1. The Husbandman Part Two John 15 - 1 My Father is the [true]
Husbandman I dare say that when Jesus said, My Father is the
Husbandman, the listening audience understood much better than we
do what that meant. The culture of the day was in the use of the
land to produce what they needed to survive, and so all the
children from an early age learned what was needed to be done to
'dress a vineyard'. But, since God The Father is the true
husbandman, he takes care of all of that Himself. No hired hands
interfere with His tender care, although I suppose that we could
consider His Angels as servants who have always helped out a great
deal. Only God could know what was needed in order to prepare the
land that he had chosen in which to plant the true vine. Choosing
The Land It is obvious that the first thing the husbandman must do
before planting a vineyard is to select the land he will use. I
imagine that the obvious thought here would be that the Promised
Land he gave to Abraham would jump right out as being that land.
But, I'd like to build on the premise that The True Husbandman saw
the seed of Abraham as That Plot of Land. Of course Abraham trusted
God enough to leave the land of his birth and to go, not knowing
where he'd end up, and THAT fits perfectly! The seed of a man of
faith (Abraham) seems like good ground in which to plant the true
vine, right? However Egypt was not the promised land that God had
given to Abraham, and so with great power and amazing miracles He
brought them out from there and back to the land he had promised to
their fathers. At this time God also established Moses as the first
of a long line of Prophets. Preparing The Soil The first videoclip
to watch (6 minutes) is going to show different aspects of soil
preparation prior to the planting of a new vineyard. A great deal
of planning goes into the planting of a vineyard, and preparing the
land is the first step.
2. Click on the picture below to activate the video. *1. View
the credits and link to this video at the bottom of this post. I'm
sorry folks... but it appears Slide Share doesn't allow videos on
their website, nor do they allow live links before the final page,
so please bare with me here, and scroll to the bottom of this
article & click the link that looks like this one, and go watch
this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ8rwcCljqk What
did we learn? 1. It was mostly compost with Lime that was added as
nutrients, (10 tons per acre) & it is introduced before any
hard work on the land even begins. 2. A powerful piece of equipment
is working the land, creating increasingly deeper impressions into
the soil. 3. The dried out land put up a great deal of resistance
to the powerful machine, at times even slowing it's progress,
causing it to struggle against the resistance a bit. 4. All this
preparation is designed to allow the husbandman to focus on the
development of the vines.
3. 5. The husbandman is constantly monitoring the need for
water and nutrients & applying just what the vines need per
week or per month to insure the health of the vine. 6. With this
constant care, the root structure after 10 years is extensive. 7.
The husbandman pays close attention to the color of the leaves to
be certain that the vine stays healthy right up to the day of the
harvest! 8. Even the dust that lands on the fruit serves a purpose,
protecting the berries from over exposure to the suns hot rays. 9.
A carefully selected number of leaves and 'laterals' (vertical
sprouts) are removed to allow a dappled sunlight to reach the
fruit. Not too much, but just the right amount. 10. The yield? SIX
& tons of fruit per acre! Let's Compare what we know from God's
word with what the modern day husbandman does. 1. The True
Husbandman knew exactly what, and how much the soil needed, and He
provided it right from the start! But he didn't stop there, as we
shall see later on. I believe that the 'compost & lime' (the
nutrients) represent The Patriarchs & Prophets that God was
continually sending to provide opportunities for 'The Land'
(Israel) to become rich. Moses, Samuel, King David, King Solomon,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Micah, Nahum, Haggai, and
Zechariah are all Old Testament writers who used the vines or
vineyards in the messages they brought in their attempts to 'enrich
the land' in which The True Vine would one day be planted. These
prophets also wrote many prophesies pointing to the coming of the
Savior, further preparing the people for the arrival of Jesus (the
planting of The True Vine)! Many of these prophets were ignored,
rejected & killed,
4. and so the full benefit of The Fertile Land God planned for
was never realized. 2. Okay, my apologies here, because that big
piece of power equipment doesn't even begin to shed a glimmer of
light on the awesome power of God! Nothing on earth can, but that
Heavenly Magnifying Glass brings things into focus again, allowing
us to learn a lesson from this comparison. As we might expect, just
like the powerful tiller in the video, God displayed his power
immediately right at the very beginning of preparation of 'the
land' ('His chosen people'). His judgment, and subsequent
terrifying punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah left no doubt about His
power and goodness! It was an impossible lesson for Abraham to
forget. He then continued to show His power in more subtle ways. In
changing the appearance of the offspring of sheep and goats, in a
most convincing way, He showed Jacobs idol worshiping father in law
the power of the True God by taking his wealth, and handing it over
to Jacob. Then the overwhelming display of His might during the
Exodus events further impressed upon the Israelite's, that The
Almighty God is the Only God worth serving. However, just like the
hard dry ground in the video, they resisted the power of God in
their lives, and slowed the development of the soil. The example of
the machinery making ever increasingly deeper impressions in the
soil, also compares to the ever increasing examples God gave the
Israelites of His power. The Exodus clearly surpassed the
destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah by leaps and bounds! 3. I find
it very interesting that God frequently held back the rain (His
Blessings) from those who constantly resisted or rejected Him. The
Israelites (dry hard ground) resisting the powerful impressions of
God's power in their lives is clearly amazing. It is one of the
things that I personally have a hard time understanding. After all
the miracles of the plagues in Egypt, and then the parting of
the
5. Red Sea, & the destruction of Pharaoh and his army, how
in the world could the people blatantly mock God to His face by
making a golden calf? Moses was up in the mountain with God, God's
power & presence was obvious and evident, and in the face of
all that, the people resisted God's love? Absolutely amazing! 4. I
found it very interesting that the husbandman in the video made a
point of the fact that he was doing all this preparation of the
land prior to the planting, so that during and after the planting
he could give his full attention to the development of the vine.
