Killed the Heir, Condemned Themselves — September 12 [Description]Overview of the Passage:This passage explores Jesus’ parable of the vineyard, a powerful allegory illustrating God’s relationship with the nation of Israel. It follows the parable of the two sons, emphasizing obedience to God. Jesus describes Israel as a carefully cultivated vineyard, richly blessed and protected, with the expectation that it would yield spiritual fruit—justice, mercy, and a reflection of God’s character.Despite being set apart to represent God among corrupt nations, Israel repeatedly failed to fulfill its divine purpose. The passage recounts how God guided them, from Abraham to Moses, showing mercy, delivering them from Egypt, and giving them His law and temple as safeguards and symbols of His presence. Yet, their disobedience ultimately forfeited God’s blessings. The story is a sobering warning about squandered purpose, but also a call to faithfulness and the beauty of living as God’s fruitful vineyard. 365D 255

Spirit of Prophecy Reading 365D 255

Christ’s Object Lessons pp.284-287: 365D 255.1

This chapter is based on Matthew 21:33-44. 365D 255.2

The parable of the two sons was followed by the parable of the vineyard. In the one, Christ had set before the Jewish teachers the importance of obedience. In the other, He pointed to the rich blessings bestowed upon Israel, and in these showed God’s claim to their obedience. He set before them the glory of God’s purpose, which through obedience they might have fulfilled. Withdrawing the veil from the future, He showed how, by failure to fulfill His purpose, the whole nation was forfeiting His blessing, and bringing ruin upon itself. 365D 255.3

“There was a certain householder,” Christ said, “which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.” 365D 255.4

A description of this vineyard is given by the prophet Isaiah: “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.” Isaiah 5:1, 2. 365D 255.5

Christ was the leader of the children of Israel in their wilderness wanderings. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, He led and guided them. He preserved them from the perils of the wilderness, He brought them into the land of promise, and in the sight of all the nations that acknowledged not God He established Israel as His own chosen possession, the Lord’s vineyard. 365D 255.6

To this people were committed the oracles of God. They were hedged about by the precepts of His law, the everlasting principles of truth, justice, and purity. Obedience to these principles was to be their protection, for it would save them from destroying themselves by sinful practices. And as the tower in the vineyard, God placed in the midst of the land His holy temple. 365D 255.7