Isaiah 5

5:1 ¶ Let me sing for my beloved
my love-song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.

3 ¶ And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and people of Judah,
judge between me
and my vineyard.
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?

5 ¶ And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.

7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
but heard a cry!

I'm learning as I do this exercise how difficult it is to carve out time every single day to write these journal reflections. We have set this as a study goal in our congregation, and I'm getting a taste of how hard it must be for the average person to do the reading every day. I'm not average at least in this way, that I feel responsibility to do it because of my role as pastor, so that is my goad. What pushes others to make sure they take the time?

I have no profound reflections on this text- it is the kind of passage that saddens me. On the other hand, verse 1 is appropriate for this day- it is our 9th anniversary of married life. Praise be to God!