There is an expectation

 Scripture reference:

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. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 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. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. (Isaiah 5:1-7)

¶ He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (Luke 13:6-9)

            There is an expectation

We find in the scenario of both of these parables a husbandman or farmer having planted a vineyard and looking for what he has planted to yield a return, a ROI. The “certain man” in Isaiah made provision that his vineyard would produce fruitfully. He planted it on a fruitful hill, a place that he knew had the proper soil, sunlight, water and aeration.  He fenced it in so that the wild animals would not get in and ravish it.  He hand picked the stones out of the vineyard preventing runoff of water and he chose the choicest vines, proven good historical roots. He also built a tower in the midst of the vineyard so that the vine dresser could keep watch over it preventing thieves from robbing it’s yields. He also built a winepress in expectation of a fruitful harvest.  Matthew  told us of a similar scenario of when Yeshua saw an unproductive fig tree when he was leaving the Temple and Jerusalem on the way to Bethany. “And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. (Matthew 21:19)”  In all three cases, the man or Husbandman, worker of the soil, planter, creator had an expectation of productivity of something that was planted and created to produce something.  YHWH has planted us, He is our creator, the  sustainer of all things.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3) and everything that he made reproduces.  Even the universe is still expanding according to the scientist.  He expects man to produce positive sustainable spiritual fruit.    

In Isaiah’s prophetic song of the Lord, YHWH poetically tells his people that he carefully and wonderfully created them and put them in goodly place that they would flourish and where they could live peaceably and return to him praise and worship. He expresses how much he had done for them exhaustively where they had no need of anything. YHWH fulfilled his promise of bringing them to a land filled with milk and honey (provision protection and sweetness).  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (Exodus 3:8). They didn’t have to plant or build houses, YHWH made a way for them to be fully provided for but they did not appreciate it and did not build on the foundation that he laid out for them simply by living according to the law. Since they did not obey YHWH, their fate was the same  as Adam and Eve, who were removed from the “Pleasant land”, paradise, the Garden of Eden.  The Israelite were removed from the promised land. It was not without warning, YHWH is merciful and gracious.  A husbandman or farmer knows that weeds may grow and atmospheric conditions may vary but what caused their downfall was sin.  When sin entered the Garden of Eden, the sinners were put out and they had to do hard labor to survive. YHWH  moved the hedge for the promised land because of their sin and they became subject to raids by the Gentiles and eventually they were conquered and taken out of the land and  into bondage to pay for their sins.

In this “Parable of the barren fig tree” the husbandman did the same as the other planter but in his garden it seems that all was well except the one fig tree that was planted was not producing fruit.  The husbandman wanted to destroy it because it had not brought forth fruit in 3 years subsequently wasting precious real estate.  The vine dresser interceded for the fig tree and bought time for it. YHWH saved us through the life death and resurrection of Yeshua and then filled us with Ruach HaKodesh and continues to teach.  We have no excuse to not be unfruitful.  The Holy Scripture even tell us  “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (I Corinthians 10:13)”. We have no excuse for being impotent Christians, YHWH has given us power to no only survive but to thrive. “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Romans 8:15)” and “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (II Timothy 1:7)” YHWH has given us these things by his grace.  He has given us an over abundance, provision and possibilities and opportunities to be fruitful in Him.

YHWH has an expectation of us, he has invested much in us. He is looking for fruit in you and from you. You are created, shaped , molded by YHWH uniquely and for something specific. Every plant in the garden, every vegetable provides specific nutrients that are necessary for the body to grow.  We are the body of Ha-Mashiyach fitly joined together and we are to thrive together.  Each one has his specified duty to work in the vineyard.  One plants, another waters, one can chase a thousand, two can chase ten thousand.  Fruit is spirit.  You should grow daily and you should grow up into the fruit of the Spirit attaining more grace one day at a time, one trial at a time, one test at a time, more praise, more worship more sharing the Word with unbelievers and under believers. The whole purpose is to Glorify YHWH who is our rereward!  We are to be like Yeshua and grow to the fullness of his stature.  Isaiah describes him as “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. (Isaiah 11:1-5)’