We know that with God, we wouldn’t have a love-songbook without grapevines! It is no surprise to find budding vines and mention of vineyards entwined with the background scenery of Song of Songs, as we add to the planting list for The Bride’s Garden.
The fig trees are forming their unripe figs, and the grapevines in bloom give out their perfume. Get up, my love, my beauty! Come away! Song of Songs 2:13 CJB
Why would we expect to see vines in the wooing Words of this book? Because grapevine or vine is God’s pet name for Israel, a special endearment conveying His loving-kindness and particular attention, His blessing and joyful singing over His people. See this favored simile sprawled across Scripture:
Let me sing a lovesong to my beloved about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. Isaiah 5:1 NOG
The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. Isaiah 5:7 NIV
See here, the vineyard of the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies, is the house of Israel, His special people. And the shoots and buds He nursed so lovingly along are the people of this choice country, Judah. Isaiah 5:7 VOICE
Yet it was I who planted you, a precious vine of fine quality Jeremiah 2:21 CEB
How prosperous Israel is—a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. Hosea 10:1 NLT
When you brought us out of Egypt, we were like your special vine. Psalm 80:8 ERV
Though a designation for the nation as a whole, the grapevine metaphor blesses and displays itself in individual people as well:
Joseph is descended from a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine planted near springs of water. His branches climb over walls. Genesis 49:22 ISV
[For those who fear and respect the LORD] Your wife will bear children as a vine bears grapes, your household lush as a vineyard Psalm 128:3 The Message
Your wife shall be contented in your home. And look at all those children! Psalm 128:3 TLB
Behold the Bridegroom
In splendid consummation of this precious heritage, then, Jesus revealed to His followers:
I am the true vine. John 15:1 NIV
Take in the magnificence of this deeper knowing of the Lord, that the allusions all along of grapevines would lead to Jesus, the Bridegroom (John 3:29). This lush affinity adds a depth of love and continuity beholden in The Bride’s Garden.
Repentance
The Words mentioning grapevines in Song of Songs bind us with the excitement of waiting, being watchful and expectant, as a Bride smitten for her Bridegroom, as a gardener eager for spring!
However, before we move forward, I think we should spend some time in the laments associated with ancient Israel’s nickname, which point out the lapse in love, faithfulness, and fruitfulness for God. It is the season of Lent, after all, with repentance and pruning of our unproductive ways a priority. Each mention of Israel as God’s special vine comes with conviction for the nation missing its mark—Words that are profoundly, prophetically descriptive of America today.
He expected a paragon of justice and righteousness—but everywhere injustice runs bloodred in the streets, and cries echo in the city! Isaiah 5:7 VOICE
…how could you turn into a wild vine and become good for nothing? Even though you scrub yourself with soap or strong powder, the stain of your sin is still before me, declares the Lord God… They have turned their backs to me and not their faces… I have disciplined your children in vain; they have rejected my correction. Jeremiah 2:21, 27, 30 CEB
But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests, the more beautiful their sacred pillars. The hearts of the people are fickle… They spout empty words and make covenants they don’t intend to keep. So injustice springs up among them like poisonous weeds in a farmer’s field. Hosea 10:1-2, 4 NLT
So Lord, why have you broken down your fence of favor around us? Trespassers can steal the fruit off our vines, and now every wild beast comes breaking through our wall to ravage us. You’ve left us without protection! Come back, come back, O God to restore us! You are the Commander of Angel Armies. Look down from heaven and see our crisis. Come down and care for your lovely vineyard once again. Psalm 80:12-14 TPT
O Lord, we confess! Our nation is full of injustice and bloodshed, and we are being ravaged at our borders and within our families. Cities are under siege just like the shelters in the vineyards (Isaiah 1:8), because we have turned away from You, even though You established us with everything we needed to prosper as a free people, just as You had done with Israel (Psalm 80:8-9, Isaiah 5:1-2).
Restoration
These vine-laced laments beg our cry for restoration and turnaround, and grapevines as they are mentioned in Song of Songs bring refreshing imagery, patterning the life returned to God with the vitality of first love. Lover and Beloved frolic to the countryside, enjoying orchards and vineyards, seeking signs of the springtime surge of growth, a botanical reflection of their own budding and flourishing love.
