Isaiah 4 & 5

In Isaiah 4 & 5, Isaiah is speaking into southern Israel as they face the captivity of Babylon. God wanted them to be sweet grapes but they chose to live differently than God instructed and therefore became bitter grapes. They chose to covet. They chose drunkenness. They chose carelessness. They chose deception. They chose injustice. They chose pride. They chose to disregard God and His presence in their lives. They face the consequences of these choices as God prunes the bitter grapes away. A remnant of sweet grapes will remain and through that remnant, our Messiah will come forth. We again see hope, restoration, and redemption. We are promised not only our Messiah, who has already come, but also complete restoration of a new heaven and new earth when Jesus returns yet again. We can choose Jesus. We can choose to live the lives of sweet grapes. We can choose to let God prune any bitter grapes from our lives and let Him be God of our lives. His ways and plans are always better.