November 1927
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T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
International Lesson Commentary
H ea rt of th e Lesson—K .L .B . Devotional—David L. Cooper L ittle Folk—Mabel L. Merrill
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not the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of His Hands” (v. 12). When will God’s patience wear out? When may the God of earth and heaven exclaim: “Judge ye between Me and my vineyard!” Is it not time we began to heed the awful warning uttered in the song of the vineyard? The nation, the church, the house, the heart, where the grace of God has been received in vain, cannot fail to be, sooner or later,, the object of God’s righteous displeasure. —o— P ith .» nd P oint “One of the most incredible things of history is the ungrateful way in _which men return the boundless mercies of God”—v. 4 (Torrey). God expects vineyard fruit from those who enjoy vineyard privileges, God’s expectations are not high nor hard but righteous and reasonable. Wild fruit js worse than no fruit. Counterfeit graces are wild grapes. From the first, the devil has sought to prostitute music to become the servant of beastliness (v. 12 ). God will deny His grace to those who have long received it in vain. —o— S uggestive Q uestions Who is “Well-beloved" of this par able? (V. 1; cf. 27:3; Mt. 17:5.) What is represented by the vineyard? (V. 1; cf. 7.) What New Testament application is made of the vineyard? (Mt. 21:41,43.) Who is the True Vine? (Jn. 15:1.) ■: What may be represented by the “fence” about Israel? (V. 2; cf. Eph. 2:14-15; Ex. 33:16.) What was the tower in the midst of Israel? (V. 2; cf. Micah 4:8.) What fruit does the Lord of the vine yard expect today? (Gal. 5:22-23; Jn. 15: 5, 8 .) —o— G olden T ext I llustration Pure religion, and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fa therless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world (James 1:27). A farmer in Maine was busy one spring boiling ’maple sap in a great iron ket tle. He was suddenly made aware of the approach of two bears, attracted by the fragrant smell of the boiling syrup. The farmer got his gun, but the bears , es caped. The next morning when he came back to his work at the, sugar house where the sap had been slowly boiling all night, he found in the kettle of thick hot syrup a cub bear. It had crawled up the pole above the kettle and while gorg ing itself with sweets from the edge of the kettle, had slipped in and drowned. Thus many are drowned in ■ the sweets of worldliness. They prostitute the blessings of life given of God, to the service of the flesh and the devil, until they bring upon themselves destruction of body, soul and spirit.
D ecember 4, 1927 Isa iah Teaches R igh t Living Isa. 5: 1-12
Y \7E are still studying the descrip- . ’ tion of the prevalent iniquities of Is rael and of the judgments which were ;sure to fall in consequence of these. The
to which the sacrifices, as the fruits of the vineyard, should be brought. God had every reason to expect that such a vineyard should “bring forth grapes." What did He get? “Wild grapes" (v. 2). Wild fruit is the fruit of corrupt nature. It is not according to the en grafted branch; but springs from the root of bitterness. Where Divine grace does not work, the corrupt nature will work. Wild grapes are hypocritical perform ances that look like grapes, but are sour and worthless to the owner of the vine yard. “Wherefore should it bring forth wild grapes?” (v. 4). Israel had received everything requisite for instruction and quickening to duty. They had His law, His ordinances, His priests, His proph ets. Such mercies, if abused, will sud denly come to an end. The owner of the vineyard will abandon it to sterility. Now, let us not put up our umbrellas and let all this teaching drip off upon the Jews, God has done much more for us under the Gospel. No one can be ignorant of the intention of God in giving His only begotten Son to die for us. The purpose of Calvary’s cross was to bring human hearts out of unconcern to real longing for God’s grace, God’s love, God’s life. He has, furthermore, sent the Holy Spirit to keep up an inward and invisible solic itation in the hearts of men. He has given us the New Testament to guide us in the ways of Divine grace. If we, like Israel, let the vineyard grow up to wild grapes, the same fate will come to us. The fence of God’s protection will be removed. The beasts of the field will be let in to devour. The showers of blessings will cease. Our tower, the Church of Christ, will fall in ruins. The Spirit of God will depart from those who have long resisted. The Gospel will be removed from those who have long been a reproach to it. “I will lay it waste,” saith the Lord: it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up briars and thorns; I will command the clouds that they rain no more upon it” (v. 6 ). Sire/“woes” are pronounced upon Is rael. Woe to the wealthy (v. 8 ) ; the wanton (v. 11 ) ; the 'wicked (v. 18) ; the weak-minded (v. 20 ) ; the worldly wise (v. 21) ; the wine bibber (v. 22). In Chapter 5, Isaiah looks around at Is rael’s condition and pronounces six woes. In Chapter 6 he looks up and sees the Lord, and exclaims v'JWOE IS ME.” The detailed specification of sin in vs. 8-12 needs no comment. The same sins are rampant today. The money-grab bers, the oppressors of the poor (v. 8 ), the bootleggers and the wine-inflamed (v. 11 ), the “jazz hounds” who dance and feast—all are with us, and “they regard
prophecy of this chap ter takes a peculiar form, for it is a par able with a com m e n t a r y attached, very similar to teach ing that came from the lips of our Lord Himself.
The peculiar privileges and obligations of Israel are pictured by the figure of a highly favored vineyard. Instead of the good and abundant fruits that might rightly be expected, it brings forth only wild grapes. It is, therefore, given up to desolation. The prophet then proceeds to catalogue the sins that had sprung up as rank weeds in the vineyard of Israel. The parable of our Lord recorded in Mt. 21: 33-44 has points of close resem blance to the one before us and may well be studied in connection with this les son. It gives us a New Testament ap plication, and shows us how God took away His vineyard from Israel and has given it to a people comprising all those who honor His Son as Lord and Savior. The owner of the vineyard is Jeho vah. The vineyard is none other than the covenant people Israel, separated from the nations for His glory. It should be noted that in the vineyard of the New Testament, Jesus ,takes the place of the Jehovah of the Old Testament. He was the God of Israel incarnate. This vineyard had been located in a "very fruitful hill" (v. 1). This is sug gestive of the isolation, .security and sunny aspect of the land given to the covenant people. In all the world, a more beautiful and favorable spot could not have been found to cradle the chosen nation. God had “fenced it.” He took it un der His special protection. He divided it off from other nations by committing to it the oracles of God. If they had not themselves thrown down the fence, no inroad could have been made upon them. He “gathered out the stones" so that nothing from within might obstruct its fruitfulness. He “planted it with the choicest vine” by setting up in the midst of this people a pure religion and ordi nances fitted to keep before them the way of salvation by which they should always enjoy fellowship with Himself. He “built a tower in the midst" where the keepers might sit to take a view of the vines. This may have reference to the city of David and the temple where God promised to meet His people and give them tokens of His presence. He “made a winepress therein.” Here we may find a suggestion, of His altar
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