🍇 Mifano ya Biblia — Sehemu ya 2: Wimbo wa Shamba la Mizabibu🍇 Parables of the Bible — Unit 2: The Song of the Vineyard

UtanguliziOrientation

Fikiria unamiliki nyumba ya kupanga yenye starehe inayotazama bahari. Rafiki zako wanasafiri kupitia eneo hilo, nawe unawaambia wanaweza kukaa humo bila malipo. Makabati yamejaa chakula na vyumba vina samani, nawe unaomba jambo moja tu: tafadhali safisheni mnapoondoka. Unaporudi, sinki imejaa vyombo vichafu, chakula kinaoza mezani, na zulia lina madoa. Unapouliza kuhusu jambo hilo, rafiki zako wanakuambia kwamba walichukizwa kuombwa kusafisha. Uliwapa kila kitu na ukaomba karibu hakuna kitu kama malipo. Ungejisikiaje?Imagine owning a comfortable apartment overlooking the ocean. Friends are traveling through the area, and you tell them they may stay there at no charge. The cupboards are full and the rooms are furnished, and you ask only one thing: please clean up when you leave. When you return, the sink is full of dirty dishes, food is rotting on the counter, and the carpet is stained. When you ask about it, your friends tell you they resented being asked to clean up. You gave them everything and asked for almost nothing in return. How would you feel?

Hiyo ndiyo karibu hisia ile ile ya Isaya 5:1–7, Wimbo wa Shamba la Mizabibu. Ni mfano wa Agano la Kale ulio karibu zaidi na mafundisho ya Yesu, kwa sababu Yesu aliusimulia upya kwa makusudi katika mfano wake wa wakulima waovu (Mathayo 21:33–46). Tukiuelewa wimbo wa Isaya, tutausikia mfano wa Yesu jinsi wasikilizaji wake wa kwanza walivyousikia. Katika Sehemu ya 1 tuliona kwamba mfano ni hadithi ya kidunia yenye maana ya kimbinguni, kwamba huondoa kinga za msikilizaji, na kwamba mara nyingi humwongoza kujitolea hukumu yeye mwenyewe. Wimbo wa Isaya unafanya yote matatu, na unayafanya katika mistari saba tu.That is very nearly the feeling of Isaiah 5:1–7, the Song of the Vineyard. It is the Old Testament parable that stands closest to the teaching of Jesus, because Jesus deliberately retold it in His parable of the tenants (Matthew 21:33–46). If we understand Isaiah's song, we will hear Jesus' parable the way His first listeners heard it. In Unit 1 we saw that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, that it disarms the listener, and that it often leads him to pronounce judgment on himself. Isaiah's song does all three, and it does them in only seven verses.

I. MazingiraI. The Setting

Isaya alitoa unabii huko Yerusalemu katika karne ya nane kabla ya Kristo, wakati wa utawala wa Uzia, Yothamu, Ahazi, na Hezekia (Isaya 1:1). Wimbo wa sura ya 5 huenda unatoka katika miaka ya mwanzo ya huduma yake, wakati Yuda ilipokuwa ikifurahia ustawi. Biashara ilikuwa ikikua, matajiri walikuwa wakijenga nyumba nzuri, na ibada za hekaluni ziliendelea bila kukatizwa. Kwa nje, kila kitu kilionekana kizima. Lakini sura ya 1 tayari imetuambia kile Mungu alichokiona: mikono iliyojaa sadaka na mikono iliyojaa damu (Isaya 1:11–15). Dini ilikuwa na shughuli nyingi wakati haki ilikuwa ikifa.Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem in the eighth century before Christ, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1). The song in chapter 5 most likely comes from the early years of his ministry, when Judah was enjoying prosperity. Trade was growing, the wealthy were building fine houses, and the temple services continued without interruption. From the outside, everything looked healthy. But chapter 1 has already told us what God saw: hands full of offerings and hands full of blood (Isaiah 1:11–15). Religion was busy while justice was dying.

