Thought from today’s Bible reading from Isaiah 5-8.
“Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; then He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones.
“‘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? So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste; it will not be pruned or hoed, but briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.’
“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress” (Isaiah 5:1-7).
God did everything He could to lead His chosen people to be faithful to Him. But even though He chose them, wanted them to be faithful, and provided everything they needed to be faithful, they were still capable of rejecting Him. God does not force His will upon man. Man must choose to follow Him.
God has given us “everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us” (2 Peter 1:3). The Scriptures equip us “for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). He has provided the perfect example of Christ (1 Peter 2:21-22), the encouragement of our brethren in the church (Hebrews 3:12-13; 10:24-25), and the perfect incentive for faithfulness – heaven (1 Peter 1:4; Revelation 2:10). Yet He will not force us to follow His will. We must choose to do so.
Despite everything He gave to the Jewish people, God was willing to punish them for disobedience. He will do the same with us today (Romans 2:5-6). Therefore, let us not neglect His salvation or think lightly of His kindness toward us; but instead let us take advantage of every gift and blessing that God has given and has promised so that we might stay on the straight and narrow path.
Tomorrow’s reading: Amos 1-5
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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