A Choice: Walk in Dark Foolishness—OR—Live in the Light and Goodness of God
On a day, very long ago, a husbandman went out to plant His vineyard. He looked across the vast land that He owned and chose the choicest hill, a fertile place for His vines to grow. He dug a trench all around His vineyard, and then carefully planted the vines. The vineyard owner knew how the predators would attack, trying to steal and kill his vines, so He planted a watchtower in the midst. The husbandman expected the vines to produce, so He prepared a vat where His grapes would be placed once the good grapes came.
“But it produced only worthless ones.
(The Book of Isaiah 5: 2b-4 NASB)
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My vineyard.
What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes
did it produce worthless ones [wild grapes]?”
In the Bible, we have the opportunity to read the historical record of Israel. We read about the spiritual and moral decay of Jerusalem and Judah. It was the demise of Judah in the 8th Century that the prophet Isaiah wrote, explaining the judgment the people faced because of their sinfulness. Isaiah told how the LORD looked for right living but only saw injustice, bloodshed, and wickedness. Thus, the prophet wrote a litany of “Woes for the Wicked” to reveal the condemnation the nation would receive because they had rejected God’s Law.
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
(The Book of Isaiah 5: 20 NASB)
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
Because Israel rejected God’s Law, HE would remove HIS protection and HE would allow a foreign nation to invade and conquer them. The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians and later, the Southern Kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians.
Many read the Old Testament and cry: “That was then and this is now. There is no connection because we are not Jewish men and women living in Israel,” and these disclaimers are ‘partly’ right. We who live in other places are NOT the children of Israel. We who live today are NOT the people and nation that GOD chose to dwell among at the beginning of time.
However, at the end of the Old Testament, after the people of God were so far removed from their Creator, the period of silence endured for the next four centuries. In the Bible, we also receive the opportunity to read the prophecy of the coming Messiah, and after 400 years of silence, God sent His Only Son Jesus.
One may decry: “What happened then has no bearing on us today,” but they would be so wrong. The warning the prophet Isaiah spoke applies to the church today. We too can become lukewarm in our faith; we too can turn away from our Creator; and we too can produce “wild grapes” rather than spiritual and righteous fruit.
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote to the early church (and to us) about the consequences of unbelief, explaining how mankind can reject God’s Goodness and not recognize and glorify the Creator, how mankind can “call evil good, and good evil; [AND] Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; [AND] Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (The Book of Isaiah 5: 20b NASB)
- It is a foolish man who was born with the innate desire to know God but instead turns toward idolatry.
- It is an unwise man who knows goodness but turns toward bitterness, toward sin.
- It is a fool who embraces the lusts of the flesh and refuses the love of God.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 18: 18-22 NASB)
because that which is known about God is evident within them;
for God made it evident to them.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing to be wise, they became fools,”
- Just as with the children of Israel, there is HOPE if mankind turns from its evil ways and repents.
- Just as with God’s children, there is also condemnation and God’s wrath if humanity does not.
May we who believe, pray for those who we know that they would see the evidence God has placed all around (in His creation, in His miracles & in His Goodness).
- Yes, might we who have been redeemed through the shed blood of Christ pray for the lost that they would choose to place their faith in Jesus.
- And certainly we, who have chosen to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, shouldn’t we produce ‘good and worthy fruit’ of the Spirit, so that those who surround us may see God and glorify Him.
“And Jesus cried out and said,
(The Gospel According to John 12: 44-46 & 50 NASB)
“He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me.
He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
I have come as Light into the world,
so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
. . .
I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak,
I speak just as the Father has told Me.”