NL 211: Isaiah: The Vineyard and Jesse's Shoot

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Isaiah 5:1-7

Initial Thoughts

  • Isaiah, a man, using masculine pronouns to describe “my beloved.” In Song of Solomon, the vineyard is used as a metaphor for a place for lovers. Is there an LGBT reading of this text?

Bible Study

  • “This Parable of the Vineyard would become and early warrant for reading the Songs of Songs as an allegory of the love between God and Israel. The lover here is clearly God, and the vineyard over which the love labors is the people of Israel. In the Song of Songs, the body of the beloved is represented metaphorically as a vineyard.” (Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, v. 2 p. 635)

  • ”…. On a hillside rich in soil. The translation of this phrase… is conjectural. The literal sense of the Hebrew word is “in a corner [or beam of light] son of oil.” The conjectured translation builds on the association of oil with fruitfulness and assumes that the word for ‘corner’ might be a plot of land.” (Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, v. 2 p. 635)

  • Form suggested by Uniting Church of Australia

    • vv.1-2 = setting: a song of his friend's love for a vineyard [v.1]; his friend's preparation and yet failure of the grapes [v.2] 

    • vv.3-4 = speaker now changes to Yahweh who in the first person who appeals to the people of Judah and Jerusalem for their verdict. These verses contain two rhetorical questions

      • What else could I have done?

      • Why did it fail?

    • vv.5-6 = the owner, Yahweh, will take action, remove its protection so the vineyard becomes vulnerable, and further to these actions the owner will destroy it by refusing to care and furthermore, instructs nature not to give rain.

    • V.7 = the prophet's interpretation of vv.1-6, makes it specific to Israel and Judah and names two requirements, justice and righteousness, as essential embodiments of the people of Yahweh. 

  • Song of disappointment. 

    • “There can be little doubt that the main message of Isa. ν 1-7 deals with God's frustrated expectations concerning Judah. The divine frustration is thrice repeated in the passage, twice metaphorically (vv. 2c, 4b) and then more plainly in the final climactic line (v. 7b)” (Gary Roye Williams, Vetus Testamentum ATLAS database)

    • Failed expectations

      • “In Isaiah 5:1-7, however, the tone is judgment. The owner of the vineyard made every possible preparation for a fruitful harvest -- picking a good site, preparing the land, choosing the best plants, arranging for protection and for processing the grapes. But what he got was "wild grapes," or more literally, "stinking things" (verses 2, 4). The portrayal of God here is significant. In particular, what God "expected" or "hoped for" does not happen; in short, God does not guarantee the results.” (Clint McCann, Working Preacher)

  • John Wesley Sermon 107

    • According to Wesley Study Bible notes on this passage, “This verse… was a favorite of John Wesley. He referred to this verse fourteen times in his preaching between 1748 and 1788, and it was the text and central focus of Sermon 107, written in 1787. In his earlier uses of this verse Wesley wrote of the nation as the recipient of God’s care and blessing only to have God’s grace returned by corruption, violence, and exploitation (“wild grapes”) What is unusual about Sermon 107 is that Wesley now applies this parable of bitter disappointment to his own Methodist movement. He speaks of the great promise he saw in the people called Methodists and understood this promise as an abundance of God’s care and grace, but its last section is  a bitter lament reflecting Wesley’s own disappointments in the state of the Methodist movement. He accuses the Methodists of returning God’s care with harvest of wild grapes: ingratitude, lack of discipline, self-advancement, and lack of attention to the poor.” (page 819-820, notes on Isaiah 5:1-7 in The Wesley Study Bible, published by Abindgon Press)

    • For Wesley, the antidote to wild grapes is community: 

      • “Was not another cause of it your despising that excellent help, union with a Christian society? Have you not read, "How can one be warm alone?" and, "Woe be unto him that is alone when he falleth?" But you have companions enough. Perhaps more than enough; more than are helpful to your soul. But have you enough that are athirst for God, and that labour to make you so? Have you companions enough that watch over your soul, as they that must give account; and that freely and faithfully warn you, if you take any false step, or are in danger of doing so? I fear you have few of these companions, or else you would bring forth better fruit!” (Sermon 107)

Thoughts and Questions

  • In times of disappointment and failure the questions God asks are poignant, and relatable

    • What else could I have done?

