God's Messianic Vineyard - the Coming of the True Vine

...

Isaiah also establishes that the vineyard and the grapes and vines it produces are synonymous (Isaiah 5:3). The vineyard serves as the place of production for the fruit, which grows on the individual vines in the vineyard. Linking the vineyard with the grape and the individual vines is also found in other places in scripture. Deuteronomy 24:21 discusses the "grapes of thy vineyard," suggesting that the grapes as output and the vineyard should be considered together. In both Solomon 2:15 and Jeremiah 31:5, the concept of vines is used synonymously with vineyard, suggesting that the metaphors involving vines have the same meaning as those involving vineyards.

The terms used for grape also has special significance in the parable of the vineyard. Israel was a land filled with vineyards during the time of Isaiah, so it is very likely the Israelites would have understood the various nuances and word usages for describing grapes.[4] The Hebrew term beushim (H890) means a wild grape. The term actually means a stinking grape, which presumably means that the wild grapes have an offensive odor that makes them unsuitable for use in wine production.[5] Isaiah 5:2 uses this term to refer to the poor grapes produce by the vineyard despite the efforts of the Lord. Another Hebrew term for grape is enab (H6025), which is also used in Isaiah 5:2. This term refers to the ripe or mature grapes of the vine that are suitable for wine. These are the only grapes that are suitable for the harvest intended by the Lord. The use of the two different terms for grapes supports the possibility that some of the grapes in the vineyard will adopt the undesirable characteristics of the wild grape and will be unsuitable for the harvest.

The term enab can also mean firstripe (H1061), or the grapes that ripen the soonest and are assumed to be the sweetest. The concept of firstripe appears several times in scriptures such as Numbers 13:20; 18:13 and Exodus 23:16 and refers to the first harvest. Isaiah's use of the term enab when discussing the worthy grapes creates an indirect but interesting possible reference to Adam and Eve. They were essentially the firstripe harvest in the original garden that the Lord had prepared in Eden. This further establishes an analogous connection between Isaiah's vineyard and the Garden of Eden. As in the original garden, however, the choices of humans corrupted the vineyard and rendered the fruit worthless.

CONDITION OF THE VINEYARD: THE VINE IS CORRUPTED

The initial condition of the vineyard described in Isaiah 5:1-7 is perfect for "What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it (vs. 4)? Although the identity of the caretaker of the vineyard is not immediately apparent and referred to only as the beloved, the identity of the caretaker is eventually revealed as the Lord. The Lord, the well-beloved of Isaiah planted the vineyard on a fertile hill after cultivating the soil and removing the stones. The creation of the vineyard is similar to the creation of the Garden of Eden, which was a perfect place intended to produce fruit worthy of God. In the parable of the sowing of seeds, Jesus noted that the seeds that fell on fertile ground would prosper while the seeds that fell on poor soil would wither and the seeds that fell among the thorns would be choked (Matt. 13:7-8). To ensure that the vineyard would be fertile, the Lord removed the stones to enable the vines to grow without harm. In the parable of the landowner, Jesus noted that anyone who fell upon a stone in the vineyard would be broken to pieces (Matt. 31:44). This suggests that stones are a metaphor for the temptations that can lead people away from proper or desirable spiritual growth by following the laws of God. The imagery also suggests that the caretaker of the vineyard, the Lord, so loves the vines that he takes every possible measure to ensure that they would thrive and prosper.[6]

Isaiah (5:2) also indicated that the vineyard contained only the choicest vines. Israel and specifically Judah represents the choice vine that was planted in the vineyard and expected to bear fruit (Isaiah 5:3). The Nation of Israel represents the choicest vine and is related to the messianic prophecy implicit in the parable of the vineyard. The choice vine failed to bear fruit because sin had entered the world through the sin of Adam and Eve in violating God's command and eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge (Rom. 3:23; 5:12). While the contemporaries of Isaiah were likely to view the concept of the choicest vine as a reference to the people of Israel, Isaiah may have been referring to Jesus as the real fruit of the vineyard. Because of sin, no man could hope to grow in the vineyard. But through Jesus, all believers would be able to bear fruit that is pleasing to God as long as they maintained their faith in Jesus. In effect, Isaiah's parable of the vineyard gains greater meaning as a prophecy when it is viewed in light of Jesus statement: " I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

The tower described in the center of the vineyard provides security because it is a place where the guardian of the vineyard can keep watch. It is also the place where the vine vat is located, which is hewn out of the towers. The tower is intended to be a source of life for the vineyard with the possible correlation to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden and a Messianic linkage to Jesus. From this perspective, the vineyard described by Isaiah stands in the middle of the story of salvation connecting the past that revealed the sinful nature of humans with a future that offered a promise of redemption through the sacrifice of Christ.

This perfect vineyard created by God, however, has fallen into a state of corruption because of the sins of His people. "Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress" (Isaiah 5:7). The people, or the vines, had become tainted and corrupt. As a result, the output of the vineyard was worthless. In the parable of the vineyard, the question of whether the problem lies with the tender of the vineyard or the nature of the vineyard is posed to the people of Jerusalem, with the evidence obvious as to who is at fault. Because God as tender of the vineyard could do no more to produce a quality crop, the problem must be with the nature of the vine.[7]

The situation in Isaiah's vineyard was quite similar to the situation that developed in the Garden of Eden. God had placed Adam in the garden to watch over God's special place (Gen. 2:16-17). Adam, however, sinned by disobeying God's commands, forfeiting his