Our Creator, our Provider, True God

Article for October 8, 2023

Isaiah 5:1–2 1Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.

We have a Creator, a Provider, one who cares about us, one who gives us gifts. When you look at the tapestry laid out for our needs and enjoyment how can you not be thankful. However, we look no further than our flesh and seek enjoyment where there is pain. We try and hide from that which is good as we pity ourselves into blindness and rest in our misery. We miss out on the beauty around us, the beauty within us and the beauty of each other. We miss out on the love of God and loving our God.

God chose first the Jew and then the Christian to love and to call His own. God is the one who provides the food we eat, the material for the clothes we wear, and the materials that we build our shelters to protect us from the elements of the weather. Yet we pat ourselves on the back, say we are the ones who labored, and throw God away and try to abandon His ways.

Do you know what it is to be a true God? I do not, but then I don’t want to be a god or God. The responsibility is too great for our flesh, and it is our flesh that will make us nothing more than lousy god want a bee’s. When we are given everything, we hate it, and when we have something, we want more. The flesh is never satisfied. Maybe it’s time to stop living in the flesh and instead, live in the spirit. God pleases the spirit.

Isaiah 5:3–4 3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

The world is full of wild grapes and if you have ever made wine, you know that wild grapes will sour the wine. One who is careful in planting, fertilizing, and caring for the crop they hope to grow, one would expect to have a crop yielding good fruit. God gives us everything, but we all become wild grapes.

The world is full of weeds, thorns, and thistles, and all these either choke the crop or spoil the fruit. We look at what others have, and we covet what we think is good for us. We make choices based on our desires for the flesh and wonder why our spirit is starving.

Isaiah 5:5–6 5And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

We turn our back on God, and though He works to keep us as His children, sooner or later God will grow tired of our sins and leave us to die. Remember, God works for our salvation. Unfortunately, and in ignorance, we work for our destruction. Should we ignore God and what He has given us, or should we hang on to our savior who gives and even died for us?

Why do we yield wild grapes? Because we think we are better than God, we believe we can make our own choices, and we are a stubborn brood of people. But we are sheep, and when there is no shepherd, we go off wandering into briars, pits, and drowning holes. We need a shepherd; we need our shepherd’s laws or we will be choked in our own chaos and die.

Isaiah 5:7 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!

Yes, we cry out for salvation, we grieve for our losses, and we plead to God to save us. But we also forget, God heard our cries before they left our lips or entered in our minds. God has answered our plea for mercy and gives us grace as well. You do not hear because you do not listen to His words.

How many times do we need to hear of our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ? How many times do we need to hear of Christ’s immeasurable suffering for everyone’s sins. How many times do we need to hear of the great humility our Lord and Savior suffered willingly for our sake. How many times do we need to hear how Jesus died on that criminal’s cross taking the punishment for our crimes.

How many times do we need to hear that Jesus was put into a grave that could not hold Him. And how many times do we need to hear about Christ’s glorious resurrection, that brought life eternal to light for all who believe? I pray that God will help us hear the good news, Jesus Christ, every day, and that we might praise, thank, and give the glory to our Father in heaven, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the comforter the Holy Spirit each time we hear the Good News. Amen.

Written by Pastor Curtis A. May