​​Welcome  to    Joy By Surprise

There are several parables in the Bible about vines and vineyards; each symbolically portraying aspects of Israel's or an individual believer's spiritual life. Today we will study a few of those lessons.

The passages above tell of the Almighty's vineyard and the results He expects of His people Israel.

He is the owner of the spiritual vineyard called the House of Israel. In fact the Most High calls Himself the Elohim of Israel and His Son is called the King of the Jews! (Luke 23:36-38)

But, some will ask "Who is an Israelite?" "Who/What is a Jew?" Many people these days claim to be Jews, or members of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. They come in all colors: black, brown and white. Are they all Jews or the descendants of the ancient Israelites?

A Jew is:

• A member of the tribe of Yahudah
• An Israelite
• One whose religion is Judaism

In the 'Old' Testament, the term Jew initially meant a member of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin; who together comprised the southern kingdom of Judah. After the 70 year captivity the terms Jew and Israelite became fused as many captive Israelites - dispersed many years before - returned to Israel with the Babylonian exiles. According to the Halakha, the body of religious law generally accepted by Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed Jews, a Jew is someone who has a Jewish mother. But this definition would exclude king David's grandfather Obed, whose mother was Ruth the Moabite; and possibly even king Solomon, whose mother Bath-sheba was the former wife of Uriah the Hitite.

In June 1970 the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother may be registered as Jewish by nationality. But this ruling is disputed even to this day by orthodox Jews. David ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister, even suggested that anyone who wished to be considered a Jew should be accepted as such. Many other definitions have been suggested and even applied; but the question still remains unanswered for many.

The 'New' Testament-backed answer to the question: "Who/What is a Jew?" is stunning to say the least. Comparatively few Jews - or even Christians for that matter - would accept it.

In short: once a Gentile becomes a true believer in the CREATOR, YaHuWaH Elohim of Abraham and of His Son YAHUSHUA the Messiah and begins following His instructions (Torah), from that moment that person is grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel and becomes an Israelite, a Jew!

The output of all vineyards depends basically on three things: climate, soil quality and work. The Most High has more than done His share in these three areas.

But, even with the very best of climate and soil, personal effort on the part of the believer is required to produce good fruit. Notice that after YaHuWaH had done the initial preparatory work of digging, planting and hedging He called upon his husbandmen (workers) to do the rest - to work in the vineyard; to put forth a personal effort to produce fruit. It is very doubtful if good fruit can ever be produced year after year without personal effort.

This does not mean that all must become missionaries, preachers or writers of spiritual books. Nor does it mean that we are to spend every moment of our spare time telling others about YAHUSHUA the Messiah and his love. It doesn't mean that we are to read the Bible for hours on end or say long prayers. Within certain limits, these activities are admirable; but they are not the Master's primary objective when he says: "Go and work in my vineyard today."

What then does he mean? I believe that he means: 'go and produce spiritual fruit in your own life.' After all, this is the main produce of every spiritual vineyard. Those who are lazy about this all-important task - to produce spiritual fruit in their own lives - will deeply regret it on the Day of Judgment.

All vineyards, orchards and gardens must be given time to come to fruition. Some fruit trees, depending on their type and climate, take up to 10 years to produce fruit. Others bear fruit within two, three or four years. No two fruit trees are identical. But all are expected to eventually produce fruit.

Results are inevitable. They may be excellent, fair, poor or bad; but results are inevitable. The Most High expects results in proportion to the input He has made to the vineyard. When evaluating results He also considers the conditions: the social climate, a person's spiritual background (the soil) the age of each tree (a believer's spiritual maturity), the opportunities each of us has received in times past, etc. All these factors are considered when the Almighty evaluates the crop of His people.

Alas! so often:

NOTE: The crop the Almighty is expecting from His vineyard is not a crop of material possessions, money, houses, lands or possessions. It is not a crop of higher education or fame - important as these things may be.

The Fruit of the Holy Spirit should be produced, in varying quantities, on every vine and every branch in the Almighty's spiritual vineyard. To the Most High this is the only fruit of any worth. All other achievements, regardless of how much they are valued by the world, count for nothing when compared with the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. How do you measure up to YaHuWaH 's expectations?

Each sacred season the Almighty responds to the produce of His vineyard in direct proportion to the fruit individuals and congregations produce. If the expected results are not forthcoming, He is displeased and reacts accordingly. If the fruit is good and abundant, He is overjoyed and, once again, reacts accordingly. In short, the Most High reacts to every harvest, whether it is good or bad. This is an important fact to remember. It would be foolish to ignore or forget it; because the Almighty does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever: and will respond to individual harvests in exactly the same way as He did in ages past. I repeat: each month, each year at spiritual harvest time, YaHuWaH comes looking for fruit. Every vine is examined on an individual basis. Every corporate vineyard (Israel or Church group) is also assessed as a unit and the presence of good fruit is the divine consideration. Notice the divine reaction to an individual's or group's production.

King Solomon summarized man's responsibility in similar terms. He wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:

Believers do well to keep the coming Day of Judgment in mind. See the article, Works, Are they Important?

I conclude with the Master's words: