Today's Scripture Reading (May 21, 2026): Isaiah 27
Isaiah has
already written a song about a Vineyard in Isaiah 5. But this vineyard was not
a good one. The owner had done everything the vineyard owner needed to do. The
vineyard was planted on a fertile hillside. The rocks were cleared, and the
field was planted with only the best vines. (Personal Note: Did you know a
field grows rocks? I didn't until I was hired to pick rocks as a teen. And the
next year, I was hired to clear the same field of rocks. Who knew that fields
grow rocks?) Yet, when it came to getting fruit from the vineyard, the only
fruit the vineyard produced was rotten and worthless.
In that "Song
of the Vineyard," Isaiah invites the listener to judge between the
vineyard and its owner. What would you do if you were the owner of the
vineyard? Isaiah concludes that the only option is to destroy the vineyard.
Now I
will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it (Isaiah 5:5-6).
Here, Isaiah is speaking of a different vineyard. This time,
the vineyard takes root, and the vines bud and blossom. And rather than being
overwhelmed with briers and thorns, the vines fill the world with their fruit.
Experts admit that Isaiah here is speaking of the day of the Messiah. It is
this day we still wait for.
The Messiah has come, and the fruit of the vineyard has
spread throughout the world. We aren't perfect. Sometimes, I think that we are
moving in the wrong direction, but Isaiah's words are still in force. Briers
and thorns still infest the church, but if we trust the Vineyard Owner, those
can be dealt with. And the joy and love of God can infect all the Earth, and in
that day, I believe this world will be a much better place.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 28
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