”Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.” | Isaiah 10: 33, 34

The LORD created all things to glorify his name.

Husbandry is one such thing.

”And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:” (Isaiah 11: 01)

The LORD’s church is compared to a garden of God’s planting.

”I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3: 6)

Often the metaphor of trees, of a fruitful field, is used to describe the Lord’s people, the church of God.

”Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.” (Isaiah 10: 33)

We see this metaphor of a garden, of trees, of the LORD planting and uprooting throughout the book of Isaiah.

Whenever the elect of God had become overrun with false prophets, the strangers from outside Israel had been allowed in – though Judah appeared to prosper materialistically the LORD said of his elect:

”And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.” (Isaiah 1: 8-9)

By God’s grace, his garden is well-watered, ever-green.

On the other hand, false religion only appears green.

Idolaters worshipped under groves — under green trees where it was shady and attractive to the flesh – thus called “pleasant places.”

But God said they were dry because the grace of God was not there to water them.

Thus the LORD says that the false husbandmen — the maker of their falsehood shall be the spark and the people shall be the tow, or tinder – for the fire.

”Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.” (Isaiah 1: 27-31)

God hates a proud look.

Throughout Isaiah’s prophecy he spoke of those who refused to submit themselves to God’s way of salvation in a Substitute, in the Lamb of sacrifice which he provides, as being proud and lofty.

He describes them like they saw themselves – cedars of Lebannon and oaks of Bashan.

”Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” (John 15: 2)

But the LORD promised to cut those trees down.

”The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,” (Isaiah 2: 11-13)

There is a song (Isaiah 5: 1-7) which again speaks of God and his vineyard: “Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.”

”What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.” (Isaiah 5: 4-6)

So when the LORD withheld the rain they found that they had nothing good in themselves wherein to produce fruit.

”Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 5: 24)

The LORD sent Isaiah to declare that he is burning off the garden, chopping down all the mighty oaks, taking the hedge down from around the vineyard, he is consuming the chaff, but as he does so he speaks of his sovereign, electing grace in saving a remnant.

”And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” (Isaiah 6: 9-13)

So how would the LORD our Husbandman burn off his vineyard and clear this forest of haughty, proud, lofty trees?

”And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.” (Ezekiel 34: 29)

He did a great deal by taking down the hedge and allowing the wild beasts to come in and eat it up.

”And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.” (Isaiah 10: 17-19)

But as for the mighty trees, the LORD used an ax to cut down the mighty cedars and the tall oaks in his garden — the ax as you remember was the king of Assyria because he turns the kings heart whitersoever he will – but then he cut down the forest of the king of Assyria as well:

”Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.” (Isaiah 10: 33-34)

Now concerning all the haughty, lofty, cedars of Lebanon as well as the mighty oaks of Bashan, both in Israel and Judah, all his land, the LORD says:

”But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” (Matthew 15: 13)

Get the picture of this land.

It is all cleared off, the chaff which grew up from the bad seed has been burned, the haughty, proud cedars of Lebannon, the mighty oaks of Bashan, the LORD cut it back, chopped it down to the roots, so that all that is left of the nation is a stem – a stump.

”For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.” (Job 14: 7)

But remember He said there was a Holy Seed — Substance, Life – yet in this stump of a tree.

”And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:” (Isaiah 11: 1)

The LORD promised: a plant of renown!

The LORD promised: No more hunger!

The LORD promised: No more shame!

That must be some beautiful plant!

~ Pastor Clay Curtis

Click here to listen to the message “Salt of the Earth” (31:33 minutes)

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Sovereign Grace Baptist Church Bulletin Article date: 22 March, 2009 | Previous post date: n/a | Ewing, New Jersey