The Song of the Vineyard

Introduction

Isaiah 5 is divided into 2 sections:

Isa. 5:1-7 - song of the vineyard (it’s a disappointing vineyard)

Isa. 5:8-30 - is about the fruit of the vineyard (wild, worthless grapes)

We’re just going to listen to the song this morning

I don’t know how good a singer Isaiah was but he’s a master songwriter

He draws us in with a story, there’s tension and twist

As it starts we think it’s a love song

Probably how the people heard

That’s what they expect to hear from words like beloved and vineyard

Psalm 128:3 “3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table.”

Cf. Song 2:15; Song 4:16

The song quickly turns into something like a country song

What starts in love ends in cheating loss, sadness, ruin and sour grapes

Part of the genius of Isaiah’s song is how skilfully he draws them into the song

Causes us to desire the vineyard then look at it with condemnation

Isa. 5:3 - Makes it personal, tell me what would you do if this was your vineyard?

Isa. 5:5 - come (calling them deeper into the story) I’ll tell you what I did

Finally (Isa. 5:7) he tells them it’s a story about them

It’s the perfect song

It’s made me invested & it causes me to react

It makes me think

Makes me examine, is this song really about me?

Jesus uses this same technique & so did Nathan with David

Today I want to think a little bit about the composer, a little about the hearers and a little about the song

A Song of the Beloved

Isaiah 5:1 “1 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved...”

He is Above All

(Holy One; ...of Hosts)

He is the Holy One

I’ve spoken of the song as Isaiah’s but more accurately it is God’s song that Isaiah sings to and for God

I want to take note of the way Isaiah refers to God through this song and message

As the prophecy starts in the last section of Isa. 5 we return to a common title: Holy One of Israel (Isa. 5:19, 24)

Recalling it seems this is a title that started with Isaiah & used by him far more than anyone else

That God is holy is one of the great themes of Isaiah’s prophecies

To be holy is, as we’ve seen, to be utterly above all created things, to be separate from

Holiness is the ‘otherness’ of God, that is, that He is not like us

Perhaps the clearest way His ‘otherness’ is expressed in holiness is in His absolute purity

When we come to the prophecy of Isa. 5 we will see how separate God is from us

We are openly sinful, call evil good, slaves to our lusts and desires

God is none of that

In fact, because of His holiness God is offended by our lack of holiness

He is Yahweh of Hosts

Isa. 5:7, 9, 16 - He is Yahweh of hosts

What does that mean? That God is the captain of the armies of Heaven

Often it is used as a comfort for the people of God

When God is on our side who can stand against us

No power of hell or scheme of man can overcome us

No matter what things look like God has the power to overwhelm all evil & He will

That is not how it is used here

Not used to comfort God’s people but to elicit fear

This is a title that expresses the almighty power of God

By being captain of the mighty armies of Heaven He stands as the sovereign ruler of every kingdom & every time

As Lord of the heavenly armies, who is the Holy One of Israel, He is the one who crushes every rebellion

Including the rebellion of those who claim His name but who reject His authority

He is Devoted to His People

(…of Israel; Yahweh)

He is the Holy One of Israel

Notice the title used isn’t just Holy One but Holy One of Israel

It deliberately connects His name and nature with a people He has chosen (choicest vine)

Exercise of His holiness through His sovereign might isn’t capricious, harshly vindictive or void of accountability

In fact, the song points out how deeply, personally invested in these people God is

You see in one sense of the word Israel is holy in that God separated them from all other nations to be His own

He brought them near, He cared for them, He didn’t abandon them

Rather they strayed away, they spurned His love and they abandoned Him

He is Yahweh

Though I described God as captain of Heavenly armies note that is not the word God uses here

He is captain but here something else supercedes the rank of captain or even Lord as in master

He is YAHWEH of Hosts

Why does that matter?

Yahweh is God’s personal name

Yahweh is God’s covenant name to Israel, name of promise

It is a reminder that though He must come against them He is personally committed to them

Though they have broken their promises to Him, He has not broken His promises to them

He is Loved by His People

(My Well-beloved)

A High View of God

Why have I spent time speaking about titles and names we’ve spoken about before?

