Tending the Vineyard - Isaiah 5

Rick Goettsche

Union Church of La Harpe Illinois

Isaiah • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Isaiah 5

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©January 16th, 2022 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Isaiah

As much as we like to think of ourselves as logical people, the fact is we all tend to do mental gymnastics to avoid truths we find uncomfortable. We are very good at deflecting, changing the subject, and rationalizing the things we do, lest we be forced to admit we are wrong and need to change course. Sometimes it is easier to broach difficult issues through a story to which people can easily relate. Often, we are able to see issues more clearly when we don’t think they are about us.

That’s the approach Isaiah takes in our text this morning. He begins by telling a story (in the form of a song) that everyone would be able to relate to. By using this approach, he is able to communicate his point more effectively. Then, having made his point, he moves on to the practical specifics of what the people need to do differently.

Isaiah’s condemnations in these verses are jarring to us because he speaks quite forcefully to the people of Israel about their sin. I suspect equally jarring will be the realization that not much has changed in the last few millennia. The same attitudes and behaviors that plagued the nation of Israel in Isaiah’s day continue to exist in our culture and churches today. As such, we ought to pay close attention to Isaiah’s warnings, because they remain as relevant to us today as they were to the people of Israel over 2500 years ago.

Isaiah’s Song

Isaiah begins this section with a song about a vineyard. This region was an ideal climate for growing grapes, and vineyards were a familiar sight. Everyone knew what was involved in making a vineyard work, so this was a fitting image for Isaiah to use.

1 Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill. 2 He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter. 3 Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes? (Isaiah 5:1-4, NLT)

Isaiah’s song tells the story of a man who had done all the work to make his vineyard successful. This would have been familiar to his audience, but it’s somewhat less familiar to us. Here’s how one commentator described what would have to happen to prepare a plot of land for a vineyard.

The land must first be cleared of other plants and then of the rocks that the Judean hillsides produce in abundance (v. 2). This is the work of an entire year. Then the finest vines that one can afford must be purchased and carefully set out. During that second year the cleared rocks must be built into fences and watchtowers in order to keep out marauders, both four-footed and two-footed. Finally, in the third year, the fruit of all the previous labor is ready.[1]

Preparing the land for a vineyard was hard work that took several years. If Isaiah were speaking to our community, he might talk about how to prepare a field for planting corn or soybeans. He might speak of clearing the land, getting soil samples, installing drain tiles, selecting the appropriate herbicides and fertilizers, picking the right hybrid, and then actually planting.

The point of going through all of this was to drive home a specific point—the owner of the land had done everything right. He hadn’t cut corners. He made sure the land was perfect. But when the harvest came, instead of having a harvest of sweet grapes, He had bitter (or rancid) grapes. They were inedible. They were fit only for the trash. Isaiah asks the question on behalf of the vineyard owner, “What more could I have done?” The implication is clear—the vineyard owner had done everything correctly. There must have been something wrong with the plants or the grapes themselves.

This is exactly the point Isaiah was trying to drive home. He explains in verses 5 and 6 that because of this, the vineyard owner would destroy the vineyard and allow it to be overrun by weeds and wild animals, because no matter how much work He did, the vineyard would never produce good fruit.

To this point, Isaiah’s listeners surely agreed with the vineyard owner. They understood and empathized with His outrage, with His utter frustration with His vineyard. And that’s when Isaiah offers the big reveal.

7 The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence. (Isaiah 5:7, NLT)

Isaiah explains that the vineyard he is talking about in the song is actually the nation of Israel. God had prepared His people, Israel. He had prepared their land for them. He had delivered them from their enemies. God had given the Israelites everything they needed to thrive…and yet they didn’t. Instead, they perverted justice and oppressed the people within their land. Isaiah’s question is simple: who is to blame? Clearly it is not the Lord. That really leaves only one answer—the people were the ones who had failed.

Isaiah wanted the people to see the truth of this allegory and take it to heart. He hoped that by looking at their situation from a different perspective they might see their culpability and change course.

As we look at the message of Isaiah, it is easy for us to sit in judgment over the people of Israel. We look at all the opportunities God had given them, the abundant resources they had at their disposal, and God’s track record of faithfulness, and we wonder how they could possibly have turned away from Him. But is their situation that much different than ours today?

