jesusphreak

Q3. (Isaiah 5:1-6) What was the vintner's vision for the vineyard? What did he do to accomplish his vision? What happened when the crop came in? What did the vintner say he would do with the vineyard? What does this parable mean? The vintner’s vision for the vineyard was a place to grow vines that yield good fruit -- useful fruit to make good wine. It wasn’t just to produce good fruit for aesthetic reasons -- why put in a winepress if you didn’t want others to enjoy the fruit? The vintner made the conditions right to accomplish this goal -- he prepared the ground and set up protection for it. But when the crop came in, it yielded bad fruit. And the vintner says he’ll break down the protection, abandon the vineyard, and let the briars and thorns overtake it. I think this parable means that God has given us everything we need to be fruitful. We need to be the type of fruit that can be made into a fine wine, and we need to serve one another. And while God is patient with us, we need to remember that it’s only through his mercy and grace that we get an opportunity to be fruitful. If we don’t accept Christ in this life, judgement is coming & God will take away the protection he has given us, and let the briars and thorns overtake us. It’s these sort of references, and the talk of wrath on the day of judgement (“And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth”) that brings to my mind Proverbs 1:7 -- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”...

Q2. (Isaiah 2:1-5) What does this prophecy of the future Jerusalem tell us about God's plan for the Gentiles? About God's plan for the Jews? About spiritual hunger? About peace? It tells us that the Gentiles and the Jews will be united under God and that we will have thrown off the shackles of our rebellious ways (“He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths”). And the peace will be everlasting -- no more need for the implements of war.

"In what way is Judah confused about its identity, according to verses 2-4?" They have forgotten they are children of God, or perhaps they are aware that they are children of God, but are in open rebellion to Him. Verse 3 referring to the ox and the donkey seem to imply that Judah has forgotten that they have an owner and a master, or don't understand what that really means (in other words, how they should relate to God the Father). Verse 4 implies more of an open rebellion, referring to forsaking and despising. "What are the consequences when Christians today suffer from such identity confusion?" I think we often forget that we are children of God. Perhaps this is colored more by my experience, not growing up in a home where God was discussed & where we only went to church at Christmas & Easter (if even then), but I think we tend to think we're on our own down here, and we celebrate our individuality & all that we humans have accomplished (for instance, the triumphs of science & the scientific method). But when we run up against our limitations, and all of our flaws, and the evil that exists in the world, we forget about God, and we forget to trust God. This leads to anxiety, despair and hopelessness. We need to remember that God is good, He is all powerful, and we are His. "What injustices does God accuse his people of in verses 15-17?" He accuses his people of forgetting about the needs of the disadvantaged -- the fatherless, the widows. Again, this may be influenced by my experiences, but it seems to me that God’s children had been leading selfish lives, looking only to themselves, and not to others. “In verses 18-20 God argues that their behavior is ‘unreasonable.’ Why is it unreasonable? What does God offer as an alternative?” It’s unreasonable because God’s children have forgotten their place in the grand scheme of things -- they are (and we are) His children, His creation -- in other words, we are His. God offers to be reasonable about this -- if we accept our place & if we’re willing and obedient, he’ll provide for us -- we’ll eat the best of the land. Only God can make a promise like that, & deliver on it. And I think, like any good father, he outlines what will happen if we continue in our rebellious ways -- we’ll get the smackdown.

Hey everybody! I'm a software developer living in the suburbs of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and I'm married with two stepkids and one adopted kid. I'm a relative newcomer to the faith, having given my life to Christ in the fall of 2010. Looking forward to spending more time in the book of Isaiah and hoping the Holy Spirit opens my eyes even further! In Christ, Jeff