5 Let me sing now for my well-beloved
A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.
My well-beloved had a vineyard on [a]a fertile hill.
2 He dug it all around, removed its stones,
And planted it with [b]the choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it
And also hewed out a [c]wine vat in it;
Then He expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only [d]worthless ones.3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My vineyard.
4 “What more was there to do for My vineyard [e]that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce [f]worthless ones?
5 “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.
6 “I will lay it waste;
It will not be pruned or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel
And the men of Judah His delightful plant.
Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
This passage reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the vine (John 15), but with a bit of a twist. Here, as we get to the end (v. 7), the vineyard is the whole of Israel, and the vine (one of them at least) is Judah. God planted them in fertile soil and removed all the rocks. He even put in a tower so He could keep an eye on it, and remove any pests (foxes and the like).
The vinedresser was so sure, that He went ahead and put in a wine vat in it, only to get worthless grapes. Perhaps Jesus was even referencing this passage, as he often referenced the law and the prophets, when he said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” Interestingly, he was of the house of Judah, which was the vine in this passage.
So we have a contrast in vines, one produces bad grapes, one “bears much fruit”, though not of itself. Though He was the vine, Jesus said, “you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit…” The key to the whole thing is then, “for apart from Me you can do nothing.” So once more, just as we saw in previous chapters, when Israel relied on their own strength and wisdom, they got worthless fruit.
This would be a sad passage indeed if we didn’t have the answer in Jesus, “abide in My love” and “…keep My commandments…” And what was His commandment? “That you love one another, just as I have loved you.” Seems simple enough, but it is not the easiest task, but it is the one for which He has called us. It is what God called Israel to do, and instead, “He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.
Funny how some think of righteousness as just abstaining from sin. Yet God equates it with showing love to others, in taking on the plight of the oppressed. It isn’t enough to go live on a hill all by yourself, you need other people to follow God’s commands. And especially, you need someone who needs His love, just as you needed it. Stay connected to the vine, and let His love course through your veins and pour out on those around you. That is the call of the vinedresser, and our true purpose in life.