The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.
The vine is Israel, brought out of Egypt and planted after the heathen were cast out, taking deep root until it filled the land from the hills to the sea and to the river, spreading through Canaan from sea to river. God Himself transplanted, tended, cultivated and cared for this vine, seeking fruit from His people. Its protective hedges were broken down, so that all who pass by pluck it.
The boar out of the wood that wastes it and the wild beast of the field that devours it are ravaging enemies that waste, devour, spoil and ruin the vineyard, leaving it fruitless. This wasting describes the wasted condition of Judah under enemy oppression, specifically the Assyrians threatening Judah and Jerusalem in the time of Hezekiah. The vine is also burned with fire and cut down, perishing under the rebuke of God's countenance.
Israel brought this ruin on itself by forgetting God and rebelling, rejecting His care and pleadings through ingratitude, resistance to grace, and refusal of the privileges He gave. Even when prosperous, as represented by the golden vine at the temple, Jerusalem rejected Jesus, the one who could save and heal her. Hence the verse drives a plea for the God of hosts, the Shepherd of Israel dwelling between the cherubim, to return, look down from heaven, take notice, and visit the vine and vineyard established by His own right hand and the branch He made strong for Himself.
It pleads for God to place His hand upon the man at His right hand and to revive His people so they will not turn back from Him but will call upon His name, with the repeated cry to be turned again and to have God's face shine favorably so they will be saved. The deliverance sought would maintain Israel's cause in war and oppression, in harmony with prayer offered in the house of prayer. So all kingdoms of the earth may know that the Lord is God alone, that the God of the Hebrews still lives and reigns, and that He alone brings deliverance.
The vine is Israel, brought out of Egypt and planted after the heathen were cast out, taking deep root until it filled the land from the hills to the sea and to the river, spreading through Canaan from sea to river. God Himself transplanted, tended, cultivated and cared for this vine, seeking fruit from His people. Its protective hedges were broken down, so that all who pass by pluck it.
The boar out of the wood that wastes it and the wild beast of the field that devours it are ravaging enemies that waste, devour, spoil and ruin the vineyard, leaving it fruitless. This wasting describes the wasted condition of Judah under enemy oppression, specifically the Assyrians threatening Judah and Jerusalem in the time of Hezekiah. The vine is also burned with fire and cut down, perishing under the rebuke of God's countenance.
Israel brought this ruin on itself by forgetting God and rebelling, rejecting His care and pleadings through ingratitude, resistance to grace, and refusal of the privileges He gave. Even when prosperous, as represented by the golden vine at the temple, Jerusalem rejected Jesus, the one who could save and heal her. Hence the verse drives a plea for the God of hosts, the Shepherd of Israel dwelling between the cherubim, to return, look down from heaven, take notice, and visit the vine and vineyard established by His own right hand and the branch He made strong for Himself.
It pleads for God to place His hand upon the man at His right hand and to revive His people so they will not turn back from Him but will call upon His name, with the repeated cry to be turned again and to have God's face shine favorably so they will be saved. The deliverance sought would maintain Israel's cause in war and oppression, in harmony with prayer offered in the house of prayer. So all kingdoms of the earth may know that the Lord is God alone, that the God of the Hebrews still lives and reigns, and that He alone brings deliverance.