Ominous Love Song (Isa. 5:1–7)
Read the song in the above verses. What is the meaning of this parable?
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God explains the meaning of the parable only at the end, in Isaiah
5:7. By using a parable, He helps the people to look at themselves
objectively in order to admit their true condition. God effectively used
this approach with King David (see 2 Sam. 12:1–13). By calling this
a “love-song” (NRSV), God reveals at the outset His motive toward
His people. His relationship with them originates from His character,
which is love (1 John 4:8). He expects a response of love in return. But
instead of “grapes,” He gets “wild grapes,” which means, in the Hebrew, “stinking things.”
What does the Lord mean when He says in Isaiah 5:4, “What more
was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?” (NRSV).
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God says in the next verses: “And 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. I will make it a
waste” (Isa. 5:5, 6, NRSV).
When we sin, God does not immediately cut us off from Himself by
removing His protection and destroying us. He patiently gives us an opportunity
to receive forgiveness (see 2 Pet. 3:9). He does not cut off anyone
who responds to Him. He appeals as long as there is hope for a response.
He does not immediately take no for an answer, because He knows we
are ignorant and deceived by sin. But if He gets nowhere with us, He
ultimately acknowledges our choice and lets us remain the way we have
chosen to be (see Rev. 22:11).
If we persistently reject God’s appeals through His Spirit, we can
eventually pass the point of no return (Matt. 12:31, 32). Turning away
from Christ is dangerous (Heb. 6:4–6). There is only so much God can
do, because He respects our free choice.
Take the concept found in Isaiah 5:4, about “What more could
have been done to My vineyard” (NKJV), and look at that in light
of the Cross, where God offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins,
paying with His flesh for our violation of His law. What more could
have been done for us than what He did there? How does dwelling
on the Cross give us assurance of salvation and motivate us to
repent and change our ways?