Katika mazingira hayo Isaya anasimama mbele, labda katika sikukuu ya mavuno ambapo nyimbo kuhusu mashamba ya mizabibu zilikuwa za kawaida, na anatangaza kwamba ataimba wimbo wa mapenzi. "Na nimwimbie mpendwa wangu, wimbo wa mpendwa wangu, katika habari ya shamba lake la mizabibu" (Isaya 5:1). Umati unasogea karibu. Katika Wimbo Ulio Bora na katika mashairi ya mapenzi ya ulimwengu wa kale, shamba la mizabibu mara nyingi lilimwakilisha bibi arusi. Wasikilizaji wanatarajia hadithi ya mapenzi. Wanachopokea ni kesi mahakamani.Into that setting Isaiah steps forward, perhaps at a harvest festival when songs about vineyards were common, and announces that he will sing a love song. "Now let me sing to my Well-beloved a song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard" (Isaiah 5:1). The crowd leans in. A vineyard in the Song of Solomon and in the love poetry of the ancient world often pictured a bride. The listeners expect a romance. What they receive is a lawsuit.

II. Utunzaji wa Mwenye Shamba (Isaya 5:1–2)II. The Care of the Owner (Isaiah 5:1–2)

Mistari ya kwanza inaeleza kila kitu ambacho mwenye shamba alifanya. Alichagua "kilimani penye kuzaa sana." Alilima ardhi na kuitoa mawe, kazi ambayo katika nchi ya milima ya Yuda ilikuwa ya kuvunja mgongo. Aliipanda kwa "mzabibu ulio mzuri sana," kwa Kiebrania soreq, mzabibu wa ubora wa juu kabisa. Alijenga mnara katikati yake ili aweze kuulinda dhidi ya wezi na wanyama, na akachonga shinikizo la divai katika mwamba, ishara kwamba alitarajia kikamilifu mavuno. Hakuna kilichoachwa bila kufanywa. Kila riziki kwa ajili ya kuzaa matunda ilikuwa imetolewa.The first verses describe everything the owner did. He chose "a very fruitful hill." He dug the ground and cleared it of stones, which in the hill country of Judah was backbreaking work. He planted it with "the choicest vine," the Hebrew soreq, a vine of the finest quality. He built a watchtower in the middle of it so that he could guard it from thieves and animals, and he hewed a winepress out of the rock, a sign that he fully expected a harvest. Nothing was left undone. Every provision for fruitfulness had been made.

Hii ni neema kabla ya dai. Mwenye shamba haombi zabibu kisha kuuacha mzabibu ujitegemee wenyewe. Anaandaa, analinda, na anaruzuku kwanza, na baadaye tu ndipo anatafuta matunda. Hadithi ya Israeli ilifuata mpangilio huo huo. Mungu alileta mzabibu kutoka Misri, akasafisha nchi mbele yake, akaupanda (Zaburi 80:8–9). Aliwapa watu wake agano, sheria, nchi, hekalu, ukuhani, na manabii. Kila kitu Israeli ilichokuwa, ilikuwa imekipokea.This is grace before demand. The owner does not ask for grapes and then leave the vine to fend for itself. He prepares, protects, and provides first, and only then does he look for fruit. Israel's story followed the same order. God brought a vine out of Egypt, cleared the land before it, and planted it (Psalm 80:8–9). He gave His people the covenant, the law, the land, the temple, the priesthood, and the prophets. Everything Israel was, it had received.

Kisha linakuja geuko: "akatazamia kwamba litazaa zabibu, nalo likazaa zabibu-mwitu." Neno la Kiebrania be'ushim linaeleza zabibu zilizo chachu, zilizonyauka, hata zilizooza na kunuka vibaya. Si kwamba shamba la mizabibu halikuzaa kitu. Lilizaa kitu kibaya kuliko kutokuzaa kabisa: matunda yasiyofaa kwa divai na yanayomchukiza mwenye shamba aliyelipa kila kitu.Then comes the turn: "He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes." The Hebrew word be'ushim describes grapes that are sour, shriveled, even rotten and foul-smelling. It is not that the vineyard produced nothing. It produced something worse than nothing: fruit that was useless for wine and offensive to the owner who had given it everything.

III. Swali la Mwenye Shamba (Isaya 5:3–4)III. The Question of the Owner (Isaiah 5:3–4)

Sasa sauti ya mwimbaji inabadilika. Mwenye shamba mwenyewe anasema, naye anawageukia wasikilizaji. "Basi sasa, enyi wenyeji wa Yerusalemu, na watu wa Yuda, hukumuni, nawasihi, kati ya mimi na shamba langu la mizabibu" (Isaya 5:3). Hii ndiyo njia tuliyoiona kwa Nathani na Daudi katika Sehemu ya 1: mfano wa kimahakama. Wasikilizaji wanaalikwa kuketi kama baraza la mahakama katika kesi ambayo bado hawajatambua kwamba inawahusu wao wenyewe. Mtu yeyote mwenye akili ya haki katika umati angekubali kwamba mwenye shamba alikuwa amekosewa.Now the singer's voice changes. The owner himself speaks, and he turns to the audience. "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard" (Isaiah 5:3). This is the method we saw with Nathan and David in Unit 1: a juridical parable. The listeners are invited to sit as the jury in a case they do not yet realize is about themselves. Any fair-minded person in the crowd would agree that the owner had been wronged.

