Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning His vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; He built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and He looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 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? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant planting; and He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry! (Isaiah 5:1-7)
What kind of a love song is this to sing to the Lord? It starts out fine, describing all the good things God has done for His people. But then it goes terribly sour. It ends with people who yield nothing but violence and grief to the God who made them and cared for them.
Thank God this is not the last verse of the love song! For we know how it ends. Yes, there is judgment, and yes, there is regret and sorrow and repentance and pain. But there is also hope. Because God refuses to give up.
What does He do? He comes Himself into the vineyard to save and renew it. He uses the very violence and evil of the people as part of His plan to redeem them. That’s what God did when He came into our world as the Man Christ Jesus. He knew exactly what we would do to Him—that we would refuse Him and reject Him and finally put Him to death on a cross. But by submitting to that, Jesus changed the whole story—because He took our evil and destroyed it through His own death.
And then Jesus rose from the dead, never to die again. He shares that new, everlasting life with everyone who trusts in Him—all the transformed vines in His vineyard. Now He has made us fruitful vines—people who love Him and live in love toward each other. Only God could do it—and He has.
WE PRAY: Dear Savior, thank You for writing such a wonderful end to our terrible song. Fill us with love for You always. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions: