Rsbc 5/23/99
Sunday Night
The Book of Isaiah
Subject- “ What Could Have Been Done More To My Vineyard”
Text- Isaiah 5-1-4
Intro- Very frequently in the Bible you will find that God names his people by various names, it likewise in this text...they are called THE VINEYARD...and the men of Judah are called THE PLEASANT PLANT...vs 7
MY BELOVED is the Lord, and the Prophet intends and wills so in this text to sing the song of his well beloved... This is a sad commentary of Israel and the men of Judah, it God being gracious to a people and then in turn these people are ungrateful.
I... “THE PLACE OF THE VINEYARD” ...Fruitful Hill..vs 1
This is the place of service, it is a placed of guaranteed fruit it was not a barren desert, it was not a wilderness, it was not rocky place, but a fruitful one, Psalm 80:8 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
1.) That God plants with intentions of fruit being produced....
a. It was so with Adam and Eve.
Genesis 1:27‑28 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
b. It was so with Noah and his sons after the Flood..
Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
c. It is so with those that the Lord plants today in his Vineyard...
Colossians 1:9‑10 For this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
What God intends for us to do, we must do it heartily are we will pay the price of our inconsistency.
Page # 2
Turn Galatians 5-19-24
What we have is a clear contrast between that which does not please the Lord and that which pleases the flesh.
II.... THE LORD PREPARED THE VINEYARD..VS 2
1.) The Inclusion and the Exclusion from the vineyard...FENCED IT IN, TOOK OUT..
Since this is primarily dealing with the covenant people of the O.T. let us see this in reality.
a. We see it in the intention in Abraham for this vineyard...
Genesis 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land [that is] not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
b. We see it in the dealings of God with Moses in the delivering of his people from Egypt.
Deuteronomy 7:7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye [were] the fewest of all people:
Here we see that God excluded all the nations of the earth except his vineyard, and cast out the stones where he intended the vineyard to be fruitful...
Numbers 21:31‑32 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that [were] there.
I see this as being typical of God’s own elect today, that is in a spiritual way. He has not given his people a land to dwell in and an enemy that was such as Israel dealt with, but he has given us a heavenly inheritance and in a spiritual warfare to deal with...Ephesians 6:11‑12 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
1. We see it in the included of some and the exclusion of others in the grace of his mercy.
Turn to Rom 9-21-24
2. We see it in the redemption that Christ wrought at Calvary...
a. Jesus declared to his church...Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Page # 3
Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
b. We see it in the proclamation of the gospel...
Heb 2-9-19
2.) He planted it...vs 2-4
Psa 80-8-11
The Lord planted Israel in his vineyard of the Land and done every thing necessary to make her fruitful and she was to a certain point, in fact the Lord ask the question WHAT MORE COULD I HAVE DONE THAT I HAVE NOT DON IN IT?
There is no question that the Lord plants his people...Matthew 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
But likewise we have a responsibility in the keeping that vineyard holy unto the Lord. Israel was no different than we are, God has done for us everything that is necessary for us to grow fruit unto the Lord, but I am afraid we are like the old covenant people, we are not pleasing the Lord.
Psalm 1:1‑3 Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
What are some of the wild grapes that we may be producing? Let it clearly be understood tonight that what happen and what was written of the history of the nation of Israel was written for our learning and admonition...
Next we will look at what God says he will do to this vineyard...