2 In that day it will be said, A vine-garden of delight, make a song about it.
You took a vine out of Egypt: driving out the nations, and planting it in their land. You made ready a place for it, so that it might take deep root, and it sent out its branches over all the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, and the great trees with its branches. It sent out its arms to the Sea, and its branches to the River. Why are its walls broken down by your hands, so that all who go by may take its fruit? It is uprooted by the pigs from the woods, the beasts of the field get their food from it. Come back, O God of armies: from heaven let your eyes be turned to this vine, and give your mind to it, Even to the tree which was planted by your right hand, and to the branch which you made strong for yourself. It is burned with fire; it is cut down: they are made waste by the wrath of your face. Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself. So will we not be turned back from you; keep us in life, and we will give praise to your name. Take us back, O Lord God of armies; let us see the shining of your face, and let us be safe.
Let me make a song about my loved one, a song of love for his vine-garden. My loved one had a vine-garden on a fertile hill: And after working the earth of it with a spade, he took away its stones, and put in it a very special vine; and he put up a watchtower in the middle of it, hollowing out in the rock a place for the grape-crushing; and he was hoping that it would give the best grapes, but it gave common grapes. And now, you people of Jerusalem and you men of Judah, be the judges between me and my vine-garden. Is there anything which might have been done for my vine-garden which I have not done? why then, when I was hoping for the best grapes did it give me common grapes? And now, this is what I will do to my vine-garden: I will take away the circle of thorns round it, and it will be burned up; its wall will be broken down and the beasts of the field will go through it; And I will make it waste; its branches will not be touched with the knife, or the earth worked with the spade; but blackberries and thorns will come up in it: and I will give orders to the clouds not to send rain on it. For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help.
Give ear to another story. A master of a house made a vine garden, and put a wall round it, and made a place for crushing out the wine, and made a tower, and let it out to field-workers, and went into another country. And when the time for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the workmen, to get the fruit. And the workmen made an attack on his servants, giving blows to one, putting another to death, and stoning another. Again, he sent other servants more in number than the first: and they did the same to them. But after that he sent his son to them, saying, They will have respect for my son. But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage. And they took him and, driving him out of the vine-garden, put him to death. When, then, the lord of the vine-garden comes, what will he do to those workmen? They say to him, He will put those cruel men to a cruel death, and will let out the vine-garden to other workmen, who will give him the fruit when it is ready. Jesus says to them, Did you never see in the Writings, The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has been made the chief stone of the building: this was the Lord's doing, and it is a wonder in our eyes? For this reason I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation producing the fruits of it. Any man falling on this stone will be broken, but he on whom it comes down will be crushed to dust. And when his stories came to the ears of the chief priests and the Pharisees, they saw that he was talking of them. And though they had a desire to take him, they were in fear of the people, because in their eyes he was a prophet.
And he gave the people this story: A man made a vine-garden and gave the use of it to some field-workers and went into another country for a long time. And at the right time he sent a servant to the workers to get part of the fruit from the vines; but the workmen gave him blows and sent him away with nothing. And he sent another servant, and they gave blows to him in the same way, and put shame on him, and sent him away with nothing. And he sent a third, and they gave him wounds and put him out. And the lord of the garden said, What am I to do? I will send my dearly loved son; they may give respect to him. But when the workmen saw him, they said to one another, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property: let us put him to death and the heritage will be ours. And driving him out of the garden they put him to death. Now what will the lord do to these workmen? He will come and put them to destruction and give the garden to others. And when he said this, they said, May it not be so. But he, looking on them, said, Is it not in the Writings, The stone which the builders put on one side, the same has become the chief stone of the building? Everyone falling on that stone will be broken, but the man on whom the stone comes down will be crushed to dust.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 27
Commentary on Isaiah 27 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 27
In this chapter the prophet goes on to show,
All this is applicable to the grace of the gospel, and God's promises to, and providences concerning, the Christian church, and such as belong to it.
Isa 27:1-6
The prophet is here singing of judgment and mercy,
Isa 27:7-13
Here is the prophet again singing of mercy and judgment, not, as before, judgment to the enemies and mercy to the church, but judgment to the church and mercy mixed with that judgment.