    • Why did it fail?

    • These are questions people ask of themselves often. These questions can be useful for analyzing a situation/system, but they can also lead to dwelling in the past and unjustly ‘beating oneself up.’

  • Another example of God being disappointed. If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, how can God be disappointed? If all things go according to God’s will, how can God be disappointed? This may not be the crux of the story, but it is an important time to chip away at the traditional view of omnipotence that is a troubling - and well-entrenched - concept.

  • This is a powerful piece, but read the rest of the chapter to get the details of what is wrong. 

    • “The details of the oppressive conditions are evident as chapter 5 unfolds -- joining "house to house" and adding "field to field" (verse 8), thus displacing poor farmers from their land (and only source of livelihood), and resulting in both homelessness and hunger (verse 13). Excess, greed, and conspicuous consumption (see also verses 11-12, 22) are apparently supported by corruption and manipulation of the legal system (verse 23). The deplorable situation results, according to Isaiah 5, from the rejection of God's "instruction" and "word" (verse 24; see 1:10 and last week's essay). Although the poor are directly victimized, everyone eventually stands to lose (verse 15) when justice and righteousness (see verse 16) are not enacted and embodied.” (Clint McCann, Working Preacher)

Isaiah 11:1-5

Initial Thoughts

  • Stump in our backyard that kept growing back. Stubborn - eventually had to dig it out.

  • Shorter than the usual reading which continues through verse 11

  • Typically an advent reading

Bible Study

  • Stump vs Spirit (W. Brueggemann in Texts for Preaching, Year A)

    • Current state of Israel (line of Jesse) is a stump. It is a tree that has been cut off (as opposed to the tree planted by the water, like Psalm 1). 

    • A stump is a symbol of death - there once was life, but no more. Nothing new.

    • But a stump has roots. From the roots will come something new.

    • The Spirit will give life to the new thing.

      • Justice, Righteousness, Fear of the Lord.

  • Transformation (especially if you keep reading through verse 10)

    • Powerful treat the powerless as if they matter.

    • The weapon yielded will come from the mouth and lips - words, not swords..

    • Instead of wearing sword and spear, he will wear righteousness and faithfulness (armor of God)

    • Relationships marked by violence will instead be marked by peace

      • Wolf and lamb.

      • Leopard and young goat.

      • Calf and lion.

      • Cow and Bear.

      • Children and serpents.

      • Leadership by child

      • Earth filled with knowledge of the Lord.

      • Creates a world people are attracted to, not kept out of.

  • All creation transformed.

    • “In our own time, we are learning… that human acts of injustice wreak havoc on the created order. Conversely, acts of human justice permit creation to function in a healthy, fruitful way. Thus the newness envisioned for creation follows properly from the newness of human justice.” (Brueggemann, Texts for Preaching, p. 12)

    • Restoration of vision in Genesis 1:29-30. Human action has derailed the created order. 

    • Leadership by a child - perhaps speaking of a particular person. More likely describing “the birth of a new innocence in which trust, gentleness, and friendship are possible and appropriate. The world will be ordered, so that the fragile and vulnerable can have their say and live their lives.” (Brueggemann, p. 12)

  • What leads to this transformation? What is the nature of the Spirit of the Lord?

    • Wisdom and understanding

    • Planning and strength

    • Knowledge and fear of the Lord

    • Sound leadership leads to good results.

    • Sound leadership is marked by faithfulness and awe of God.

Thoughts and Questions

  • “Advent is our decision to trust the new wind against the hopeless stump of what has failed,” (Brueggemann, Texts for Preaching, p. 12). The wind is the turning point of this passage. The Spirit gives life and opens up new possibilities. Advent is a chance to be opened to the Spirit, and allow new things grow - from the roots that are already there. 

  • The vision that Isaiah presents is a nation that acts as a beacon to people. People will seek out this new reality and be drawn to it. How are people drawn to God now? For what are people yearning? Is it more division and enemies, or can we create something that unites? To be frank, in this season I have not wanted to preach wisdom and understanding. I have wanted to be angry and scream and blame and name names and call out injustice. That would make me feel better, but is that going to create something new?

Year 2Eric FistlerIsaiahComment