Transcription of the Video: With All Your Might, - The Final Test

When you're in the wilderness of the mountains of Sinai, it's pretty obvious that this is a place where God could test his people to see how they would respond to his love, to see whether they would trust him totally. These barren, rugged valleys and high walls in the mountains, you're really, here, totally dependent on God. 

But if you read the book of Deuteronomy, it's clear that the toughest test of all was not somewhere here in this desert. But it was in the land flowing with milk and honey where the walls of the hills, the slopes of the hills are not rocks and barren, but the slopes of the hills are green and fertile. And God said, there too, you will face a test. Come. Let's walk with the Hebrew people and see what happened when they left this desert and came, eventually, to the land that God had promised them. Come.

Our journey started in Egypt where those Hebrews were slaves, and we've come all the way to the Promised Land. So, what do you think? Isn't that beautiful? You can only imagine those Hebrews coming out of the desert and getting their first view of what it was that had taken 40 years. Their parents' generation had remained in the desert. Now, they were here - their children. And this is what God had promised. 

It's strong when you've come out of the desert, isn't it? It's compelling. Let's talk about the end of that journey a bit. We're here in the mountains of Judea - or Judah, as they would have been called in the Hebrew Bible. Just west of us is the Shephelah and the Coastal Plain. Philistine's down there. Here, the Canaanites lived. And when the Israelites got here, they, through a series of skirmishes and battles and God's obvious blessing and involvement, took the center of the country for themselves and then, divided it up. And this belonged to the tribe of Judah - the Messiah tribe. 

The background to the story is worth a bit of review. It's a long time ago we left Egypt. God brought order out of chaos - beautiful order like this. Adam and Eve sinned and chaos came back into that beautiful world - that order that God had made. Evil, first, was individual. Then, it became a kingdom (groups of individuals joined together). Egypt is a good example of that kingdom of evil. And in that kingdom, that anti-story, if you wish, some will always suffer. 

Eventually, those who suffered were the Hebrews. And God heard their ze'akah - their passionate cry for help. And he came and brought them out. First, he told Moses, "I'm going to shape you, so you will be like God to Pharaoh." (Exodus 7) And then, he told Israel, "You will be a kingdom of priests so you will be like me to the rest of your world. There's your mission. And we're going to restore harmony. First, the harmony between you and me. And then, bringing shalom and harmony back to my world, especially those who suffer and those who cry out." (Exodus 19) And that was Israel's mission when they left Egypt, when they were trained in the desert, and that's Israel's mission when they got here.

God gave them this. And here on the hillside in the mountains of Judah, you see farms as the people of Judah would have known them. Those individual terraces you see, each belonged to a single family. So, imagine you're the tribe of Judah, were assembled on a hill, and Joshua, the commander, said, "Your family gets that one, and your family gets that one, and your family gets that one." And that became your inheritance.

Now, notice, it's just enough. He didn't give them a thousand acres. He gave them just enough - the same lesson the desert was supposed to teach them all along. And he said to them, "Here's your inheritance. Be like me. Be a kingdom of priests to my world, and I will bless you."

In fact, this becomes a picture of Heaven. Where, when the Messiah comes, two things happen. One, "Every man sits under his own fig tree and under his own vine." (Micah 4) 

And two, "The mountains will drip with wine." (Joel 3) So, imagine the beauty of those vineyards and the mountains as it were metaphorically dripping with wine. So, when the Messiah came and wanted to say, "Hey, those promises are coming true," what's his first miracle? A huge miracle of wine. 

And they said, "Yes! The mountains are dripping with wine. He's here." The miracle, that makes sense out of that miracle. So, that's the background. Now, let's talk specifically about this. 

First of all, if you look at these beautiful farms, you realize we have in front of us the third testing that God is going to give his people. Just look at it. Do you remember the first two tests? 

The first one, in a sense, was "Do you love me with all your heart?" It was in the desert. We stood under that acacia tree where God promised them manna. The second was, "Do you love me with your life, your soul?" And we stood up on a little ledge and talked about the water that Moses brought out of the mountain of God. Do you remember?

Then, God said, if you recall, in Deuteronomy 6, "When you get to the Promised Land, there's going to be one more thing." So, just look at what God promised them and listen, again, to Moses' words from God in the Book of Deuteronomy. "When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, a land with large and flourishing cities you didn't build, houses with all kinds of good things you didn't provide, wells you didn't dig, vineyards and olive groves you didn't plant, then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God."

"And even worse," he continues, "you may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands produced this wealth for me. But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers. (Deuteronomy 6)

There's a huge danger here for those desert people. The danger is they may forget the lesson in the desert - that God alone provides. Because once you get it all-- and for them, after being in that desert, this was all-- the temptation is to think, "I did this. I'm quite the farmer. Look at my vineyard."

And God said, "At that moment, you're going to forget me. And worse. You may credit yourself or start worshipping other gods."

