Thursday
'I have trodden the wine press alone, and from the peoples no one was with me.' (v. 3a)
Background
After Psalms, Isaiah is the Old Testament book most quoted in the New Testament, with 55 references.There are tracts that are no stranger to us. For example chapter 61 of Isaiah is referred to in Luke 4 (see Monday's reflection) and the birth of Jesus is forecast in Isaiah 7:14.
Isaiah has also provided images that are widely referenced in Bible-reading cultures. An example is the grapes of wrath talked about here in 63:1-6. Along with Revelation 14:14-19, it inspired antislavery campaigner Julia Ward Howe’s 'Battle hymn of the Republic (Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord)'. And from that hymn and the Bible (at his wife’s suggestion) John Steinbeck called his novel about displaced Oklahoma farmers 'The Grapes of Wrath'.
What are the 'grapes of wrath' in Isaiah? They are the 'fruit' of the oppression and pain of God’s people in exile. The people are not able to harvest that burden but, the text suggests, God will engage in the just and messy squeezing, judgement and liberation. This is in contrast to other parts of the book where Cyrus (the Persian leader) is the agent of God’s plan.
The language of these verses is strong and abrasive such that we are tempted to adjust the course we take. In Christian history believers have taken verse 3 “ I have trodden the wine press alone…no one was with me” as an image of Jesus in Gethsemane or on the cross. Images abound of Christ in the wine press. It is a helpful and powerful image but what was this passage trying to say at the time? These words speak to us of God, and strong action, in our abusive world where the fruits of the oppressed ripen. Necessary pruning of our life – and society – and the peril of being fruitless (John 15:1-8) speak of a God who is more robust and more demanding than we sometimes imagine.
To Ponder:
- If possible obtain a few grapes, a picture of grapes, or imagine them in your mind’s eye. Take some time to touch, study, smell and taste the grapes. How do your reflections interact with the text we have studied?
- In what ways do you identify with the image of isolation in v. 3? How are you sustained? Who or what might be a source of strength to you?
Prayer
God, spare us from being fruitless. I thank you that you are an attentive gardener who knows each branch of your vine intimately. Show me what needs to be pruned or tended so that I might bear fruit for your kingdom. Amen.