“But I was the one who planted you, choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine? No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. I still see the stain of your guilt. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken! “Jeremiah 2:21-22
The vine that God planted was a good vine; a vine that should have grown and become a vine that could yield many more good vines but it turned into a strange vine. I can relate to this here in the south. We have a vine that grows a foot a day and you cannot get rid of it; all you can do is control it. Kudzu, the vine looks innocent enough; yet the invasive plant easily overtakes trees, abandoned homes and telephone poles. Brought to U.S. in 1876 as ornamental, spread from 1930s–1950s for erosion control. This vine turned out to be one of those strange vines that God talked about in this verse.
God planted His people in the good land He gave them, but they didn’t produce the harvest of righteousness He desired. “He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle, he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter. (Isaiah 5:2). Israel was to be the good vine, but because they worshipped false gods, they became like their degenerate neighbors. How could dead idols ever produce living fruit in their nation? No amount of good works or religious ceremonies could wash away their sins, because the heart of the nation’s problem was the problem in their hearts. They had sinful hearts because they had stubborn hearts—hearts that refused to listen to God’s servant and obey God’s Word.
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” (John 15:1-2) Jesus Christ is the true vine and we have nothing if we don’t follow Him.