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You brought a vine out of Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. (Psalm 80:8-9)
God brought a vine out of Egypt and that vine was Israel, His chosen people. He set the Israelites free from slavery in Egypt, led them through the wilderness, and planted them in the Promised Land, on ground cleared as “He drove out nations before them” (Psalm 78:55a). Israel became a kingdom that filled the land. The people of Israel were to be a shining light among the nations as a witness to God’s love and power. The promised Messiah would one day be born among them. Yet the Israelites did not shine as a light. They did not remain faithful to the God who set them free. They turned to idolatry and worshiped the false gods of the nations that surrounded them. Instead of growing the fruit of faith, the vine of Israel yielded the wild grapes of idolatry and unbelief.
God brought Israel, the people He called His son, out of Egypt, but they failed to remain faithful. They failed to be the light in the world that He wanted them to be. When the time was right God sent His own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world. After His birth in Bethlehem, the infant Savior and His parents fled to Egypt to escape the murderous wrath of King Herod. When it was safe to return, God once again called His Son out of Egypt. God had said of this promised Son, “I will make You as a light for the nations, that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6b). This Son, another vine brought out of Egypt, said of Himself, “I am the true Vine” (John 15:1a). This Vine, the Son of God, is the Light of the world. Jesus humbled Himself, remaining faithful and obedient to His Heavenly Father, even to the point of dying on a cross for our salvation.
Jesus is the true Vine and all who believe in Him are the branches united by faith to the Vine, growing and nourished by His Word. We remain strong in Jesus, growing and thriving, as we cling to Him by faith as our Source of life. Growing in Christ, rooted in Him, we bear the fruit of love and good works to the glory of the Father. Jesus was raised from death and exalted to reign at the Father’s right hand. He reigns over a Kingdom that is rooted deeply in grace and growing in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit sends us out as witnesses as the kingdom of God’s Son spreads across the land, a Kingdom that will last into eternity.
WE PRAY: Lord, help me to bear the fruit of love and good works that will glorify Your holy Name. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Reflection Questions:
- Has there been an area of “captivity” from which God has led you to freedom?
- How were the children of Israel to be toward their neighbors in the Promised Land? How was this often not the case?
- In what specific areas can you be the light of God to others in your life?
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