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Scripture for the day: Isaiah 5:1b-4 My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; so, He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?”
Thought for the day: One of the most difficult things about reading the Bible through from cover to cover is that you are prevented from skipping over the uncomfortable parts. Everyone wants to focus on the encouragement we can get from reading how He promised “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” No one wants to read those bits of scripture that pierce to the very soul as we hear, “I have this against you; that you have left your first love.”
Today I was invited to read one of those more disagreeable sections of scripture. As I began to read in Isaiah, chapter 5, I was struck by this thought: when Isaiah speaks of the vineyard, is he not speaking of the children of Israel? When we read these words, is it not reasonable to understand the vineyard as the people of God, the church? I think it is reasonable; in fact, that’s exactly what sprang into my mind almost immediately. God is speaking to His church; are listening?
My somewhat less than encouraging thoughts concerning the state of the church today were almost immediately reinforced when I moved to 1 Peter, chapter 4 and read, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:17)? Now, I could be forgiven for dismissing the warning as outlined in Isaiah; after all, that’s the Old Testament and doesn’t really apply to us, right? (I hope you immediately shook your head no) But how do we get around the idea that the church will be judged according to how fully she follows the Great Shepherd? We can’t. Nor can we ignore the warnings the Shepherd provides and hope to escape His judgment to come.
I have to say, I was struck to the very heart by the pointed rebuke the Lord provided this morning. Not everything we read or experience is sweetness and light; sometimes we just need a wake-up call. So, after shuddering inside at the rebuke He provided, I asked, “So, what do we do about it?” Look at the solution provided to the children of Israel by Isaiah. Once he’d finished with a whole list of woes directed at those who refuse to follow, he said this: “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple” (6:1). And his response? “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (6:5). Because of his immediate repentance in the face of the glory of God, he was assured, “Your iniquity is taken away and your sin is purged” (6:7).
And what of Peter? How does he respond to the warning the Lord has given through him? “Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” 1 Peter 5:6-8).
In other words, we are to pay attention, not just to the wonderful, uplifting hope-filled, bits of scripture we often run across, but to the warnings as well. Our response must be to move closer to the Shepherd of our souls, giving Him all the obedient attention He deserves.
Now go take on your world. - Bill