S) "What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?"
Isaiah 5:4 (NASB)
*because there are already entries for each of these chapters, I also read Isaiah 5
O) God was giving an analogy to the house of Israel, that they were His vineyard and the men of Judah were His delightful plant, but they bore only bad fruit (see v.7). What this particular verse is pointing out, is that the LORD is blameless in their iniquities. He gave them everything they needed to be a fruitful vineyard for Him, but they did not. There was nothing more God could have done for them, to produce good fruit in them. This is a strong counterpoint to the idea that God's sovereignty means He controls who will be righteous and who will be wicked. Could God, in His sovereignty, simply create good fruit in this vineyard He had? After all, He is the God of creation. Yes, I suppose He could have, but that should not have been necessary. He had already given them, in grace, all they needed to be fruitful. Even still, their wicked choices, the evil that grew in their hearts without being pruned out of them, choked the good fruit that would have been theirs, if only they had lived according to God's ways and not their own. Had they subjected themselves to Him as a Sovereign King over them, then His provision and grace would have produced good fruit in their lives.
A) What more is there to do for me, God's branch, that He has not already done for me? Nothing! Jesus said that He is the Vine, and I am a branch. If I remain in Him, then I will bear good fruit. That is precisely what God expects from me. Now, it would be naïve of me to think God doesn't already know my shortcomings. He already knew every sin I would ever commit, before I submitted my life to Him. He knows every sin I have yet to commit. In that sense, His expectation does not work like my expectation. His expectation is not based on prediction, but on prescription alone. He knows all of the facts, and there is still a standard of obedience for any man who calls himself a child of God (even Jesus walked in submissive obedience to the Father). So, I can never resign myself to sin. There will never be an excuse. Sin will never be acceptable, in any form or amount. Instead, I must cling to the One who makes me thrive. I must remain in Christ, and He in me, that I may bear good fruit in His vineyard.
A) What more is there to do for me, God's branch, that He has not already done for me? Nothing! Jesus said that He is the Vine, and I am a branch. If I remain in Him, then I will bear good fruit. That is precisely what God expects from me. Now, it would be naïve of me to think God doesn't already know my shortcomings. He already knew every sin I would ever commit, before I submitted my life to Him. He knows every sin I have yet to commit. In that sense, His expectation does not work like my expectation. His expectation is not based on prediction, but on prescription alone. He knows all of the facts, and there is still a standard of obedience for any man who calls himself a child of God (even Jesus walked in submissive obedience to the Father). So, I can never resign myself to sin. There will never be an excuse. Sin will never be acceptable, in any form or amount. Instead, I must cling to the One who makes me thrive. I must remain in Christ, and He in me, that I may bear good fruit in His vineyard.
P) Father, You are holy and good. Your standard is perfection, and I know that I am an imperfect branch. But Lord, in Your perfect grace, You have grafted me onto the vibrant vine of Jesus Christ. In unity with Him, I will bear good fruit, and I will have healing that flows into the deepest parts of who I am. I know that I will not be perfect until I am perfected, but until that final day when I am standing in the perfect glory of Jesus, I pray that I am keeping close to Christ. I want to bear good fruit for You, Lord. I want You to come at the time of the harvest, and see that this branch has the fruit You expected. In Jesus's name I pray, amen.
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