Author: BTP

“What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?” (Isaiah 5:4).

When I was growing up, there was an older brother who used to tell us that this verse was the “key verse” to the whole of the Old Testament. What did he mean? He meant that this verse summarized all of God’s dealings with man in the Old Testament. Let me explain.

In all of the Old Testament, God was testing man, to see if there was any good in him, in his natural sinful condition. He tested man in various ways, and no matter what the Lord did, man always failed. It was no use; he was a sinful creature, and nothing good could come out of him. Of course the Lord knew ahead of time that sinful man could not do anything good toward Him, but God did this testing to prove to man that he was thoroughly sinful.

In the Old Testament the nation of Israel was always looked at as God’s vineyard. Perhaps you have seen a vineyard with grapes growing in rows. As I have told you before, I grew up on a fruit farm, and we grew grapes. The vines had been properly grafted, and we cultivated them, put manure on them, and pruned them. They always produced good bunches of grapes.

However, in the fence rows between the fields on that farm there were wild grapes. You could eat them, but they were very small and rather sour. No one would ever buy them at a market, and we left them for the wild animals to eat.

You can imagine how upset we would have been if we had cultivated, fertilized, and pruned our good grapevines in our vineyard, and then found that they produced only wild grapes! We would wonder whatever happened, yet that is what God said about all His testing of man. The Lord did everything possible to give sinful man a chance to produce something good for Him, but nothing worked. Man produced only wild grapes.

There is only one way we can produce something good for God, and that is to have a new life in Christ. In order to give us this new life, the Lord Jesus had to come and die on the cross. Now He wants to give new life to whoever will come to Him.

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“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness [pride] of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:11).

As you all can see, this verse is from the book of Isaiah, and occurs early in the book, in the second chapter. The same verse (vs. 17) is repeated in this chapter, but with a slight variation. In verse 11 it is the lofty (high) looks of man that are humbled; it could read “the lofty eyes of man shall be humbled.” God hates a proud look, and in Proverbs 6:17 we read that “a proud look” heads the list of seven things that the Lord hates.

However, a proud look only shows what is going on inside the person, for we do not have a proud look unless there is pride inside. Later in verse 17 of Isaiah 2, we find that the Lord gets to the root of the problem, for it says that “the loftiness (pride) of man shall be bowed down.” Eventually only the Lord will be exalted, which is the way it should be.

Today we see man doing his best to honor himself, and to have the first place. As I write this in 2022, the various nations in the world are all trying to be recognized as being powerful, and worthy of recognition. Some smaller nations are spending a lot of their budget on military power while their people go hungry. Others are trying to get control of certain areas of the world, even to the point of invading other nations that are close to them. Everyone wants power and influence.

But there is a day coming when the Lord Jesus will come back to this world in judgment, and when He takes control, our verse for today will be carried out. All the pride of man will disappear, and the Lord Jesus will be exalted. In that day, you and I will already be with Him, and share that glory.

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“Love is strong as death … Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it” (Song of Solomon 8:6-7).

Love is a very strong force; it is certainly one of the strongest emotions among human beings. Sad to say, hate is also a strong emotion, and both love and hate have been responsible for making people do things they might otherwise not have done. Sometimes love has made people give up their lives to save others.

When I worked in the emergency department of my hospital, a very sad accident happened, yet it showed how much a husband loved his wife. The couple were traveling on the freeway and had a flat tire near the hospital. After pulling over onto the shoulder, they had opened their trunk to get the spare tire out. Suddenly they heard two loud blasts from an air horn on a big truck, and when they turned around, they saw that the truck had lost a wheel, which was coming straight for them at 60-70 mph. (100-110 km. hr.). The wife froze with fear and seemed unable to move.

Instead of jumping to safety himself, the husband gave his wife a violent shove, and sent her tumbling into the ditch. But then the wheel from the truck struck him, killing him instantly. They brought him to the hospital, but there was nothing we could do for him. He had died to save his wife. She was not hurt at all, except for slight bruise or two.

It was a heroic act for that husband, and his wife will always remember that he died in order to save her. But there is One who did much more than that for us. The Lord Jesus’ love was stronger than all the mighty waters of judgment that He bore for our sins. He could say, “All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over Me” (Psalm 42:7). Yet He gladly went through it all, so that He could have you and me with Him in heaven. He made a way so that we could be saved, but He had to suffer and die in order to do it.

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“Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out” (Song of Solomon 4:16).

I have mentioned previously that I grew up on a fruit farm. It was always beautiful to see the blossoms come out on the various fruit trees in the spring. In our area they usually came out about mid-May, and the whole orchard would be white with the pretty blossoms. We used to like to go for a walk in the orchard and smell them. Each kind of fruit tree had a distinct smell.

