Contents
Summary
In continuation of our series on the story of our lives, we conclude with a special people referred to in Scriptures as the vineyard. The creator has invested a lot in us and expects a little something in return. Failure to bear fruit has dire consequences for every branch of the tree. This article highlights what has been given to us and the results of living a careless lifestyle.
A Vineyard Song
Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; [and] break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts [is] the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. Isaiah 5:1-7
This is a song about the ‘well-beloved’ (the Most High) about His vineyard (houses of Israel and Judah). This song narrates the history of the people. I will only summarize it and encourage the readers to do a more careful study of this passage in Scripture.
The vineyard is in a fruitful hill
The creator has set His vineyard on a fruitful hill. It is on a hill, because it was designed for all to see and admire (Matthew 5:16). The hill is fruitful, not just because of the land, but because the vine make it so. What do I mean? If you take any piece of land and strip it of all trees and shrubs, it will soon become bare as a desert and eventually all the nutrients are gone.
To make the vineyard barren, you will have to kill off all the trees. The Egyptians tried this by killing all the male children of the Hebrews (Exodus 1:8-16). And today, we have biological warfare (Anthrax), poisoning of food (GMO, fast foods), air (chemtrails) and water (lead). as well as deliberate execution of unarmed black men on the streets by ‘law enforcement’ officers.
These will all fail just as the Egyptians failed in the book of exodus. In fact, today, as all population groups are showing reduced fertility, the negro is not.
Image from: https://ourworldindata.org/fertility-rate
This has led to recent calls by the Duke of Edingburgh and Bill Gates to curtail the population of sub-saharan Africans. This call conveniently ignores the fact that both Europe and Asia are more population dense than Africa.
Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_density
The vineyard is fenced
A fence is designed to keep the good in, and the evil out. The husbandman has fenced the vineyard to protect it from the ravenous beasts of the field.
All through Scripture, we see that for as long as the children of Israel were faithful, they were safe. Whenever they went after other gods, they were attacked and colonized and eventually driven out of their land by foreign entities. That was true 3000 years ago, and it is still true today.
The fence is also designed to keep the little foxes or sins out (Song of Solomon 2:15). Just as Nehemiah built a wall around Jerusalem to keep the enemy out, so does our father build an edge around us to protect us from snake bites (Ecclesiastes 10:8). The snake is none other than the devil, the father of sin himself.
The scriptures admonish us to diligently guard our heart (Proverbs 4:23) and have rule over our spirit (heart). If we don’t, we are like a city that is broken and without walls (Proverbs 25:28).
The stones have been gathered
The stones in the ground prevent the vine’s roots from growing deep. It is therefore prevented from being rooted in the land. Stones are mostly inorganic entities, and unlike trees, they cannot bear fruit. They are barren and dead, useful only as a shield against the natural elements. They cannot nourish anyone and are therefore removed so as not to impede the growth of the vine.
The stones are the people who cannot bear any fruit. They are like the Canaanites that our Elohim removed from the land before he could establish His people there. They are the Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem who grieve when anyone seeks the welfare of the children of Israel (Nehemiah 2:10 and 6:1). They are the Hamans who would rather have us worship them than to worship the creator (Esther 3:5-6).
The choicest of vine
The Most High has made His people the most talented on the earth. It is why we can be a blessing to all the families (nations) of the earth (Genesis 12:3).
For those who in 2018 still think the Ashkenazis are the children of Israel, please explain how they have blessed the world? Everywhere they go, they render their hosts ravished and impoverished. They were overwhelmingly the ship owners and slave traders of the transatlantic slave trade. How were the slaves blessed by slavery?
On the other hand, consider the Hebrew slaves. They built Egypt into a superpower just like the transatlantic slaves built Europe and America into the powers they are today.
Modern revolutions
Historians talk about the agricultural revolution (18th and early 19th centuries) and the improved methods of farming and cattle rearing. They do not mention that those were Israelite practices outlined in scriptures nor will they acknowledge that the revolution started After the arrival of Hebrew slaves from Africa. If Israelites were Europeans, those farming methods would not be new to them.
Then, there is the industrial revolution that started around 1760. It too was built on the backs of the negro slaves.
Modern slaves
The exodus of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt resulted in the collapse of the empire. Likewise, after the abolition of slavery in the 19th century, European influence began to decline with economic recession (1830s-1840s) and they soon raced to Africa to annex the resources (1870). Then the European wars (world wars) began (1914-1945). As Europe declined, American influence began to rise. They still held Hebrew slaves under a new system referred to as correctional facilities aka prison system. American decline was also imminent. It is still ongoing hence the recent Trump presidential slogan – Make America great again.
Just as the ‘choicest’ vine is there for the husbandman, our talents are to be used in the service of our Father.
And built a tower in the midst of the vineyard
A tower is always associated with a name. The most famous tower was the one at Babel. If you look at the story closely, we see that the the brick building was not the ultimate goal; it was the building of a name.
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name… (Genesis 11:4)
A name is essential to a people’s identity. Whenever the Most High revealed himself to the Israelites, He always identified Himself by name. His name is invested with power. It is for that reason that the masoretic texts have replaced His name with the titles Lord and God.
His Name
The Most High told Israel that He would take them to a land where He would establish His name and there the people will worship him (Deuteronomy 16:2). But the question has been: what’s His name. It certainly isn’t God or Lord since those are titles. It most definitely isn’t Jehovah or Yahweh either for there is neither J or w in the Hebrew alphabets. We do know that He identified Himself to Moses as Ahayah Aser Ahayah (I AM THAT I AM) in Exodus 3:14. Others have translated the YHVH in the scriptures to mean Yahua as His name. The shortened form ‘Yah’ appears in both of these names.