We live in a land where our religious freedom is guaranteed. We have great abundance. We have the resources to do a great many things. We have Christian seminaries and universities. We have Christian hospitals and orphanages. We have a wide variety of media at our disposal, TV, radio, and the internet, with an abundance of Christian programming. We have easy access to the scriptures. Anyone who wants to have a Bible can have one. Even if they couldn’t afford one, we have such abundant resources that we often give people Bibles at no cost. And yet, our churches are languishing. The behavior of people inside the church looks no different than those outside of it. We may profess a moral standard that is higher than others, but in practice we are not much different. Our churches are shrinking rather than growing. Everyone has Bibles, but few are reading them. And even fewer are trying to live according to them. There are far more parallels between the church in 21st century America and Israel in Isaiah’s day than I would like to admit.

As such, we should take Isaiah’s words to heart. We should look at the condemnations he issues to the nation of Israel and recognize that those condemnations likely apply to us as well. If we turn a deaf ear to Isaiah’s warnings, we should expect God’s blessings to be rescinded, just as they were from Israel. There is a great deal at stake.

Reasons for Condemnation

Isaiah lists several issues that cut to the heart of the problem in Israel. As you look in your Bible, each time you see the words “What sorrow” (if you’re using the NLT) or “Woe” (in some other translations), Isaiah is introducing another area the people have turned away from God. I think these woes fall into three categories.

First, Isaiah condemns greed. In verses 8-10, we see his charge,

8 What sorrow for you who buy up house after house and field after field,until everyone is evicted and you live alone in the land. 9 But I have heard the Lord of Heaven’s Armies swear a solemn oath: “Many houses will stand deserted; even beautiful mansions will be empty. 10 Ten acres of vineyard will not produce even six gallons of wine. Ten baskets of seed will yield only one basket of grain.” (Isaiah 5:8-10, NLT)

When God had given the Israelites the promised land, He had reminded them that the land was His, and they were merely stewards of it. Each family was allotted a portion of land, and that land was to remain with each family, so everyone had the ability to provide for themselves. But now people were buying up the land of others and accumulating wealth, but in doing so they were making it impossible for many in Israel to make a living because they no longer had any land. God condemned this behavior.

This sounds a lot like our society today. Those who are the richest seem to just keep getting richer and accumulating more and leaving everyone else behind. But lest we think this problem only applies to the billionaires of our world, we should recognize that the root issue, greed, exists in each of us. Most of us do this in some form, we just don’t have the means to do it on the scale that billionaires do. Think about it. We are more concerned about accumulating stuff for ourselves than we are about using what we have to help others. We “do what we have to” (including being dishonest) to “get ahead” rather than worrying about what is good and right. We exert far more energy in accumulating earthly wealth than we do on gaining an inheritance in Heaven. We are so busy with the things of earth that we have little time for the Lord. All of these things are signs of greed, which God condemns. But we proclaim that we have no choice because this is just the way the world works. I suspect the people of Israel said the same thing.

We must realign our priorities and go in the opposite direction of our world. We must place greater value on the things God says are valuable than we do on the trinkets of the world. We should be willing to have less so we can care for those around us. If we don’t, Isaiah says that just like Israel, we will have mansions, but find they are empty. We may accumulate masses of worldly treasure, but find it never satisfies.

Second, Isaiah condemns drunkenness. Isaiah’s words are quite harsh,

11 What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning looking for a drink of alcohol and spend long evenings drinking wine to make themselves flaming drunk. 12 They furnish wine and lovely music at their grand parties— lyre and harp, tambourine and flute— but they never think about the Lord or notice what he is doing.

22 What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine and boast about all the alcohol they can hold. (Isaiah 5:11-12, 22, NLT)

Isaiah condemns those who look to alcohol to satisfy themselves. To be clear, Isaiah is not saying that alcohol in and of itself is bad. What he is saying is that those who use it to get drunk, to distract from reality, to escape, or to find enjoyment are leading themselves far from God.

This is such a pervasive issue in our world today. Many would not dream of having a party that didn’t involve alcohol being plentiful. Many people’s plans for the weekend revolve around where and with whom they plan to get drunk. They spend their free time partying and indulging themselves. In so doing, they are keeping themselves far from the Lord. In fact, I think it is fair to say that they turn to alcohol instead of the Lord to address their needs and stresses.

We may be tempted to look at this issue as something that is only in the world around us, but let me ask you if there is really that much difference between the world’s approach to alcohol and the church’s? Are pagans the only people who participate in this lifestyle, or are those who profess to be Christians right there with them? Isaiah is clear—God condemns this lifestyle because it leads us away from the Lord.

