January 8, 2001
"I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard; 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 a winepress as well. - Isaiah 5:1-2a
"The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight." -Isaiah 5:26"
Isaiah 5 is another plea from the heart of God to his people Israel. The beginning is written as a love song which displays God's true heart for his people. In Isaiah he goes on to voice his disappointment that they haven't returned his love instead they have pursued others and as a result he will allow them to be disciplined. The nation will be taken into exile, God will allow this so that they will be humbled, their eyes opened and God exalted once again. As I read this it reminded me of two things I've read before that brought to mind the depth of God's love, especially as displayed through these hard actions. The first was when I read the Divine Romance (Gene Edwards) which is the bible story written very creatively.... when I reached the part in it where God destroys the world by flood it literally brought tears to my eyes because I understood for the first time how much love it took for God to do that. It wasn't harsh action that emanated from his frustration with mankind.. his heart was grieved, he was in pain and knew that it was the only solution to the sinful state of the world at the time and that it was painful for him because his love for his people was so great. To destroy his creation was, for him, a heartbreaking act of love. The second comes from a book called Dancing with Broken Bones (I think). It recounts that when a shepherd had a sheep that would continually wander from the flock and the shepherd could not train it any other way the final solution, as heartbreaking and painful as it was, he would break one of its legs. The shepherd would then keep the sheep in its arms and by its side. Because of that experience and training the sheep would never stray far from the shepherd. The first time I read each of these accounts they struck me as cruel however, over time and in reading God's word I have grown to understand the love that is behind those actions. It takes an enormous, unfathomable, amount of love to do the hard things.. it would seem to be easier to let people go when they are sinful and rebellious.. you have to love deeply to fight through that and do what is best.. God does that for us. I look at various points in my life and am so grateful for God's loving discipline.. in moments when I've sinned and even in his knowing when I need to go through a time of testing, that has nothing to do with sin in my life. It is because he loves me and he wants me to always walk faithfully by his side and never stray. I don't relish those times, I have no desire to relive them but.. I am very very grateful for them!