Kisha linakuja swali linalovunja moyo: "Je! Ni kazi gani iliyobaki kwa shamba langu la mizabibu, nisiyoifanya? Basi, nilipotumaini ya kuwa litazaa zabibu, mbona limezaa zabibu-mwitu?" (Isaya 5:4). Haya si maneno ya mwenye nyumba aliye mbali. Ni maneno ya mpenzi mwenye huzuni aliyetoa kila kitu. Swali hilo halina jibu, na hilo ndilo jambo lenyewe. Hakukuwa na kitu zaidi ambacho angeweza kufanya.Then comes the heartbreaking question: "What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:4). These are not the words of a distant landlord. They are the words of a grieved lover who has given everything. The question has no answer, and that is the point. There was nothing more he could have done.

Wafasiri wa mapokeo tofauti huupima mstari huu kwa njia tofauti, na wanafunzi wanapaswa kujua mjadala huo. Wafasiri wa Kiarminiani na wa Kiwesley mara nyingi hutaja Isaya 5:4 kama mfano wa wazi wa neema iliyo halisi na ya kutosha lakini ikapingwa: Mungu alifanya kila kitu kilichohitajika ili kupata matunda, na kushindwa kulikuwa kabisa kwa upande wa shamba la mizabibu. Wafasiri wa Kireformed kwa jumla husoma mstari huu kama unaoeleza mapendeleo ya nje ambayo Mungu alilipa taifa la agano kwa ujumla, jambo linaloliacha taifa bila udhuru, badala ya kuwa kauli kuhusu kazi ya ndani ya neema katika mioyo ya watu mmoja mmoja. Wote wanakubaliana juu ya msisitizo mkuu. Kosa halikuwa kwa mwenye shamba, na Yuda haikuwa na udhuru.Interpreters from different traditions weigh this verse differently, and students should know the conversation. Arminian and Wesleyan interpreters often cite Isaiah 5:4 as a clear example of grace that is real and sufficient yet resisted: God did everything needed for fruit, and the failure lay entirely with the vineyard. Reformed interpreters generally read the verse as describing the outward privileges God gave the covenant nation as a whole, which leaves the nation without excuse, rather than a statement about the inner working of grace in individual hearts. Both agree on the main thrust. The fault was not in the owner, and Judah had no excuse.

IV. Hukumu ya Mwenye Shamba (Isaya 5:5–6)IV. The Verdict of the Owner (Isaiah 5:5–6)

Akiisha kuliomba baraza la mahakama liamue, mwenye shamba anatangaza hukumu yake mwenyewe. Ataondoa uzio wake ili liliwe, atabomoa ukuta wake ili likanyagwe, na atalifanya ukiwa. Halitapogolewa wala kulimwa, na mibigili na miiba itamea. Kisha anaongeza sentensi ambayo hakuna mkulima wa kibinadamu angeweza kuisema kamwe: "tena nitaagiza mawingu yasinyeshe mvua juu yake" (Isaya 5:6). Wakati huo wasikilizaji wanajua. Ni Mwenye Shamba mmoja tu anayeyaamuru mawingu. Hili si shamba la mizabibu la kawaida, na huyu si mkulima wa kawaida.Having asked the jury to decide, the owner announces his own sentence. He will take away its hedge so that it is eaten, break down its wall so that it is trampled, and lay it waste. It will not be pruned or dug, and briers and thorns will come up. Then he adds a sentence no human farmer could ever say: "I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it" (Isaiah 5:6). At that moment the audience knows. Only one Owner commands the clouds. This is no ordinary vineyard, and this is no ordinary farmer.