But I don’t think this principle only applies to indulging in alcoholic drinks. I believe Isaiah is not merely condemning drunkenness (though he is certainly doing that), but the real issue is deeper than that. I think Isaiah is condemning self-indulgence.The big issue here is the tendency for us to elevate our feelings above what God says. We know God says we should place limits on ourselves, that we should not simply go after what makes us feel good in the moment, but that we should follow His commands. And yet, we seem far more concerned about “enjoying ourselves” than we are about following God’s commands. Let me give you some examples of how we often do this,

· Sleeping in rather than making time to talk to the Lord, go to church, or read our Bibles.

· Engaging in sexual perversions (adultery, sex outside of marriage, pornography) rather than striving for the purity God tells us to have.

· Eating to excess because it tastes good rather than practicing discipline in what we eat.

· Spending far more time playing (on our phones, video games, watching TV, worshiping sports, etc.) than we do focusing on the things of God.

The list could go on, but I think you get the idea. We need to recognize that these issues are not unique to non-Christians. They are issues that have become pervasive in the Church! Slowly but surely we are being led away from God because we are seeking our own pleasure above God’s honor.

Third is an arrogance against God. Again, Isaiah doesn’t mince words,

18 What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! 19 They even mock God and say, “Hurry up and do something! We want to see what you can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to know what it is.” 20 What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. 21 What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. (Isaiah 5:18-21, NLT)

The picture here is of people who have concluded they know better than God. They no longer concern themselves with what God says is right because they believe God won’t punish them. This leads to us proclaiming that evil is good and dark is light. Isaiah describes this condition well, “They are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever.”

It is easy to see this attitude in the unbelieving world, but the real question is has this attitude invaded the Church? I think it has. We see churches today who walk back the truths God has revealed in scripture because they are unpopular. They are more concerned with what people will say about them than what God will say about them. This has led to churches championing things God has clearly condemned! This should not be!

We may not walk back the scriptures as some churches have, but that doesn’t mean we are innocent. We are experts at pointing out sin in other people’s lives, but often turn a blind eye to our own sin. We dismiss our sin, saying it’s not a big deal because God will forgive us. In so doing, we are throwing God’s gift of grace back in His face and daring Him to do something about it!

A pervasive belief in our society (which has invaded the church as well) is that we know what is best for our lives. So, we don’t need to listen to anyone else’s opinion about what we should or shouldn’t do. When we begin to believe this, we also tune out God’s commands. We assume we know best. Isaiah says that this attitude leads to death. We need to be ruthless in identifying this kind of attitude in ourselves, working instead to humbly submit to what God tells us to do. Instead of trying to find loopholes and ways to justify our own behavior with our cleverness, we should submit to God’s wisdom and live as He has commanded.

Conclusion

Isaiah spoke very pointedly to the people of Israel. They had turned their backs on God and God was telling them that if they didn’t turn around, they would face discipline. The things they valued would be taken from them, and they would be forced to recognize their need for the Lord.

Our situation today is not so different. Sadly, we as believers have fallen into many of these same patterns of thinking and behavior. As such, Isaiah’s words demand a response. I suspect there were various responses to Isaiah’s words in his day, and I imagine there will be similar responses today. I anticipate at least four:

1. You may take offense and lash out, attacking the messenger or message.

2. You may justify your sin, claiming that it’s not as bad as these words suggest.

3. You may be indifferent, shrugging off everything Isaiah says as unimportant.

4. You may see the truth of these words and take action to seek forgiveness and make the necessary changes in your life.

As we look at the problems in our society, I might humbly suggest that instead of trying to lay blame at the feet of a given leader, political party, movement, or group of people, we should take the time to look at the blame we deserve. Where are our areas of compromise? We may not be making laws or policies for a nation, but we are making decisions about how we will live our lives. We lament that those in positions of power do not seek to honor the Lord in what they do, but we often do not take the time to question whether we are aligning our lives with God’s commands.

We lament the direction our society is going, but my fear is that just like many Israelites we will not be willing to take responsibility for the ways in which we have turned away from the Lord. God has blessed us with abundance and given us great power. He has done all the work of preparation. If the grapes in our vineyard are bitter, then there is only one person to blame. But the good news is that God also promises that it’s never too late to change course. We can take Isaiah’s condemnations to heart and begin rooting out these sinful attitudes and actions from our lives. God promises He will give us the strength to do so. If we’re honest, we know there’s lots that needs to be done in our vineyards, and no one can do the work but us—so let’s get to it.

[1]Oswalt, John N. Isaiah. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2003.

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