In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it.
Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; I have no wrath.” (Isaiah 27:2-4 ESV)
Wrath
The Bible mentions vineyards around 65 times. Usually, vineyards are metaphors for God’s people. We are planted by the Lord, nourished by the Lord, sustained by the Lord, and harvested by the Lord.
But the best part of being the Lord’s Vineyard is this: God’s vineyard does not receive His wrath. We deserve God’s wrath, of course. We ignore the vine-keeper, rebel against the vine-keeper, and even cause the death of the vine-keeper’s only begotten Son.
But God chooses to send His wrath against the Messiah, instead of against His people.
And that is the gospel in a nutshell… or a grape.
God’s love for His people causes Him to defend us against His own wrath. And that defense was found on the cross, where God’s wrath, which deservedly would have been aimed at sinners, instead was aimed at Christ.
God does, in fact, have wrath. A lot of it. But He has no wrath left to put on His people, those who have believed in Christ. Because He put all His wrath on Christ, instead.
His love for His people redirected His wrath away from us. His love frees us from His wrath. And that makes a pleasant vineyard.