Spiritual Training

Spiritual Training X2

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July 22 - Evening

"I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard:

'My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.

"Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it." '

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress."

- Isaiah 5:1-7

Isaiah's Parable of the Vineyard


Isaiah introduces the conflict between Israel and their God while hinting at Israel’s ultimate future restoration in chapters 1-4.

In chapter 5 Isaiah addresses the present condition in Israel, Judah and Jerusalem by presenting a parable and asking the people for a verdict concerning the parable. At the end of the parable Isaiah reveals the meaning of the parable’s metaphors.

The opening phrase “my loved one had a vineyard” includes the Hebrew words yedid and dod (meaning “beloved”) along with a reference to a vineyard. These words in connection with a vineyard are reminiscent of the imagery in the Song of Solomon and in other ancient writings of a love and relationship.

The owner of the vineyard did all he could to prepare for a healthy and abundant harvest:
  • Hillside = chose good soil with potential of fertility
  • Dug it = plowed, removed weeds, loosened soil
  • Cleared stones = prepared soil by clearing hindrances
  • Planted choice vines = the best available vines were planted
  • Winepress = while the crops grew a winepress was prepared to extract the rich juice that would become the wine
  • Watchtower = A wall of protection and watchtower built out of the cleared stones would help keep wild animals out and provide a position of oversight to observe the vineyard

Despite all the work by the owner the crop of grapes were “bad” or “bitter” which is a word that comes from a Hebrew verb that means “to stink.”

After giving the people of Jerusalem and Judah his parable in 5:1-2, the Lord asks the people of Jerusalem and Judah a question through his prophet Jeremiah: Is this my fault? Should the owner blame himself? And, if so, what more could he have done? The answer to these rhetorical questions are no, no and nothing.

So, in Isaiah 5:3-4 the owner of the vineyard explains that he is going to overthrow his worthless vineyard and stop wasting his time.

Then in verses 5-6 Isaiah explains his parable to those too dull to understand:
  • The owner is the Lord Almighty
  • The vines in the vineyard is Israel, the people of Judah.
  • The fruit he desired was justice and righteousness
  • The stinking, bitter grapes that Jerusalem produced is bloodshed and oppression.

Things are not fine in Israel nor are things OK in Judah in Isaiah’s day!

(Jesus also told parables including owners and vineyards in Luke 13:6-8; Matthew 20:1-16 ; Luke 20:9-19 and Mark 12:1-12. Things were not OK in Judah in Jesus' day, either!)
Theodidaktoi (Gr) – taught by God (Eng) – the Greek word theodidaktoi is a compound word that comes from theo, meaning “God” an didasko, meaning “teach.” Theodidaktoi is used one time (a hapax) in the NT when Jesus quotes Isaiah 54:13 in John 6:45. Theodidaktoi is also used just one time in the Greek Septuagint in Isaiah 54:13.
I will produce the fruits of righteousness in my life!
I will be good soil and will care for vineyard the Lord has planted in my life.



Bible Reading Descriptions Here

Narrative

(morning only)

Complete Text

General Text




Personal

Employment

Church

Revelation of the mysteries of God
Health care
Italy



Detail of decorative cuts on an original Herodian stone in the jamb of the Triple Gate along the south wall of the Temple Mount.
(Details, photo)
Three phases of salvation chart from Galyn's book: The Word: Apparatus for Salvation, Renewal & Maturity (Book details. Download book.)




Someone to Quote

"We ourselves must entirely abstain from filthy speaking. And we should stop the mouths of those who practice it by stern looks and averting the face."
- Clement of Alexandria,
195 AD

Something to Ponder

Henry Halley said: “The most important thing in this book is this simple suggestion: that each church have a congregational plan of Bible reading and that the pastor’s sermon be from the part of the Bible read the past week.”

Henry Halley believed that this suggestion, if followed, would produce a revitalized church and bring about a grand revival, provided the minister himself thoroughly believes that the Bible is God’s Word.

– Henry Halley (1874-1965), author of “Halley’s Bible Handbook” (Details, book)

Here’s a Fact

In the spring of 2014 information was released concerning a 2013 discovery of a six inch chisel found under Robinson's Arch about 20 below street level of the first century. It is believed that this chisel was dropped by a builder working high on the Western Wall.
(Photos 1, 2. Details 1, 2, 3.)

Proverb

"The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;
he who is under the Lord's wrath will fall into it."

- Proverbs 22:14

Coach’s Corner

The greatest miracle is salvation. The godliest spiritual manifestation is the transformed soul.

Jeremiah 31 New International Version (NIV)
31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
This is what the Lord says:
“The people who survive the sword     will find favor in the wilderness;     I will come to give rest to Israel.”
The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;     I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

I will build you up again,     and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels     and go out to dance with the joyful.

