God, A Wise Gardener [Isaiah 27-28]

Isaiah 27
    ²In that day,
         "A vineyard of wine, sing of it!
    ³"I, the LORD, am its keeper;
         I water it every moment
         So that no one will damage it,
         I guard it night and day.
    ⁴"I have no wrath.
         Should someone give Me briars and thorns in battle,
         Then I would step on them, I would burn them completely.
    ⁵"Or let him rely on My protection,
         Let him make peace with Me,
         Let him make peace with Me."
    ⁶In the days to come Jacob will take root,
         Israel will blossom and sprout,
         And they will fill the whole world with fruit.
Isaiah 28:
²⁶For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
    ²⁷For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
         Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin;
         But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club.
    ²⁸Grain for bread is crushed,
         Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.
         Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it,
         He does not thresh it longer.
    ²⁹This also comes from the LORD of hosts,
         Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great. 

God gives a great word picture of Him being a gardener, a tender and wise gardener and His people are His garden.  "I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it every moment so that no one will damage it, I guard it night and day."  Sometimes a gardener has to take drastic measures for the plants to produce fruit.  It always seems counter productive to me when I have to cut and prune my roses or raspberry plants.  Yet afterwards I realize that it was fruitful and the right thing to do.

In chapter 28 God again talks about plants.  I find the message in this passage very sweet.  He know how to properly prepare each grain and spice so that it can be used correctly and He is wants to share that wisdom with us.  "For his God instructs and teaches him properly."  If you are using grain for bread, it has to be crushed but not forever because the wheels of a threshing cart would damage it.  On the other hand, dill is beaten out with a rod.

He ends with "This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great."  He wants to share the secrets of His wisdom with me.  His counsel is wonderful.  Do you get the sense that there is nothing to small (how to prepare cummin) for Him to care about?   His wisdom is great and it includes little things like what to do with a child on a rainy day.  He is just waiting for us to ask!

We praise You for being a patient and wise gardener.  Thank You that You want to share your great wisdom and wonderful counsel with us.