Lesson 349 - Senior
Memory Verse
"They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth" (Isaiah 2:19).
Cross References
I The Lord's Vineyard
1. The Lord's vineyard was planted on a fruitful hill and nourished with loving care, [ISA:5:1-2]; [PS:80:8-9], [PS:80:15].
2. The Lord waited for fruit, but the vineyard brought forth wild grapes, [ISA:5:3-4]; [JER:2:21].
3. The Lord decreed that the vineyard should be wasted, [ISA:5:5-6]; [PS:80:12-13].
4. This vineyard of the Lord was the house of Israel, and Judah was the pleasant plant, [ISA:5:7].
II Desolation of the Wicked
1. Woe and destitution were pronounced against covetousness, [ISA:5:8-10]; [EXO:20:17]; [HAB:2:9]; [LUK:12:15]; [COL:3:5].
2. Drunkenness came up for a reckoning before God, [ISA:5:11-13], [ISA:5:22-23]; [LEV:10:9]; [PRO:20:1]; [PRO:23:29-31]; [LUK:21:34]; [ROM:13:13].
3. Hell hath enlarge herself to receive the wicked, [ISA:5:14].
4. Evil workers and proud men came into judgment, [ISA:5:15], [ISA:5:17-21]; [PRO:16:18]; [PRO:21:4]; [LUK:1:52]; [1JN:2:16]; [MAL:4:1].
III God's Judgments
1. The Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, [ISA:5:16]; [REV:20:11-15].
2. God had ample cause for which to judge the Children of Israel, [ISA:5:24-25].
3. God used the nations from afar as instruments of judgment, [ISA:5:26-30].
Notes
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" [DEU:30:19]). The Lord addressed this message to the Children of Israel; but, because Jesus, the Lamb, was "slain from the foundation of the world," this includes the people of the whole world. The way into Heaven is open unto all. As the Children of Israel were required to make an individual choice whether to serve God or not to serve Him, so each individual must decide for himself whether he chooses eternal life or eternal death. The man who wants to live throughout eternity in God's Heaven must seek God's salvation and live according to God's Word while on earth. Each man thus becomes the architect of his own eternal destiny.
The Lord's Vineyard
"Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill" [ISA:5:1]). The very fruitful hill was none other than Canaan, the Promised Land given to the Israelite slaves whom God had freed from the cruel iron yoke of the Egyptians. The stones, the heathen idolatrous tribes in Canaan before the Children of Israel came, were certainly removed through the power of God as the Children of Israel took up their possession. Any of the heathen who remained in the land that God gave to Israel were there because the Children of Israel failed in their part to do and keep the whole of God's commandments.
The Lord fenced His vineyards with Truth, to keep the heathen nations from overrunning His tender plantings. "It shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: . . . The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee on way, and flee before thee seven ways" [DEU:28:1], [DEU:28:7]).
A tower was built in the midst of the Lord's vineyard. The towers of those early days were built as a place of safety in time of war or danger. They were built high so that a watchman placed on the tower's summit might see enemies approaching. The towers were built strong and secure to ward off the attacks of the enemy when he tried to overcome the owner of the vineyard. The city of Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord became a place of great safety to the Children of Israel, especially during the times when they served the Lord with all their heart, soul, and strength. (Read [ISA:37:14-23], [ISA:37:33-36]).
The Lord told the house of Israel that they were His vineyard " that the men of Judah were God's pleasant plant. The Lord had a right to expect a fruitful harvest from His endeavours, and had the Children of Israel served God faithfully such a harvest would have been forthcoming. "Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age" [PS:93:13-14]). There was nothing wrong with God's planting. "I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed."