And unfortunately, we find, that while that generation apparently passed the first two tests, they really struggled with this one. And their record here is not all that good. And they often found themselves trusting their own strength or the gods of the land. So, on several occasions, God said, "Come back in the desert with me, will you?" 

How about you? You live in a land that makes this one look small. You've got it all - more than 99% of the rest of the world. Do you live in your own strength? Do you take credit for what you have? How about we head back to Sinai? You're not too eager, are you? Not too eager. The lesson is the same. When you're in trouble, and you need just a little and God comes through, it's sweet. But it's easy to forget.

There is another lesson here. Look across the valley at what you see. Each of those terraces is called a gan. A gan is a terraced hillside which functions as a farm. It's more than just a plot of ground, however. It's the security you need where God will provide just enough to live on.

Now, look. On this side, you see these gans are gone. But notice what we have here. There's a flat bedrock shelf. I can see it in both directions. Behind you, a rock wall. And I don't mean the one that's built. I mean the stone, the face of the stone. So, this flat bedrock, this limestone goes right up against that wall. And at some point, in history, somebody built a wall. I can see just the top of it right here. There's another one right behind you. Look. And they filled this in, or it filled in naturally over centuries with topsoil. And that wall stood here - nice and strong three, four, five feet of topsoil back to here. And then, the same thing above and above and above and above.

Now, those are called gans. A gan is one of those terraced hillsides. Believe it or not, each of those little levels-- take your eyes and let them sweep from one side to the other. Pick one level. That was one family farm. God said, "That'll be enough. You're not going to be rich. But why do you need to be rich? Isn't that enough? That's what you've learned in the desert."

Now, in a gan, typically you have three plants that are farmed. You have grapes. That's the light green along the front. It's springtime, so they don't look really prominent. In the fall, they're beautiful. 

On the gan, itself, the lighter colored trees are olive trees. And then, a couple of places up there, the much bigger trees are fig trees.

Now, God used that picture in Scripture as a metaphor, a teaching of who and what he wanted his people to be - much like he used the flock in the desert to show them who and what he wanted them to be there. So, let's unpack two of those lessons that God put into his land to say, "Here's who I want you to be." 

Say these words after me. This is one of the most beautiful poems ever written in Isaiah (5). "I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard. My beloved planted a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it and cleared it of stones. He planted it with choice vines. He built a watch tower in it and dug a wine press as well. Then, he looked for a crop of good grapes." Those are the very words of God.

Now, I'd like to show you something. Later in the passage, it says, "The vineyard of the Lord God Almighty is the House of Israel. And the men of Judah are his gan." (Isaiah 5)

Ah! So, that song about the vineyard is really the song about Israel - the Hebrews - after they got here. I'd like to show you what God did. Look here. It says, "I planted a vineyard on a fertile hillside. When you take a look at this hillside, you say, "No way." Imagine farmers having to farm this hillside. "And yet," God said, "That hillside will be fertile too. Watch me. Like that one."

A fertile hillside is the hardest place in Israel to farm. And that's what God said, "I'm going to put enormous effort into creating this fertile garden. So, let's start on a hillside. But any farmer will tell you it's the best place, because when the rain falls, there's nothing wasted. It slowly runs down the side of this hill and if you don't need it all, it goes to the gan of the person below you. Imagine it. So, God picked the toughest place. 

And then, it says, "He dug it." Look here. And it's interesting. The word dug there is specifically the word that does not mean plow. You can't get a plow up here. Imagine what it would take to turn this soil into that. Somebody did that, but it's taken 3,000 to 4,000 years. God said, "I'm going to make this the most beautiful vineyard in the world."

So, he dug it and he cleared it of stones. Look! Now, the stones - we find out in the passage later - would be used to make the wall. So, there are lots of those. Look at those walls. Have you ever seen anything more carefully assembled? It's like every stone has its place. And then, God said, "I will plant it with choice vines." Say "soreq". 

A soreq vine was the most ultra-special vine they had. Deep, rich purple grapes grew on the soreq vine. And not only that, but God said, "I'm going to plant vines," - not seeds. "So, I'm going to take the best stock I've got, and I'm going to put that in that rich topsoil that I put here where I cleared the stones. 

And then, God said, "In the middle of it, I'm going to put a watch tower." Do you see the watch towers? They're used for two things. One, they literally are watch towers. When your olives are ripe and your grapes are ripe, there are two-legged and four-legged folks who would love to have those grapes. And some with wings too. So, you live in that little tower, make a tent-- I see one there that actually looks like somebody's using it. You live in that little tower and you can drive away anyone who would come to rob your crop. 