Hukumu hiyo inafaa. Mungu haongezi adhabu kwa kiasi kikubwa kama anavyoondoa ulinzi wake. Uzio na ukuta vilikuwa zawadi; sasa shamba la mizabibu litapata kile lilichoonekana kukitaka, maisha bila utunzaji wa Mwenye Shamba. Hukumu katika Maandiko mara nyingi huonekana hivi. Mungu huwaacha watu wafuate kile walichochagua (Warumi 1:24–28).The judgment is fitting. God does not so much add a punishment as remove His protection. The hedge and the wall had been gifts; now the vineyard will have what it seemed to want, a life without the Owner's care. Judgment in Scripture often looks like this. God gives people over to what they have chosen (Romans 1:24–28).

Inafaa kusema waziwazi kwamba uvumilivu wa Mungu ni mkubwa lakini una kikomo; hauendelei milele. Wakati mwingine tunasema kana kwamba rehema na uvumilivu wa Mungu havina kikomo kwa maana kwamba havifikii mwisho kamwe. Kweli Mungu ni mwenye rehema na mvumilivu kupita chochote tunachostahili, lakini Maandiko pia yanasema juu ya siku ambayo uvumilivu hutoa nafasi kwa hukumu. Shamba la mizabibu lilikuwa limetunzwa, limetembelewa, na limeonywa. Ikafika siku ambayo Mwenye Shamba alisema, "Inatosha."It is worth saying plainly that God's patience is great but it is not endless. We sometimes speak as though God's mercy and patience are infinite in the sense that they never come to an end. God is indeed merciful and patient beyond anything we deserve, but Scripture also speaks of a day when patience gives way to judgment. The vineyard had been cared for, visited, and warned. There came a day when the Owner said, "Enough."

V. Maana Inafunuliwa (Isaya 5:7)V. The Meaning Revealed (Isaiah 5:7)

Sasa Isaya anautaja mfano waziwazi: "Kwa maana shamba la mizabibu la BWANA wa majeshi ni nyumba ya Israeli, na watu wa Yuda ni mche wake wa kupendeza; akatazamia hukumu ya haki, kumbe! Ni udhalimu; akatazamia haki, kumbe! Ni kilio" (Isaya 5:7). Baraza la mahakama limejihukumu lenyewe.Now Isaiah names the parable plainly: "For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help" (Isaiah 5:7). The jury has convicted itself.

Mistari ya mwisho ina mojawapo ya michezo ya maneno yenye nguvu zaidi katika Agano la Kale. Mungu alitafuta mishpat, haki, akapata mispach, umwagaji damu au udhalimu. Alitafuta tsedaqah, uadilifu, akasikia tse'aqah, kilio cha walioonewa. Maneno hayo yanasikika karibu sawa, kama vile zabibu-mwitu zinavyoonekana karibu sawa na zile nzuri ukiwa mbali. Jamii ya Yuda ilikuwa na umbo la nje la taifa la kumcha Mungu, lakini matunda yalikuwa kinyume kabisa cha kile Mungu alichotaka. Kilio cha maskini, cha mjane, na cha mfanyakazi aliyedhulumiwa kilikuwa kikipanda hadi mbinguni.The final lines contain one of the most powerful wordplays in the Old Testament. God looked for mishpat, justice, and found mispach, bloodshed or oppression. He looked for tsedaqah, righteousness, and heard tse'aqah, the cry of the oppressed. The words sound almost alike, just as wild grapes look almost like good ones from a distance. Judah's society had the outward shape of a godly nation, but the fruit was the opposite of what God wanted. The cry of the poor, the widow, and the cheated worker was rising to heaven.

Angalia ni matunda gani Mungu alikuwa akiyatafuta. Hakusema alitafuta dhabihu zaidi, sikukuu kubwa zaidi, au mahudhurio bora zaidi hekaluni. Alitafuta haki na uadilifu: mahusiano sahihi na Mungu yanayoonekana katika kuwatendea watu wengine kwa haki na rehema. Matunda ambayo Mungu anayataka kutoka kwa watu wake ni maisha yaliyobadilika yanayowabariki wengine.Notice what fruit God was seeking. He did not say He looked for more sacrifices, larger festivals, or better attendance at the temple. He looked for justice and righteousness: right relationships with God expressed in fair and merciful treatment of other people. The fruit God wants from His people is a changed life that blesses others.

