SOUR GRAPES

Isaiah 5 tells a metaphorical story about God.

(vs.1-2)  My Beloved has a vineyard on a very fertile hill.  He plowed it and took out all the rocks and planted His vineyard with the choicest vines.  He built a watchtower and cut a winepress in the rocks.  Then He waited for the harvest, but the grapes that grew were wild and sour and not at all the sweet ones He expected.

Imagine God's disappointment!  After all His work and investment, He got sour grapes!

Later in the chapter, the metaphor is unpacked.

(vs. 7-8)  I have given you the story of God's people.  They are the vineyard that I spoke about.  Israel and Judah are His pleasant acreage!  He expected them to yield a crop of justice, but found bloodshed instead.  He expected righteousness, but the cries of deep oppression met His ears.  You buy up property so others have no place to live.  Your homes are built on great estates so you can be alone in the midst of the earth!

I wonder what this would sound like if we applied it to the current state of the Church in America.

The one, true God, out of His compassion for the spiritually lost around the world, moved the minds and hearts of some of His people to establish a new land across the sea.  This land was established as a place of refuge from persecution and freedom to worship God without fear.  God deliberately prospered this people and this land until it became the most prosperous place on the whole earth!  God did this with the hope that His people - in this new land - would be a source of provision and blessing to the lost around His globe.

The coherent among us can see where this is heading...

But this new land and people gradually became enamored with their newfound wealth.  Rather than use it to extend the Good News of God around the world, they used it to buy bigger and better homes and more and more toys and conveniences.  Their passion for spiritually lost people waned until it barely existed.  Their captivation with entertainment and self-satisfaction ruled their lives;  meanwhile God's purposes for them became long-lost and quickly fading memories

If you want to read the fate of  Judah, read Isaiah 5:9-30.  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%205&version=NLT

It is safe to assume that a similar fate awaits America.