Second, that's the place where you store your tools - a hoe or a pruning knife or a basket that you're going to put the grapes or the olives in. But there are two kinds of towers. Go back with me to Egypt. Do you remember those sukkah - the sukkot out in the field, those like palm branch huts? That's also mentioned in Isaiah. Most people just had a temporary shelter. You had to be fairly substantial to build one like I see there. And God says, "I'm so permanent, and you're so permanent. And I'm so committed to you. The tower I build in the middle of my vineyard is going to be a great big permanent stone tower. I'm in for the long haul."

And then, God said, "I'll tell you what. I cleared the ground on a hillside. I put all that work into it. I've got topsoil on there like you can't imagine. And I planted the very best vines. Not seeds, but stock. And I've got a watch tower. Do you know what? I'm going to dig a wine press, because I'm expecting a big-time harvest."

Now, it takes four years when you plant grape stock before you get your first grapes. So, God patiently nurtured his people whom he loved so much - the people that were to become his presence to the world. For years, he nurtured them on these fertile hillsides. He restored his relationship with them through the Temple. He implored them to listen to the cry of the oppressed. And then, listen. These are the saddest words. "I went. I looked for a crop of good grapes, and I found be'ushim." (Isaiah 5)

Now, be'ushim, I understand, refers to a condition that they have in this land, in this culture where a grape picks up a fungus. And it's stunted. It starts out whole and gets nice and big - maybe the size of a large raisin and it stops. Then it shrivels up and it dies. And God said, "What? After all that? After all that and all my commitment, I get be'ushim. It can't be." So, what was be'ushim? Listen.

God says, "Judge between me and my vineyard. What more could I have done for my vineyard? Why, when I look for good grapes, did I find be'ushim?" (Isaiah 5) Listen. "I looked for justice." That's good grapes. "I found bloodshed." That's be'ushim. "I looked for righteousness," - zedakah, "and I heard ze'akah." Do you understand what he's saying? "I brought you here. I restored your relationship with me. I shaped you and molded you. Look what I did for you. And you shed blood, innocent blood. You don't hear the cry of the single mom and the poor and the leper. How could you?" It broke his heart. 

Listen. They had come out of Egypt where they were the oppressed. God had heard their cry. He taught them through the Amalekites. Do you remember? "When I hear a ze'akah, I'm going to act. So, you learn to listen." They lived in the land for a few generations. They forgot. And they lived for them. And they said, "It's my gan. Why should I share it with that homeless person? I did all the work. It's mine."

I hate to read the rest of this. "I will tell you what I'm going to do to my vineyard," says the farmer. I see Isaiah writing this with tears running down his face. "I will take away its hedge. I will break down its wall, and it will be destroyed. Briars and thorns will grow there, and I will command the clouds not to rain on it. Do you want to see what happens to a people that produce be'ushim? Do you want to see what happens to a people when they forget their God, have no sensitivity to those who are hurting and broken around them?" (Isaiah 5)

Turn and look at this with me.  Look! Can you imagine a culture that has it all? Can you imagine a society that has everything your heart could desire? Can imagine a world where absolutely everything you wish, you can have? Wouldn't you say in that world there can't be any homeless? There can't be any unborn that nobody cares about. There can't be old people in nursing homes that no one pays any attention to. There can't be single moms and single dads who aren't cared for. There can't be AIDS victims that can't afford treatments. It's impossible. 

God said, "Why? Why after all this? And bringing you out of Egypt besides, why do I find be'ushim?" (Isaiah 5)

Remember, in the New Testament, you are God's vineyard. And I hear Jesus teaching the same thing. "If they're hungry, feed them. If they're thirsty, give them a drink. Sure. Tell them the Gospel. This is the most important reconciliation of all by far. But if they're in prison, you visit them. And if they're alone, you go see them. If they're sick, you comfort them. Because if you don't," I hear him say, "that's be-ushim."

There's a P.S. Jesus told a parable. "There was a vineyard owner who planted a vineyard. He built a wall and a watch tower." Every Jew in his audience, when Jesus started talking, said, "I know that story. It's Isaiah 5." But Jesus changes the story. Not in a contradictory way. Jesus goes on to say, "This vineyard produced lots of fruit. It was doing great." (Matthew 21) And that tells me that the Jews of Jesus' day were bearing fruit, that that's who that vineyard refers to. 

And then, he said, "And God turned it over to some worthless tenants." I think he meant the corrupt priesthood. He said, "Give me some of my fruit and you can have the rest. And then, he sent workers to collect his share and they beat them." Then, he said, "I will send my son. They'll give it to him. And they killed him." (Matthew 21) Be careful if you or I are one of the tenants with responsibility for God's vineyard. 

I want to be balanced. I tried to say to you in the desert, did Israel fail? Yes. Were they a failure? No. God used their sin to raise up a new generation. I would say the same here. Did these people fail? In this case, yes. Were they a failure? No. God used them too. 

There's one more lesson on this hillside. And I think it's intensely practical and relevant to a 21st century person. But I need to bring you into the gans. Come.