Personally, I favor ‘Ahayah’ partly because I understand the word to mean “was, is and to be’, a description that is also used for the creator in other areas of the scripture (Revelation 1:8).
His Name protects us
Why does the Most High put His name among His people? Because it protects us.
The name of the Lord [is] a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10)
His name is the tower in His vineyard. For this reason, the people are called by His name, and the Messiah (Yasha-YAH) came bearing His name.
We see this in the names of some of the Old Testament prophets.
This protection is also seen in the famous promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2Chronicles 7:14)
A Winepress therein
A winepress is a place for the harvest where the grapes are crushed and its life released to bless all. In there, the grape fruit is destroyed under pressure until the blood (juice/wine) flows out.
Scripture makes us to understand that our redeemer kinsman was bruised for our iniquities:
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5).
And John 15:1 tells us that the Vine is HaMashiac and the husbandman is our heavenly father. So the winepress in the vineyard makes it clear that he suffered to save His people from their sins by dying for them (Matthew 1:21). It is for that reason that He stated:
I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)
Remember Isaiah 5 stated that the vineyard is the house of Israel and the men of Judah. The wine for the grape is therefore primarily pressed for these two houses. Of course, friends and guests will eventually be welcomed at the table.
The wine is extracted to give life to the drinkers and to refresh them. In turn, the drinkers will bring forth much fruit.
Called to bear fruit
And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes
The Father expects us to bring forth grape (not gold). We are saved to bring forth fruit, not to acquire riches. The gospel of prosperity did not come from Scriptures, it came from the pits of hell.
I have heard Christians brag – “i’ll do little work and get great gain by His grace”. That can only come if you steal from someone else. The Scriptures however say that you reap what you sow.
That is why the book declares:
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] WITH THY MIGHT; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
Yes, i am aware that it is not by power or might (Zechariah 4:6). It is the Almighty who is Just that gives the increase. He is not a partial one who lifts the lazy man and breaks down the hardworker. Every man will reap what they sow.
Wild grapes
Many preachers have preached that you should sow a seed in their ministry and God will be in your debt. Yet scriptures make it clear that the only loan the Almighty takes out, is your gift to the poor (Proverbs 19:17). And the scripture also states that he who receives the prophet gets a prophets reward. Receive means you host him, and cater to him while he is with you. It doesn’t mean you give him a 10th cut of your income for the rest of your life. Besides, the only reward promised to the prophet is life in eternity and basic provisions in this life, not mansions nor race cars. The Messiah didn’t even own a home so he simply stayed with whoever receives him (Luke 9:58). Yet your pastor has a multi-million dollar house and a jet while his congregation cannot afford to eat.
Choice grapes
Where is the ministration to the widows (Acts 6:1-8)? Where is the feeding of the hungry and fighting the cause of the fatherless (Isaiah 1:17)? Instead, we see ministers who turn away the needy in times of natural disasters even though it was in their power to help. How many preachers and ministers of the gospel have lost their faith and continued after mammon? Remember, the riches of this world are in the power of the prince of this world. Whosoever seeks riches will have to first embrace him and bow to him (Matthew 4:9)
That is not what we are called to do, but unfortunately, it is what the majority are doing.
…and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes
Judgement will come on the vineyard
Judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
A tree will only be barren for so long before it’s destroyed. Anyone who does not fulfil the purpose for which they were made will be judged. Our Father is patient, but He will not wait forever. The vineyard that does not produce fruit will become desolate. The hedge will be removed and the wall around it taken down. The trees will become trodden down and eaten up by beasts. The sky will withhold its rain and the trees will waste away. The barren tree will be given up to its bareness and nobody will prune it.
The vineyard song is a dire warning
This is a dire warning to all. Do not think that the Most High does not see you. You may think that your prosperity means that you are righteous. However, if you sit still and examine yourself, you will know that He is not with you. How will you know?
Ask yourself, when last did I really hear Him speak to me? How did I acquire this prosperity? Did I steal, cheat or deceived to get it? If you did, know for certain that your prosperity came from the father of lies. The standard of the creator is unwavering, He will not ask you to sin as a means to prosper.
Do you believe and obey scripture? Or does your pastor have the final say on what is still applicable from the books and what is done away with? Did you ever ask your pastor; if the Law is done away with, why then do you ask me to keep the law of tithes?
If the Law of Moses is done away with, why do adulterers, murderers, sodomites and thieves still go into the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8)? After all, without law, there is no sin, and without sin, no condemnation.
Final word
Alas, for many of us, our conscience is already seared. Unfortunately, we have become numb to Him and this self-reflection therefore becomes impossible for us to do.
For many others, the problem is that they never really met nor knew the Father. They have only joined their peers and families to do the now popular church thing.
To every one I admonish, take heed, for we will all stand before the great Judge on that last day. And when we stand before Him, we will give account of every word said and action taken in this life. We will present our accounts of how we spent our time and resources. Did we use it to bless the needy or we consumed it on our lust?
And woe betides the shepherds that lead the sheep astray and feast on them. On that day, it will be better for you if you had never been born.
Let every ear hear, let the righteous continue in his way. Judgement is coming, may you not be found wanting.
Shallom,
Judah