Sometimes, when we stood on the edge of the orchard, and a nice breeze was blowing, we could really smell the fragrance from so many trees in bloom. But here in our verse we find both the north wind and the south wind mentioned. The north wind is usually strong and perhaps cold, while the south wind is often softer, and warmer. We liked the south wind in the spring, but we did not like the north wind, for it sometimes blew so strongly that it actually blew some of the blossoms off the trees.

Why does Solomon mention both the north and south winds? It is because we are like the garden of the Lord, or that orchard with the blossoms. The Lord sometimes allows a strong wind in our life — perhaps an unhappy experience that we wish we did not have to endure. But that strong wind makes the fragrance flow out to the Lord, for often we learn more by a difficult experience than we do when everything is going well.

But the Lord allows the south wind too. He knows when we need some encouragement, and a time when things go well for us. Then the nice smell of His garden (us!) comes from the south wind too. The Lord can use difficult times in our lives, and also easy times, to allow us to give some enjoyment to Him.

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“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyards; for our vineyards are in bloom” (Song of Solomon 2:15 JND).

In the verses just before this one, Solomon has been describing the way everything starts to grow in the spring — the flowers appear, the birds sing, and the plants begin to bloom. Then he gives us a warning. The little foxes come out in the spring too, and when the vines begin to bloom, those little foxes nip off the new buds. Then, of course, no grapes will form, for the buds are gone. Foxes do not normally eat buds from plants, as they feed on mice, squirrels, wild rabbits, etc. They nip off the buds just to be mischievous.

The little foxes are like the small temptations in our lives. They may not seem like much, but they spoil our enjoyment of the Lord, and spoil our ability to bear fruit for the Him. We need to be careful to catch those “little foxes” before they cause real trouble in our lives.

When I say small temptations, what am I talking about? We are talking about that invitation to go somewhere that you know your parents would not agree with. Or that temptation to go and buy something that you know would not please the Lord. Perhaps it would be looking at something on the internet that you know is sinful. Or maybe reading something that brings evil thoughts into your mind. These are all like those “little foxes” that spoil our fellowship with the Lord.

These temptations may seem like small things, and Satan may persuade us that it does not matter if we give in to them now and them. But just as a grape vine can be spoiled when a fox nips off the new buds, so you and I can ruin our Christian walk by allowing even small sins in our life.

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“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).

Although many of you who read this may be too young to remember the event, the date of September 11, 2001 was a turning point in this century. On that date terrorists hijacked two commercial airplanes and flew them directly into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, NY, U.S.A. The severe damage to the buildings, coupled with the fires that broke out, eventually caused the buildings to collapse, with the loss of thousands of lives. All of us who are older can remember where we were, and what we were doing, when it happened.

Many people who worked in those two buildings tried to escape, but found it impossible. Quite a few realized that they were not going to make it out of the buildings alive, and were able to telephone loved ones and say some final words to them before they died.

However, a few people, twenty in total, were in those two buildings when they collapsed, and yet are alive today. Most of them were in Stairwell B of the North Tower, trying to get out of the building, but then the building suddenly collapsed. For some reason this particular stairwell did not collapse, and it protected them. Some of them were rescued within a short time, while others were buried for hours under the mountain of debris that fell on them.

Why were those people safe? It was because that stairwell remained intact when the building fell, and they were protected to some extent. Most suffered some injuries, and some suffered severe injuries. Most of them had nightmares for years afterward, and found themselves unable to work properly, or even to relate properly to their loved ones. They all suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which means that they continued to have horrible memories of what happened to them, and to others.

The people who were saved in Stairwell B did not know that it would not collapse. They just happened to be there when the building fell down. But you and I know that the only safe place from the judgment of God against sin is the blood of Christ. Are you saved, and under the shelter of the blood of Christ?

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“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders” (Deuteronomy 33:12).

This beautiful verse comes near the end of the book of Deuteronomy. In some parts of that book, particularly toward the end, Moses had to warn the children of Israel of what would happen to them if they disobeyed the Lord, and worshiped false gods. He spoke very faithfully to them, for he said, “I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you” (Deuteronomy 31:29). The Lord Himself knew very well that the children of Israel would not follow His ways, but would rebel against Him.

Yet the Lord was gracious to them, and gave them a wonderful blessing through Moses, just before he died. Moses loved the Lord, and he loved the people of Israel. He had led them through the wilderness for forty years, and had seen and heard all of the complaining and rebellion that had happened during that time. Yet he blessed the people, urging them to be faithful to the Lord, so that they would enjoy His blessing.