VI. Zabibu-Mwitu Zinatajwa (Isaya 5:8–30)VI. The Wild Grapes Named (Isaiah 5:8–30)

Sehemu iliyobaki ya sura ya 5 inazitaja zabibu-mwitu katika mfululizo wa ole. Ole wao wanaounganisha nyumba na nyumba na shamba na shamba hata pasiwe na nafasi kwa mtu mwingine yeyote (mist. 8–10), tamaa iliyomeza ardhi ya wakulima wadogo. Ole wao wanaoamka mapema ili kufuata kileo na ambao karamu zao zina muziki lakini hawaifikirii kazi ya BWANA (mist. 11–12). Ole wao wanaovuta dhambi "kana kwamba kwa kamba za gari" na kudhihaki maonyo ya Mungu (mist. 18–19). "Ole wao wasemao uovu ni wema, na wema ni uovu" (mst. 20), wanaogeuza mpangilio wa kimaadili wa Mungu. Ole wao walio na hekima machoni pao wenyewe (mst. 21). Ole wao walio mashujaa wa kunywa na wanaomhesabia haki mwenye hatia kwa ajili ya rushwa huku wakimnyang'anya mwenye haki haki yake (mist. 22–23).The rest of chapter 5 names the wild grapes in a series of woes. Woe to those who join house to house and field to field until there is no room for anyone else (vv. 8–10), the greed that swallowed the land of small farmers. Woe to those who rise early to chase strong drink and whose feasts have music but no thought for the work of the LORD (vv. 11–12). Woe to those who drag sin along "as if with a cart rope" and mock God's warnings (vv. 18–19). "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil" (v. 20), who reverse God's moral order. Woe to those wise in their own eyes (v. 21). Woe to those who are heroes at drinking and who acquit the guilty for a bribe while taking justice from the righteous (vv. 22–23).

Ole hizi zinaugeuza mfano kuwa kioo. Tamaa, anasa bila Mungu, kudhihaki dhamiri, mchanganyiko wa kimaadili, kiburi, na haki iliyopotoka si dhambi za Yuda ya kale tu. Zinakua katika kila kizazi na katika kila kanisa. Mchungaji anayehubiri Isaya 5 hahitaji kubuni matumizi. Anahitaji tu kukishika kioo kwa uthabiti.These woes turn the parable into a mirror. Greed, pleasure without God, mocking conscience, moral confusion, pride, and corrupt justice are not only sins of ancient Judah. They grow in every generation and in every church. A pastor preaching Isaiah 5 does not need to invent applications. He only needs to hold the mirror steady.

VII. Shamba la Mizabibu Katika Maandiko YoteVII. The Vineyard Across Scripture

Shamba la mizabibu linakuwa mojawapo ya picha kuu za Biblia. Zaburi 80 inaomba kwa ajili ya mzabibu ulioletwa kutoka Misri ambao kuta zake zimebomolewa. Yeremia anamsikia Mungu akisema, "Nami nilikuwa nimekupanda, mzabibu mwema sana" (Yeremia 2:21), na Hosea anaiita Israeli mzabibu mzuri unaojizalia matunda yenyewe (Hosea 10:1). Lakini Isaya mwenyewe haliachi shamba la mizabibu katika magofu. Katika Isaya 27:2–6 anaimba wimbo wa pili wa shamba la mizabibu, safari hii wimbo wa kurejeshwa: BWANA analilinda shamba lake la mizabibu, analitia maji kila dakika, na siku moja "Israeli atatoa maua na kuchipuka; nao watajaza uso wa dunia matunda." Hukumu si neno la mwisho la Mungu.The vineyard becomes one of the great images of the Bible. Psalm 80 prays for the vine brought out of Egypt whose walls have been broken down. Jeremiah hears God say, "I had planted you a noble vine" (Jeremiah 2:21), and Hosea calls Israel a luxuriant vine that bears fruit for itself (Hosea 10:1). But Isaiah himself does not leave the vineyard in ruins. In Isaiah 27:2–6 he sings a second vineyard song, this time a song of restoration: the LORD keeps His vineyard, waters it every moment, and one day "Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." Judgment is not God's last word.

