Day 8/8 – Parable of the Vineyard

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Parable of the Vineyard
Day Two Hundred Twenty

“‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ·Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you.'” Matthew 20:12-14

Three factors determine what pay an employee” receives: The amount of time invested (if paid by the hour), the ability of the employee, and the profit he brings to the company. Reward in the Kingdom of Heaven is determined by faithfulness to opportunity rather than by any of these three. In the parable the owner selected people to work in the vineyard at various times of the day. The owner decided when the laborer entered. God decides how long each person spends in His vineyard. At the end of the day each was paid the same amount.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were two of Christ’s disciples. James was the first to die at the hand of Herod, and his brother John, in all probability was one of the last of the disciples to die. John spent about 60 years longer in God’s vineyard than his brother James. If the length of time each spent in the vineyard determined their wage, then James was punished for being a martyr.

God distributes in unequal amounts certain gifts, abilities, and opportunities. The sickly person with few gifts who dies early is not handicapped in the economy of God. Your reward in heaven will not be determined by what God gave you, but by what you do with what God gave you and why you do it.

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Psalm 74-76 Romans 9:16-33 (New King James Version)

Psalm 74-76
A Plea for Relief from Oppressors
A [a]Contemplation of Asaph.
74
O God, why have You cast us off forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?
2
Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old,
The tribe of Your inheritance, which You have redeemed—
This Mount Zion where You have dwelt.
3
Lift up Your feet to the perpetual desolations.
The enemy has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4
Your enemies roar in the midst of Your meeting place;
They set up their banners for signs.
5
They seem like men who lift up
Axes among the thick trees.
6
And now they break down its carved work, all at once,
With axes and hammers.
7
They have set fire to Your sanctuary;
They have defiled the dwelling place of Your name to the ground.
8
They said in their hearts,
“Let us [b]destroy them altogether.”
They have burned up all the meeting places of God in the land.
9
We do not see our signs;
There is no longer any prophet;
Nor is there any among us who knows how long.
10
O God, how long will the adversary [c]reproach?
Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?
11
Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Take it out of Your bosom and destroy them.
12
For God is my King from of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13
You divided the sea by Your strength;
You broke the heads of the [d]sea serpents in the waters.
14
You broke the heads of [e]Leviathan in pieces,
And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15
You broke open the fountain and the flood;
You dried up mighty rivers.
16
The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;
You have prepared the light and the sun.
17
You have set all the borders of the earth;
You have made summer and winter.
18
Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O Lord,
And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name.
19
Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wild beast!
Do not forget the life of Your poor forever.
20
Have respect to the covenant;
For the [f]dark places of the earth are full of the [g]haunts of [h]cruelty.
21
Oh, do not let the oppressed return ashamed!
Let the poor and needy praise Your name.
22
Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;
Remember how the foolish man [i]reproaches You daily.
23
Do not forget the voice of Your enemies;
The tumult of those who rise up against You increases continually.
Thanksgiving for God’s Righteous Judgment
To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do[j] Not Destroy.” A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75
We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.
2
“When I choose the [k]proper time,
I will judge uprightly.
3
The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly. Selah
4
“I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not [l]lift up the horn.
5
Do not lift up your horn on high;
Do not speak with [m]a stiff neck.’ ”
6
For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
7
But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another.
8
For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.
9
But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10
“All the [n]horns of the wicked I will also cut off,
But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.”
The Majesty of God in Judgment
To the Chief Musician. On [o]stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
76
In Judah God is known;
His name is great in Israel.
2
In [p]Salem also is His tabernacle,
And His dwelling place in Zion.
3
There He broke the arrows of the bow,
The shield and sword of battle. Selah
4
You are more glorious and excellent
Than the mountains of prey.
5
The stouthearted were plundered;
They [q]have sunk into their sleep;
And none of the mighty men have found the use of their hands.
6
At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep.
7
You, Yourself, are to be feared;
And who may stand in Your presence
When once You are angry?
8
You caused judgment to be heard from heaven;
The earth feared and was still,
9
When God arose to judgment,
To deliver all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
10
Surely the wrath of man shall praise You;
With the remainder of wrath You shall gird Yourself.
11
Make vows to the Lord your God, and pay them;
Let all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be feared.
12
He shall cut off the spirit of princes;
He is awesome to the kings of the earth.
Footnotes:
• Psalm 74:1 Heb. Maschil
• Psalm 74:8 oppress
• Psalm 74:10 revile
• Psalm 74:13 sea monsters
• Psalm 74:14 A large sea creature of unknown identity
• Psalm 74:20 hiding places
• Psalm 74:20 homes
• Psalm 74:20 violence
• Psalm 74:22 reviles or taunts
• Psalm 75:1 Heb. Al Tashcheth
• Psalm 75:2 appointed
• Psalm 75:4 Raise the head proudly like a horned animal
• Psalm 75:5 Insolent pride
• Psalm 75:10 Strength
• Psalm 76:1 Heb. neginoth
• Psalm 76:2 Jerusalem
• Psalm 76:5 Lit. have slumbered their sleep

Romans 9:16-33
16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As He says also in Hosea:
“I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.”
26
“And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
‘You are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:
“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved.
28
For [a]He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”
29 And as Isaiah said before:
“Unless the Lord of [b]Sabaoth had left us a seed,
We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”
Present Condition of Israel
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law [c]of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, [d]by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Footnotes:
• Romans 9:28 NU the Lord will finish the work and cut it short upon the earth
• Romans 9:29 Lit., in Heb., Hosts
• Romans 9:31 NU omits of righteousness
• Romans 9:32 NU by works, omitting of the law