How beautiful are the words of our verse today! Just as Israel was beloved of the Lord, so we are also. The Lord wants to protect us “all the day long,” and keep us “between His shoulders.” The shoulders in a man are his place of strength, and you may remember that when the shepherd had found the lost sheep (Luke 15:5), he placed it on his shoulders and brought it home. The Lord Jesus wants to carry us too, and keep us from harm. He was willing to do this for the children of Israel, and is willing to do it for us too.

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“Abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1 John 2:28).

I don’t suppose that any of you are already looking back on your life with regrets! But if you approach old age someday, there are likely quite a few things that you may wish you had taken time to do or learn. Other things, you will wish you had not wasted the time on! You might wish you had really spent time on those piano lessons, and later in life could enjoy the results more. Or perhaps you will wish you had become fluent in another language. Both are very useful skills. How about those many hours on computer games and social media?

But there is one thing you will never regret, and that is every moment spent with the Lord Jesus, and in doing something for Him. Here is a favorite hymn of mine. If you do not know it, you can put the first line into your computer search engine and enjoy hearing it sung. It is truly beautiful and heart-searching.

By and by when I look on His face, Beautiful face, thorn-shadowed face; By and by when I look on His face, I’ll wish I had given Him more. More, so much more, More of my life than I e’er gave before, By and by when I look on His face, I’ll wish I had given Him more. By and by when He holds out His hands, Welcoming hands, nail-riven hands; By and by when He holds out His hands, I’ll wish I had given Him more. More, so much more, More of my love than I e’er gave before, By and by when He holds out His hands, I’ll wish I had given Him more. In the light of that heavenly place, Light from His face, beautiful face; In the light of that heavenly place, I’ll wish I had given Him more. More, so much more, Treasures unbounded for Him I adore, By and by when I look on His face, I’ll wish I had given Him more.

Grace R. Adkins

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“Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers [different] seeds … Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together … Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together” (Deuteronomy 22:9-11).

Perhaps you are surprised that the Lord would give these instructions to the children of Israel. After all, what could be wrong with sowing a vineyard (a field where you grow grapes) with different kinds of seeds? When I was growing up, I lived on a fruit farm, and we used to grow grapes. We grew several different kinds of grapes — some were purple, some were red, and some were green. We grew them in the same field, but the Israelites were not to do that.

Also, they were not to plow with an ox and an ass (a donkey) together. They probably would not work very well together, for an ox tends to go slowly and steadily, while a donkey might be stubborn and slow sometimes, and want to go fast at other times.

Finally, they were not to make a piece of clothing with different kinds of material. They were not to mix wool and linen in the same piece of clothing. Today many different kinds of material are used to make clothing. Some of it is natural material, such as wool, but other material is synthetic, or manmade, such as rayon, nylon, acrylic, Gore-Tex, spandex, etc. More than half of the fibers used in clothing today are synthetic. In many cases these different kinds of fibers are mixed together in a piece of clothing. Again, the children of Israel were not to do this.

They did not understand why the Lord told them to do this, but there is a lesson for us in what the Lord told them. God does not like mixtures, because it reminds us that you and I, as Christians, are not to mix with this world. A few days ago, we saw that the Israelites were not to eat land animals unless they had a cloven hoof, and we saw that this also teaches us the truth of separation. God wants His people to be separate from this world, and all of these mixtures in our verses for today were telling the Israelites not to mix things. We are not under the law today, but we can remember the lesson that God teaches us in these instructions.

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“And the Lord said unto Moses … Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it” (Exodus 17:5-6).

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod … and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water” (Numbers 20:7-8).

In our verses today, we find two occasions when the Lord brought water out of a rock, so that the children of Israel and their animals could drink. The two occasions were almost forty years apart, for the first one happened at the beginning of the wilderness journey of Israel, and the second one was close to the end of that journey. In both cases the Lord brought water out of the rock. In the first case Moses was told to hit the rock, but the second time he was told simply to speak to the rock. Why was this?

The rock is a picture of the Lord Jesus, and when He went to the cross, it was as if He were struck with the rod. There God punished Him for our sins, and He suffered the judgment of God that we deserved. However, this happened only once; it did not need to happen again. We read in the Bible, “Now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). After the Lord Jesus died, blessing flows to us simply if we ask Him; He does not have to suffer again.

For this reason, when the people wanted water a second time, the Lord told Moses simply to speak to the rock. Sad to say, Moses was angry because the people had complained to him, and instead of speaking to the rock, Moses struck the rock twice. God was gracious, and the water came out just the same, but because Moses disobeyed the Lord, he was not allowed to go into the land of Canaan. It was important for Moses to listen to the Lord, for even though he did not understand why, the Lord’s instructions about how to get water for the people were a picture of the Lord Jesus.

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