Yesu aliposimulia mfano wa wakulima waovu, alianza na vipengele vya Isaya 5: mwenye nyumba alipanda shamba la mizabibu, akalizungushia ugo, akachimba shinikizo, akajenga mnara (Mathayo 21:33). Kila msikilizaji katika nyua za hekalu aliutambua wimbo huo. Lakini Yesu aliongeza kipengele kipya. Katika Isaya tatizo lilikuwa matunda ya shamba la mizabibu; katika mfano wa Yesu tatizo ni wakulima, yaani viongozi waliokataa kumpa mwenye shamba matunda yake na mwishowe wakamuua mwana wake. Tutajifunza mfano huo katika Sehemu ya 13.When Jesus told the parable of the tenants, He opened with the details of Isaiah 5: a landowner planted a vineyard, set a hedge around it, dug a winepress, and built a tower (Matthew 21:33). Every listener in the temple courts recognized the song. But Jesus added a new element. In Isaiah the problem was the vineyard's fruit; in Jesus' parable the problem is the tenants, the leaders who refused to give the owner his fruit and finally killed his son. We will study that parable in Unit 13.

Na katika Yohana 15 Yesu anatangaza, "Mimi ni mzabibu, ninyi ni matawi" (Yohana 15:5). Pale Israeli iliposhindwa kuzaa matunda, Yesu mwenyewe ndiye Mzabibu wa kweli na mwaminifu. Hatuzai matunda kwa kujitahidi zaidi kuwa shamba bora la mizabibu; tunazaa matunda kwa kukaa ndani yake. Donald Grey Barnhouse alipenda kuonyesha Mzabibu Mkuu wa Hampton Court karibu na London, uliopandwa mwaka 1768 na bado unazaa zabibu zaidi ya karne mbili na nusu baadaye. Unakua kutoka mzizi mmoja tu, na matawi yake yanaenea mbali na shina kuu, lakini yanazaa matunda kwa sababu uhai wa mzabibu unatiririka ndani yake. Kupogolewa kwa uangalifu kunaufanya uendelee kuzaa. Ndivyo Yesu anavyosema, "na kila tawi lizaalo hulisafisha, ili lizidi kuzaa" (Yohana 15:2).And in John 15 Jesus declares, "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5). Where Israel failed to bear fruit, Jesus Himself is the true and faithful Vine. We do not bear fruit by trying harder to be a better vineyard; we bear fruit by abiding in Him. Donald Grey Barnhouse loved to point to the Great Vine at Hampton Court near London, planted in 1768 and still producing grapes more than two and a half centuries later. It grows from a single root, and its branches stretch far from the main stem, yet they bear fruit because the life of the vine flows through them. Careful pruning keeps it fruitful. So Jesus says, "every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit" (John 15:2).

VIII. Kuhubiri Wimbo wa Shamba la MizabibuVIII. Preaching the Song of the Vineyard

Muhtasari rahisi unafuata mwendo wa maandiko. Kwanza, utunzaji wa Mwenye Shamba (mist. 1–2): Mungu amefanya kila kitu kinachohitajika ili kuzaa matunda katika maisha yetu. Pili, swali la Mwenye Shamba (mist. 3–4): ni nini zaidi ambacho angeweza kufanya? Tatu, hukumu ya Mwenye Shamba (mist. 5–7): Mungu hutafuta matunda, na hatasubiri milele. Mhubiri anaweza kumalizia kwa tumaini la Isaya 27 na Yohana 15, kwamba shamba la mizabibu bado linaweza kuzaa matunda kupitia Mzabibu wa kweli.A simple outline follows the movement of the text. First, the care of the Owner (vv. 1–2): God has done everything needed for fruit in our lives. Second, the question of the Owner (vv. 3–4): what more could He have done? Third, the verdict of the Owner (vv. 5–7): God looks for fruit, and He will not wait forever. The preacher may close with the hope of Isaiah 27 and John 15, that the vineyard can yet bear fruit through the true Vine.

Kielelezo kimoja kinasisitiza sheria ya kuzaa matunda. Wakulima katika eneo moja waliamua wakati fulani kula viazi vyao vikubwa na kuhifadhi vile vidogo kwa ajili ya mbegu. Baada ya miaka mingi ya kufanya hivyo, viazi vyao vilikuwa vimesinyaa hadi ukubwa wa gololi. Walijifunza kwamba huwezi kujiwekea vilivyo bora na kupanda masalio; mavuno huakisi upandaji. "Kwa kuwa chochote apandacho mtu, ndicho atakachovuna" (Wagalatia 6:7). Wakristo wengi humpa Mungu masalio ya wakati wao, fedha zao, na upendo wao, kisha hushangaa kwa nini maisha yao yanazaa matunda machache hivyo.One illustration drives home the law of fruitfulness. Farmers in one region once decided to eat their big potatoes and save the small ones for seed. After years of this, their potatoes had shrunk to the size of marbles. They learned that you cannot keep the best for yourself and plant the leftovers; the harvest reflects the planting. "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7). Many Christians give God the leftovers of their time, money, and love, and then wonder why their lives bear so little fruit.

