jerusalem. As you read this, ask God to show you the connections between the fig tree in Mark, the vineyard in Isaiah 5, and the temple that Jesus clears out, and listen as God’s truth is revealed.

“12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’ 18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. 19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” 22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” - Mark 11:12-25

I invite you to pray this prayer with me:

Merciful God,

I thank you for where you have planted me, and the garden that you have planted me in. As I examine the vineyard of my life and the society around me, I find many worthless grapes where there should be good grapes. I am a choice vine, and you have taken all the precautions for me to bloom and produce good fruit, yet this is not always the case for me nor the world around me. Yet, Christ says that whatever I ask for in prayer, I should believe that I have received it, and it will be given to me, and so I ask that you would forgive my bad fruit as I forgive the bad fruit that has been given to me. I have no doubt that you can do it, so I thank you even now for removing the mountain of my sins and throwing them into the sea. I thank you that I am not the cursed fig tree in Mark 11, neither am I the cursed vineyard in Isaiah 5. You are the true vine, and I am one of your branches, help me to remain in you, so that by your grace I may produce good fruit. In Jesus Name, Amen!