Song of the Vineyard
Let me sing a love song
about my friend’s vineyard:
My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
He dug it, cleared it of stones,
and planted the choicest vines.
Within it he built a watchtower
and hewed out a wine vat.
He expected a harvest of grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
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 had not done?
I expected it to yield grapes;
why did it yield wild grapes?
I will tell you what I will do
to my vineyard:
I will take down its hedge,
so animals can graze it.
I will break down its wall,
so it will be trampled!
I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed.
It will be overgrown
with briers and thorns.
I will command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
The vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel.
The people of Judah
are God’s planting.
God looked for justice
but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness
but heard a cry.
Isaiah 5.1-7
We can hear the rejected lover and the spurned parent speak in Isaiah’s words. God looks for peace; we are prone to violence. God expects community, justice, equality, and generous sharing of resources. We should be a people in whom the fruits of the Spirit are abundant — love, kindness, patience, humility, forgiveness.
The vineyard has an owner, who is deeply invested in its well-being and who can’t keep from singing a song to the beloved. This is a hidden blessing. If God did not care, God could simply walk away; it wouldn’t matter. Easy come, easy go.
If nothing counts against one, nothing counts. But actions and attitudes do count. God does care, and accountability is part of any relationship, especially a covenantal relationship. A covenant means hanging in there and reconciling and beginning again, and again, and again.
That is why Isaiah’s words belong in the genre of a love song. It is why in the gospel more is at stake than a grape harvest. God is investing in us as a people just as we invest our very lifeblood in our children and partners. These are the hardest jobs on the planet. They disappoint but promise new life.
We can learn faithfulness to those we love and to all we have planted from God’s faithfulness. We owe God gratitude and partnership in our world.
- Where do you invest despite disappointment?