In that day sing ye unto her, a vineyard
of red wine. I the Lord do keep it; I will
water it every moment: lest any hurt it,
I will keep it night and day.
Isaiah 27:2-3
Over the past several weeks, I have begun my own verse by verse study of the Old Testament book of Isaiah the prophet...
of red wine. I the Lord do keep it; I will
water it every moment: lest any hurt it,
I will keep it night and day.
Isaiah 27:2-3
Over the past several weeks, I have begun my own verse by verse study of the Old Testament book of Isaiah the prophet...
I love reading from Isaiah because there are many wonderful nuggets of inspiration in it that, regrettably, few know about.
Of course, there are portions of Isaiah that are extremely popular with Christians, and these passages are often shared from the pulpits of churches. Yet there are, for whatever reasons, lesser known passages which are just as inspirational, but are mostly overlooked. So the latter is what I've been focusing on.
Like the above verses from the 27th chapter, for instance - here the Lord, at the time this was written some seven hundred years before Christ's appearance on earth, is obviously speaking about Israel. However, there is a clear application for the church, as well, although, of course, the church and Israel are two separate and distinct entities. And while the church by no means supplants the Jews as God's chosen people, the Lord is faithful to keep both groups as the apple of His eye.
You see, it's like this - there are Jewish people, who are presently scattered throughout the entire world, who are the physical seeds of Abraham. Then there are those from both Jews and Gentiles, who, having placed their faith in Jesus as their Messiah, have been made the spiritual seeds of Abraham. And these 'spiritual seeds,' by virtue of what the New Testament refers to as the "new birth," are now and always will be a part of God's eternal plan for the ages.
Thus, whatever a person, be he Jew or Gentile, places his faith in Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew), he becomes a "planting" in the Lord's vineyard. And this is a spiritual vineyard. It is not an actual piece of land. In addition, by believing in Jesus as Savior, and as the One who died for his sins, he has also entered into a personal relationship with God the Father, and with Jesus Himself, who is both Lord and Christ (Messiah).
Furthermore, he has become an adopted son of God. He has forever become a member of God's family, with the Lord Jesus having the role of caretaker of this vineyard of God's people. And in Christ's capacity as caretaker, He watches over this special planting of believers, even singing songs of love to us. Likewise, the Lord protects His vineyard from harm, and He helps each one of us to grow and mature.
Moreover, the "red wine," as mentioned in these verses from Isaiah, I believe is representative of the Holy Spirit who indwells everyone one of God's children as He, the Holy Spirit, provides us with the sweet joy of knowing our sins are completely forgiven, and of knowing the Lord Jesus intimately.
Messiah Jesus, as the caretaker of the vineyard, also provides His planting with living water, which helps to keep us nourished. And He feeds us with the Word of God, too. Thus, in these two verses from the twenty-seventh chapter of Isaiah, we have God's love for both Israel and the church revealed. And Isaiah has many more nuggets of spiritual knowledge as well, but we must open the book and dig them out. It's worth the effort.
D.B.
Of course, there are portions of Isaiah that are extremely popular with Christians, and these passages are often shared from the pulpits of churches. Yet there are, for whatever reasons, lesser known passages which are just as inspirational, but are mostly overlooked. So the latter is what I've been focusing on.
Like the above verses from the 27th chapter, for instance - here the Lord, at the time this was written some seven hundred years before Christ's appearance on earth, is obviously speaking about Israel. However, there is a clear application for the church, as well, although, of course, the church and Israel are two separate and distinct entities. And while the church by no means supplants the Jews as God's chosen people, the Lord is faithful to keep both groups as the apple of His eye.
You see, it's like this - there are Jewish people, who are presently scattered throughout the entire world, who are the physical seeds of Abraham. Then there are those from both Jews and Gentiles, who, having placed their faith in Jesus as their Messiah, have been made the spiritual seeds of Abraham. And these 'spiritual seeds,' by virtue of what the New Testament refers to as the "new birth," are now and always will be a part of God's eternal plan for the ages.
Thus, whatever a person, be he Jew or Gentile, places his faith in Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew), he becomes a "planting" in the Lord's vineyard. And this is a spiritual vineyard. It is not an actual piece of land. In addition, by believing in Jesus as Savior, and as the One who died for his sins, he has also entered into a personal relationship with God the Father, and with Jesus Himself, who is both Lord and Christ (Messiah).
Furthermore, he has become an adopted son of God. He has forever become a member of God's family, with the Lord Jesus having the role of caretaker of this vineyard of God's people. And in Christ's capacity as caretaker, He watches over this special planting of believers, even singing songs of love to us. Likewise, the Lord protects His vineyard from harm, and He helps each one of us to grow and mature.
Moreover, the "red wine," as mentioned in these verses from Isaiah, I believe is representative of the Holy Spirit who indwells everyone one of God's children as He, the Holy Spirit, provides us with the sweet joy of knowing our sins are completely forgiven, and of knowing the Lord Jesus intimately.
Messiah Jesus, as the caretaker of the vineyard, also provides His planting with living water, which helps to keep us nourished. And He feeds us with the Word of God, too. Thus, in these two verses from the twenty-seventh chapter of Isaiah, we have God's love for both Israel and the church revealed. And Isaiah has many more nuggets of spiritual knowledge as well, but we must open the book and dig them out. It's worth the effort.
D.B.
