Isaiah 5:1-7 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 5:1-7 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 5Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. Verse 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; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. Verse 3And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. Verse 4What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? Verse 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. Verse 6I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. Verse 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!
Devotion
A new report says things are looking up for Minnesota's organic farmers. The annual report on organic farm performance said 2010 was "a good year for these farms. Profits improved." Balance sheets were, on average, very sound as they headed into 2011. However, in today's passage, Isaiah's vineyard receives everything it needs to thrive and still suffers from low yields. Production problems, cost increases and variable prices guarantee major pruning this year. One has to wonder, "Was all the vineyard owner's hard work for nothing?"
Certainly there will always be disappointment. Families fighting, friends who turn on you, world hunger, political gridlock, endless wars, financial insecurities. We are wild grapes! But we are wild grapes constantly being pruned by our powerful creator, our gentle comforter, our vineyard owner, whose hard work is never done in vain. Because of this, our balance sheets are very sound. And always will be.
Prayer
Prune away, O Lord! Amen.