Again you will plant vineyards     on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them     and enjoy their fruit.

There will be a day when watchmen cry out     on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion,     to the Lord our God.’”
This is what the Lord says:
“Sing with joy for Jacob;     shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say,     ‘Lord, save your people,     the remnant of Israel.’

See, I will bring them from the land of the north     and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame,     expectant mothers and women in labor;     a great throng will return.

They will come with weeping;     they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water     on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father,     and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
10 
“Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;     proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them     and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’
11 
For the Lord will deliver Jacob     and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.
12 
They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;     they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord— the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,     the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden,     and they will sorrow no more.
13 
Then young women will dance and be glad,     young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness;     I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
14 
I will satisfy the priests with abundance,     and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the Lord.
15 This is what the Lord says:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,     mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children     and refusing to be comforted,     because they are no more.”
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Restrain your voice from weeping     and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord.     “They will return from the land of the enemy.
17 
So there is hope for your descendants,” declares the Lord.     “Your children will return to their own land.
18 
“I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:     ‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf,     and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return,     because you are the Lord my God.
19 
After I strayed,     I repented; after I came to understand,     I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated     because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 
Is not Ephraim my dear son,     the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him,     I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him;     I have great compassion for him,” declares the Lord.
21 
“Set up road signs;     put up guideposts. Take note of the highway,     the road that you take. Return, Virgin Israel,     return to your towns.
22 
How long will you wander,     unfaithful Daughter Israel? The Lord will create a new thing on earth—     the woman will return to the man.”
23 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.’ 24 People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks. 25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
26 At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.
27 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord. 29 “In those days people will no longer say,
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,     and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.
31 
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,     “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel     and with the people of Judah.
32 
It will not be like the covenant     I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand     to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant,     though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
33 
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel     after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds     and write it on their hearts. I will be their God,     and they will be my people.
34 
No longer will they teach their neighbor,     or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me,     from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness     and will remember their sins no more.”
35 This is what the Lord says,
he who appoints the sun     to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars     to shine by night, who stirs up the sea     so that its waves roar—     the Lord Almighty is his name:
36 
“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,”     declares the Lord, “will Israel ever cease     being a nation before me.”
37 This is what the Lord says:
“Only if the heavens above can be measured     and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel     because of all they have done,” declares the Lord.
38 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”
Isaiah 30 New International Version (NIV)
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
30 
“Woe to the obstinate children,”     declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine,     forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,     heaping sin upon sin;

who go down to Egypt     without consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,     to Egypt’s shade for refuge.

But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,     Egypt’s shade will bring you disgrace.

Though they have officials in Zoan     and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,

everyone will be put to shame     because of a people useless to them, who bring neither help nor advantage,     but only shame and disgrace.”
A prophecy concerning the animals of the Negev:
Through a land of hardship and distress,     of lions and lionesses,     of adders and darting snakes, the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’ backs,     their treasures on the humps of camels, to that unprofitable nation,

    to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless. Therefore I call her     Rahab the Do-Nothing.

Go now, write it on a tablet for them,     inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come     it may be an everlasting witness.

For these are rebellious people, deceitful children,     children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.
10 
They say to the seers,     “See no more visions!” and to the prophets,     “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things,     prophesy illusions.
11 
Leave this way,     get off this path, and stop confronting us     with the Holy One of Israel!”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,     relied on oppression     and depended on deceit,
13 
this sin will become for you     like a high wall, cracked and bulging,     that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
14 
It will break in pieces like pottery,     shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found     for taking coals from a hearth     or scooping water out of a cistern.”
15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,     in quietness and trust is your strength,     but you would have none of it.
16 
You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’     Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’     Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
17 
A thousand will flee     at the threat of one; at the threat of five     you will all flee away, till you are left     like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,     like a banner on a hill.”
18 
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;     therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice.     Blessed are all who wait for him!
19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
23 He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. 24 The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.
27 
See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar,     with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath,     and his tongue is a consuming fire.
28 
His breath is like a rushing torrent,     rising up to the neck. He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction;     he places in the jaws of the peoples     a bit that leads them astray.
29 
And you will sing     as on the night you celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will rejoice     as when people playing pipes go up to the mountain of the Lord,     to the Rock of Israel.
30 
The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice     and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire,     with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail.
31 
The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;     with his rod he will strike them down.
32 
Every stroke the Lord lays on them     with his punishing club will be to the music of timbrels and harps,     as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.
33 
Topheth has long been prepared;     it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,     with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the Lord,     like a stream of burning sulfur,     sets it ablaze.


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