Song of Judgment
"How then art thou turned into a degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?" [JER:2:21]). Isaiah's song of judgment pointed out the fact that the Lord had done everything possible to make His vineyard a fruitful one; but when he sought the harvest, He found that the vineyard had brought forth only wild grapes. The Children of Israel, as a whole, refused to serve God. Seemingly they preferred to trifle with sin and idolatry, only to face a justly angry God in judgment. The Children of Israel knew that Heaven awaited those who faithfully serve God on earth, and they likewise knew that hell was the unavoidable end of an unfaithful, sinful life; yet most of the Israelites chose to continue in sin. Can anyone imagine a more unwise choice?
What was to be done to the unfruitful vineyard? The Lord foretold that the protective hedge would be removed, and the vineyard would be eaten " the wall would be broken down, and the vineyard trampled. The blessings of the Lord were removed from the nation of Israel and they were soon scattered to the four corners of the earth. The Lord withheld the rains from the land, and soon the beautiful countryside became a parched wilderness. The pleasant plant of the Lord's fruitful hill became an exceedingly dry tree; and, were it not for the Lord's mercy and covenant, the Children of Israel would have become extinct. Through the prophet, God mentioned a few of the sins of which the Children of Israel were guilty, and even the most severe critic would have to admit that God had a reason for executing His severe judgments against this ungodly people.
Changing Scenes
The word picture that the prophet at this time gave of the Children of Israel is a very grim description to read or hear. Would God that this one judgment of sin had been sufficient to warn all sinners to flee from the wrath of the Almighty and turn to sincerely serve the true and living God.
Change the title of the picture from the Israelites to Gentiles, and today's scene would be very much the same. Under the Dispensation of Grace, the Spirit of God has been directed largely to the Gentiles. The Lord has made every provision for the salvation of all men, but God has made man a free moral agent, giving him the responsibility of choosing between eternal life and eternal death. God has done everything within His power to bring the children of men to repentance; but on the whole they are still rejecting His call of mercy. The judgments that the Lord spoke against rebellious Israel will come upon the Gentiles who fail to repent of sin and receive the grace of God into their hearts.
Selfishness
The Lord pronounced a woe upon the covetous men of Israel, but the judgment of Israel's sin did not eradicate the sin from the world. Men are still covetous, and God is just as much grieved with this sin as ever. Jesus told His audience: "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" [LUK:12:15]). The world so often measures success merely by worldly possessions and achievement, but God measures the success of a man by spiritual possessions and attainments. There is a vast difference.
Another sin of selfishness that the Lord condemns today, as well as in Israel's day, is the sin of drunkenness. Statistics show that billions of Naira a year is spent on alcoholic beverages, by people who, in the main part, can ill afford such profitless, damaging indulgence. Families, little children, go without food and the necessities of life because the father or mother or both spend the family income on liquor and debauchery. There are millions identified alcoholics in Nigeria. Millions more are social drinkers whose judgment, impaired by liquor, causes accidents resulting in death to hundreds on our highways. The Word of God, which never fails, declares the fate of drunkards: "Murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" [GAL:5:21]).
Enlargement of Hell
So great is the wickedness of man, and so widespread, that God spoke to the prophet: "Hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pump, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it" [ISA:5:14]). Hell was not originally designed for man, but it was prepared "for the devil and his angels" (Mathew 25:41). It has been said, however, that the man who insists upon living like the devil lives will have to be content with the wages which the devil pays. "The wages of sin is death" [ROM:6:23]). "The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" [REV:21:8]).
The counterpart of Israel's sins can plainly be seen among men today. Just as surely as God judged Israel's sins, He will judge the sins in the heart and life of every sinful Gentile. "Thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God" [AMO:4:12]). Again the Lord is saying to all: "Choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" [DEU:30:19]).
Questions
1. Who was the Lord's vineyard?
2. In what way did the Lord protect His vineyard?
3. What corresponded to the tower that the prophet described?
4. What did the Lord find when He looked for fruit in His vineyard?
5. What happened to the Lord's vineyard? Why?
6. In what way was Israel's covetousness punished?
7. What does the Lord say about drunkenness?
8. Why has hell enlarged herself?