1 of the great aspects of Isaiah is the high view of God that it gives us

Do not lose sight of that, let Isaiah lift your understanding of God higher and higher with each paragraph

God is holy, righteous, almighty, sovereign, just, pure and far more as we will see

He is not a person to be toyed with, mocked, disrespected, ignored, rejected or rebelled against

He is not a God that you can claim as your own but refuse to follow as He describes

He is not a God that will let you define Him in any way that pleases you

A Deep Love of God

Please notice how Isaiah speaks of God as the song begins

The God who is the Holy One of Israel, who is Yahweh of Hosts

This same God Isaiah calls ‘my Well-beloved’

How vastly different this name is, how personal, how gentle, how intimate

Isaiah has a high view of God, perhaps the highest, but this isn’t a contradiction or flaw in his understanding of God

Through Isaiah we learn that it is possible to know God’s holiness AND to adore Him in love and delight

Isaiah not only calls us to see God’s holiness but also God’s mercy, goodness, grace & kindness

Isaiah reveals God is just and reveals that God is saviour

In the coming together of these names we are reminded of the Shammah

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 NKJV

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

In Isaiah’s ‘Well-beloved’ we hear echoes of David

Psalm 116:1 NKJV

1 I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.

And Psalm 42:1“1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.”

We made mention in Isa 1 how personal these messages were to Isaiah

It is His love for God that helped him identify so closely with the message he must give

His love for God was reason He could feel anger and grief over Israel’s situation and plead with them to repent

To call God his Well-beloved is to say that He is acquainted with God

That is, that He knew God and God knew Him

This is the great place of the true child of God

The God who is above us, the just and sovereign ruler of all is not my dread but my desire

A Song of His Vineyard

Isaiah 5:2–7

The Wonderful Land

The Fertile Land

As you hear this song, picture it in your mind

Vineyard is on a very fruitful hill

Describes a piece of land that is naturally rich, full of nutrients

It is the perfect soil, perfectly located for a vineyard to thrive

Been fenced & painstakingly removed all the rocks & stones from the soil

Planted with purpose, care & great expectation

Purpose of Isa. 5:2 is to make the point that nothing was left undone

Whatever was needed for the vineyard to thrive was provided

Israel knew this was a picture of them

Psalm 80:8 NKJV

8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it.

God had chosen them, blessed them beyond measure

Given them every possible blessing and resource to thrive

Ultimately, they had a unique relationship with Him

The Fenced Vineyard

Land was fenced

That marked this field as being owned, this was God’s property

Fence protected it

Set the boundaries of God’s work

The Finest Vines

Land was cleared of anything that would hinder growth

Anything that would taint the sweetness of the grapes was cast out

God chose Himself what He would plant

No good thing was withheld

All the vineyard had to do was produce fruit for the master

A tower and winepress was built in the midst

These were permanent structures (unlike shack of Isa. 1:8)

The Worthless Fruit

Soured Grapes

After all the effort the fruit was worthless

He had every right to expect good fruit

Nothing was withheld so that the vineyard had every possibility to produce good fruit

The fruit is worthless - literally ‘stinking fruit’, ‘sour grapes’

The vineyard didn’t serve it’s purpose

Know we’re beginning to see why ‘Yahweh of Hosts’ is the comforting name in this context

Soured People

Jesus told us ‘by their fruits you shall know them’ (Matt. 7:20)

Israel’s fruit showed they were corrupted inside

In this state they couldn’t serve their purpose

They were unable to provide fruit for the Master

Often talk about our lives producing fruit - some expression of godliness or success

Mark of our true spirituality isn’t always seen in the presence of fruit but is most evidently seen in the quality of our fruit

Sour grapes is just another way of describing what Jesus says are whited tombs

Look good on the outside but inside is rotten

Spoiled Vineyard

Problem in our song isn’t a few bad grapes but a completely useless vineyard

So the question, what can you do with a vineyard that has been lavished watered with grace and yet produces stinking fruit?

Everything that could be done had been done, no expense was spared for the good of the vineyard

The only answer is to lay the vineyard to waste

Note again, this isn’t a passive destruction, just letting it crumble

He actively brings about it’s destruction

The Prophecy of Isaiah The Vineyard: A Total Work, a Total Loss

Fruitfulness and security belong together. If only the vineyard had been true to the beloved’s intention no hand could have touched it. The obedient are impregnable.

Conclusion

This song is written about a specific people - Israel

Destuction did come as God warns here

It’s almost as if the hope of Isa. 4 is dashed away in the darkness of Isa. 5.

Promises of the Kingdom are still true but in the reality of the present sin destroys hope

While this song is sung for Israel it can still be a parable for God’s people today

There is a warning in here to all who claim the name of Christ without truly knowing Christ

For those who appear to have fruit but really only produce sour grapes

How would I know? Do you delight in God and do you delight in obeying God’s Word?

I wonder what God finds in your life?

What goodness God has showered upon you? What advantageous position God has put your life in?

Would you say, truthfully, that the fruit of your life is fitting?