Imagine God in this very situation! Imagine the intense focus on
His Son that He displayed from the very moment of inception (the
planting) until He turned His face away at the cross. Oh my, what
matchless love our Heavenly Father has for all of His creation! 5.
This constant monitoring by The Husbandman, of everything the vine
needs, reminds me of the deep interest God has in every one of us.
Counting the hairs of the head comes to mind when thinking of His
interest in us. But, as it pertains to The True Vine, I can't
imagine that God was ever more focused and attentive to any one
thing like He was focused on His Son during those short years Jesus
lived here! He sent the wise men from a far off land to bring
expensive gifts that He knew Joseph and Mary would need while they
were away in Egypt. He warned Joseph to leave, for the safety of
His Son, and then let him know when it was safe to return. He was
in constant Communion with His Son right up to His death. Praise
God that we too can have that constant connection! 6. Our earthly
husbandman makes a point of the extensive root structure, after 10
years, on the vineyard next to the one he was planting. It reminds
me of how deeply rooted Jesus already was at the young age of
twelve years. What a difference is made upon the development of a
child when God is the focus in their education!
6. 7. Again, the intense focus by the husbandman on the needs
of the vine is extended all the way through to the harvest, as
illustrated by the monitoring of the leaves and other indicators of
the health of the vine. 8. I never realized that grapes can get a
sun burn! Even those of us who are bearing fruit may appear to be a
bit 'dirty' to others, but once that dust is cleared away, a
beautiful berry appears. We'll be getting into a lot more detail on
the fruit in some future parts of this series. 9. The pruning of
the branches giving the vine 'proper balance'; removing a carefully
selected number of leaves and 'laterals', is a fascinating portion
of this study that we will also cover at a later time, but the fact
that our Heavenly Father is doing the pruning is a very good thing!
Not too much, but just the right amount in all the right places.
10. Why does the husbandman provide so much power, expend so much
energy, provide so many resources, and devote so much time and
attention to the vine? It's for the harvest that brings forth the
glorious fruit! A great deal of this study will focus on the
different aspects of the fruit, but the above examples bring into
clear focus exactly how dependent Jesus was (and we need to be) on
His Heavenly Father. Jesus said, "The Son can do nothing of
himself." Just as the vine could not thrive and grow in good health
without the constant care of the husbandman, so Jesus was totally
dependent on The Father. John 14:10 "The words that I say unto you,
I speak not from Myself; but the Father abiding in Me doeth his
works." With His absolute faith (confidence) and total dependence
in His Father, He could do all things through Him who strengthens
me. Isn't it interesting that before Jesus even gets into anything
about the Branches or fruit, He points the minds of the listeners
to God The Father and life giver. Now that the land has been
prepared it is time to plant the vine! *1. Michael J. Neal provides
Viticultural Services for vineyards all over the Napa Valley area
in California, USA. He is famous in 'wine grower's circles', well
known for his exceptional husbandry knowledge & practices. He
get's the results that all growers covet.
7. You may visit his website at this link,
http://www.mjnvs.com/ or subscribe to his YouTube Channel here.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ0fzIW4CaJUQcSKACiCX7A The link
below [to the above video] is live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ8rwcCljqk