Fruit can be bitter, even if the farmer has worked hard

My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
Isaiah 5:1b-2

An NBA player drafted in 1984 managed to average 10.9 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game, and also managed to shoot 30% from three point land. For those who aren’t big NBA fans, those numbers won’t get you into the hall of fame, but they’re adequate, unless you happen to be this particular NBA player, by the name of Sam Bowie. He’s widely spoken of as “the worst draft pick in the history of the NBA”.

Expectations are odd things. Sam Bowie was crushed by the weight of expectations. Ability and statistics that would normally make him an average NBA player are instead seen as evidence of being one of the worst ever.

All because of the expectation that he’d be better than Michael Jordan.

God has some expectations for his vineyard to. He’s planted it in fertile soil, removed all the stones in the soil, planted only the best vines, and made a winepress to process the grapes that would soon grow. Sadly, instead of sweet, delicious grapes that could be made into wine, all God has gotten back are bitter grapes, which is good for nothing.

God’s vineyard is Israel. He has worked on them hard, given them the best of everything and instead of having a faithful people who worship him and obey his laws he has people who don’t give a crap what God thinks.

The same situation can still exist today. If you are a part of the church then God has given everything for you. The ground was prepared for you, you were sown, and planted with the cross. The anger of God was poured out on Christ to cause you to grow. And the expectation is that you will grow and produce lovely, large, sweet fruit.


Posted in Devotion, Major Prophets by Tim Reed on August 20th, 2007

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