Today’s Podcast
Today’s Scriptures
Today’s Bible reading plans include:
Ready – Isaiah 5:1–7
Set – Isaiah 5; Jude
Go! – Isaiah 4–5; Psalms 115–116; Jude
Isaiah 5:1-7
1Let me now sing for my dear friend,
a love song about his vineyard.
My friend, whom I dearly love,
had a vineyard on a fertile hill.
2 He labored to prepare the ground, tilling the soil and digging out rocks,
and then he planted it with the best plants he could find.
In its midst, he built a watchtower over it
and cut out a winepress in the hill nearby;
Then he waited, hoping it would be bountiful.
But the vineyard produced only wild, bitter grapes.
3 Eternal One: That’s it. Enough. Now, you who live in My special city, Jerusalem,
you people of this choice country, Judah,
Who’s in the right—Me or My vineyard?
4 What else could I possibly have done to make it flourish?
Why, when I had every reason to expect great beauty and bushels of grapes,
Did it yield only wild, bitter fruit?
5 I’ll tell you what I’m going to do,
what I’ve determined to do to My vineyard:
I’m going to take away its protective fence
and let the deer, raccoons, and rabbits devour it.
I’ll break down its wall,
let the vines be eaten and trampled.
6 I will set it up for destruction—
do no pruning, no tilling—
And it will be overrun with nasty briars and thornbushes.
I will even order the clouds not to water it.
7 See here, the vineyard of the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies,
is the house of Israel, His special people.
And the shoots and buds He nursed so lovingly along
are the people of this choice country, Judah.
He expected a paragon of justice and righteousness—
but everywhere injustice runs bloodred in the streets, and cries echo in the city!
Today’s Devotional
From today’s background scripture God might say:
I try hard to bring you to Me. I want you in My home. But I’m a holy God. I cannot tolerate sin. So I made a away to teach you right from wrong. I made a way of escape for you so you can choose right instead of wrong. But you still have a choice. I created you with that capability. Unfortunately, as much as I try, you often choose the wrong over the right. It’s your choice, but you must understand, I have not changed. I still cannot tolerate sin and ultimately, I will destroy every vestige of sin that exists.
I separated the Israelites as My chosen people to especially teach them My ways so they could then teach them to the rest of the world. Instead, they turned from Me and chose their own path. It led to their destruction at the hands of other nations. Only in the last century have I allowed them to stand up as a nation again with national boundaries and their own government. But time for them to truly return to Me is drawing short.
I raised up a nation across the seas with individual freedoms like no other nation. I gave it democratic rules and representative government. I blessed it with men who saw far beyond themselves and established laws that would give self-government to individuals and cities as far as possible to protect freedom from tryanny. You called yourselves Americans. I hoped this new democracy would follow Me based on the people who fled the persecutions they faced in Europe.
The new settlers followed Me for a while, but like Israel, when you gained prosperity and power in the world, you forgot Me. You felt self-sufficient and thought you no longer needed Me. Despite the fact I gave you what you needed to begin this experiment in self-government, you cast Me aside. Now you begin to feel the payment for your arrogance. As with Isaiah’s prophecy so many centuries ago, the metaphor still holds true.
I am like a the farmer who planted the vineyard and did everything I could do to create a good crop, but the vineyard produced only wild, bitter grapes. You are that vineyard and will leave you to your own destruction. I will no longer tend to you or help you in times of despair. You have chosen your path by the actions you take in your courts, your legislature, you seats of power. You choose the wrong path instead of following Me. You choose to tickle your ears with personal pleasure, you hear only what you want to hear to satisfy your base desires instead of listening to what separates you from the rest of the animals in creation.
So since you have chosen your path, I will leave you to your own ends. I will let you see what it is like to live as a nation without Me. I will allow you to become the wild, wanton creatures you choose. It pains Me to watch, but I gave you freedom to choose and I will not withdraw that freedom. Remember, however, you do not choose the consequences of your choice. I do. You will not like the consequences of the path you follow apart from Me.
For 20 centuries, the Israelites wandered without a country to call their own. They were My chosen people. What do you think will happen to you when I withdraw My protection from you? Choose your path carefully. As a nation, it is done. As individuals, you still have a choice. Choose wisely!
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