Tunapaswa pia kuwa waangalifu jinsi tunavyopima matunda. Matunda huonekana kwanza katika uaminifu, si kila mara katika matokeo ya haraka. Mmisionari mmoja huko Urfa, katika Mesopotamia ya kale, alifanya kazi miaka kumi na mitatu kabla hajambatiza mwongofu hata mmoja. Kisha mlipuko wa kipindupindu ukatokea, na watu wakakimbia kwa hofu, wakiwaacha wagonjwa na wanaokufa nyuma. Mmisionari huyo alibaki, akiwahudumia wagonjwa kwa upole na bila kuchoka hadi yeye mwenyewe alipoambukizwa ugonjwa huo akafa. Walionusurika waliubeba mwili wake hadi kichaka cha miti nje ya kuta za mji, na ilionekana kwamba kazi yake ilikuwa imekwisha. Lakini mrithi wake alipowasili, umati mkubwa ulimpokea maili nyingi kutoka mjini na kumwingiza kwa heshima. Wengi walimgeukia Kristo, na kanisa likajengwa kwa kumbukumbu ya "mtu aliyekufa kwa ajili yetu." Chembe ya ngano ilikuwa imeanguka katika nchi, na mavuno yakaja (Yohana 12:24). Mwenye shamba la mizabibu huona matunda ambayo huenda sisi tusiishi kuyaona.We must also be careful how we measure fruit. Fruit is found first in faithfulness, not always in quick results. A missionary in Urfa, in old Mesopotamia, labored thirteen years before he baptized a single convert. Then a cholera epidemic struck, and the people fled in panic, leaving the sick and dying behind. The missionary stayed, caring for the sufferers tenderly and tirelessly until he himself caught the disease and died. The survivors carried his body to a grove outside the city walls, and it seemed his work had ended. But when his successor arrived, a large crowd met him miles from the city and brought him in with honor. Many turned to Christ, and a church was built in memory of "the man who died for us." The grain of wheat had fallen into the ground, and the harvest came (John 12:24). The Owner of the vineyard sees fruit that we may not live to see.

Mwishowe, shamba la mizabibu linatukumbusha kwa nini Mungu huwabariki watu wake hata kidogo. Mungu alimwambia Ibrahimu, "nami nitakubariki... nawe uwe baraka" (Mwanzo 12:2). Yuda ilifurahia baraka lakini ikasahau nusu ya pili ya ahadi. Kanisa linaweza kufanya kosa hilo hilo. Shamba la mizabibu halikupandwa kamwe kwa ajili ya kujifurahisha lenyewe. Lilipandwa ili kumzalia Mwenye Shamba matunda, matunda yanayoubariki ulimwengu unaolizunguka.Finally, the vineyard reminds us why God blesses His people at all. God told Abraham, "I will bless you... and you shall be a blessing" (Genesis 12:2). Judah enjoyed the blessing but forgot the second half of the promise. The church can make the same mistake. The vineyard was never planted for its own enjoyment. It was planted to bear fruit for the Owner, fruit that blesses the world around it.

HitimishoClosing

Wimbo wa Isaya unaanza kama wimbo wa mapenzi, na katika kiini chake bado ni wimbo wa mapenzi. Mwenye Shamba anayeuliza, "Ni nini zaidi ningeweza kufanya?" si mwenye nyumba asiye na huruma. Ni mpenzi aliyetoa kila kitu. Upendo huo huo siku moja ungemtuma Mwana kwenye shamba la mizabibu, na Mwana huyo angekuwa Mzabibu wa kweli ambaye ndani yake tunazaa matunda. Swali kwa kila msomaji wa Isaya 5 ni rahisi: Mwenye Shamba atakapokuja kutafuta matunda katika maisha yangu, atapata nini?Isaiah's song begins as a love song, and at its heart it still is one. The Owner who asks, "What more could I have done?" is not a cold landlord. He is a lover who has given everything. The same love would one day send the Son to the vineyard, and that Son would become the true Vine in whom we bear fruit. The question for every reader of Isaiah 5 is simple: when the Owner comes looking for fruit in my life, what will He find?

— Dkt. Wayne Cook
Seminari ya Teolojia ya Chapala— Dr. Wayne Cook
Chapala Theological Seminary

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