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The Vine’s Rejection!
“And the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which is joy to God and men, and shall I go to dominate the trees?’” (Judges 9:13)
And thus, the “New King Search Committee” has received their third rejection. On one level, we might be tempted to feel sorry for these trees, working hard to find a candidate but no one wants to do so. At the same time, we ought to see this as a mark of God’s grace, restraining the people from sin for a season. How often, when God holds us back from what we wish to do, we see that as a frustration, yet how often it is a gift of God’s restraint…we just cannot see it at that point in time.
Do you see the irony of the contrast here? The trees are seeking to meet what they perceive as their immediate need and the vine is looking at the long-term ramifications of this act. How so? He speaks of the sacrifice of his new wine, but it is new wine that replenishes the stock-pile of old wine. So, unlike the fruit of the Olive or the Fig, for the fruit of the grapevine to be genuinely valuable, it must age for five, ten, or twenty years.
How often, in our churches, leadership finds itself stuck in the challenges of the immediate rather than forward planning for the life of the church decades from now. Obviously there are changes that we cannot predict, but wisdom seeks to both prepare for the lean years and come out stronger and more focused from the challenges the body faces. This cannot be done unless the leadership is prayerfully evaluating their direction and vision. That cannot be done without the wisdom of the vine that recognizes the long term ramifications of meeting the short-term-perceived-need of these bully trees (how often church leaders miss that reality).
The Third Rejection (Judges 9:13)
“The Third Rejection”
“And the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which is joy to God and men, and shall I go to dominate the trees?’” (Judges 9:13)
This is the third and the last rejection that the forest’s “new king committee” receives, and once again, the rejection is based on the same principle. The vine, a third tree that bears good fruit, understood that when one pursues one’s own ego rather than the proper plan of God, good fruit is lost. There is no rushing ahead of God and there is no pushing God to act—and all actions that are aimed in that direction are sin. There is only waiting upon the Lord’s good timing and good will to open doors ahead of you and to close doors behind you. Once again, in the context of our passage, Abimelech and the people of Shechem were seeking their own agendas first and above all things rather than seeking to live righteously for before the Lord.
Friends one of the great lessons of this parable is that there is a proper calling for each of us. To fulfill that calling and to do it well and to the glory of God is the task that is laid before us. There are times when others will flatter our egos and tickle our ears with promises of honor and great authority, but if God is not opening the doors, it will likely ruin your fruit which blesses God and mankind. Our sole purpose in life is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever—outside of that purpose is nothing other than eternal misery. Friends, discern and use your gifts for God’s glory, whatever your calling and whatever your situation—use every moment for God’s glory and ignore the temptations of those who would call on you to be king.
The Preacher's Study 