I went down into the orchard of nuts and out to the valley to see the springtime there, to see whether the grapevines were budding or the pomegranates were blossoming yet. Song of Songs 6:11 TLB
One day I went strolling through the orchard, looking for signs of spring, Looking for buds about to burst into flower, anticipating readiness, ripeness. Before I knew it my heart was raptured, carried away by lofty thoughts! Song of Songs 6:11 The Message
Let’s go early to the vineyards; let’s see if the vine has budded, if the blossom has opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love. Song of Songs 7:12 HCSB
Can you sense the excitement? Is your anticipation swelling up, your intrigue aroused? Are you likewise eager for signs of spring, for seeing vines and trees come to life with their gush of budding, leafing, blooming, and fruiting? And ready to enjoy such relational joy with God…is that possible? Yes! Expecting His arrival moves us in the direction that the Lord desires, echoed in Jesus Words:
Be always on the watch. Luke 21:36 NIV
You must be ready dressed and have your lamps alight, like men who wait to welcome their lord and master on his return from the wedding-feast, so that when he comes and knocks at the door, they may open it for him at once. Luke 12:35 PHILLIPS
Change your hearts and lives and do the things you did at first. Revelation 2:5 CEB
Repent and do the works of love you did at first [Return to your passion for me that motivated you at the first]. Revelation 2:5 TPT
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20 ESV
The budding vines in Song of Songs race us into readiness, a place of hopeful posture and awe of the great joy ahead. The springtime garden aligns our eyes and heart in a holy way, always watching for buds to emerge, keeping an eye for little tufts of chartreuse against winter-brown branches, for budding flowers to burst in bloom. Hear Jesus’ special beckoning in The Passion Translation:
The budding vines of new life are now blooming everywhere. The fragrance of their flowers whispers, “There is change in the air.” Arise, my love, my beautiful companion, and run with me to the higher place. For now is the time to arise and come away with me…how beautiful your eyes of worship and lovely your voice in prayer. Song of Songs 2:13, 14 TPT
Budding Vines in The Bride’s Garden
Grapevines are a fascinating plant, with a horticulture all of their own: viticulture. While Vitis vinifera is the grapevine of Scripture, the legacy species for winemaking since Bible times, there are species and cultivars for nearly every hardiness zone and exposure. Grapevines bloom in the late spring or early summer depending on your climate, forming fruit over the summer to be harvested in early fall. The challenge will not be growing a grapevine, but tending the vine with a “first love” devotion to keep it pruned and nurture and protect its fruit. I confess I am still working at it; I have yet to bring grapes to the table! Consult these pro’s instead:
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension – grapevine publications
University of California – Growing Grapes (table, wine, raisins) in Your Backyard
Cornell University – Cornell Fruit Resources: Grapes
University of Minnesota Extension – Growing Grapes in the Home Garden
Missouri Botanical Garden plant Finder – Vitis species
North Carolina State University Extension – Viticulture Publications and Factsheets
Closing Prayer
Dear Jesus, from beginning to end, your Word delights! I praise You for rejoicing over me AND rebuking or pruning me as needed (Zephaniah 3:17). Help me to grow strong when disciplined—maybe I can picture a wildly growing grapevine and confess that I probably need correcting. Let me also remember that You are a vine, too; You know what it is to be cut back so You can relate to me. I want to belong to You, to be tended to, and to behold You. Let us be as lovey-dovey as bride and Bridegroom. Out to the garden we go! Amen.
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
The Bride’s Garden is a 7-week series for the Lenten Season, focusing our thoughts and meditations on God’s Words of garden matrimony. Especially, the Scriptures swooning with flowering, fruiting plants contained in Song of Songs. While God hints throughout the Bible of His Bridegroom-like devotion to His people, He goes all-out with lavish botanicals in King Solomon’s bridal songbook, describing scents and fruits and enthralling garden views, giving us things to have and to hold as we cultivate a deeper longing for Him.
Naturally, Song of Songs has been a joy to dig into for years in the Devotions Blog at Garden in Delight, with a wide range of enticing plants to spice up a Biblical Garden. Refer to these articles for additional ideas for your Bride’s Garden: Verdant (maidenhair fern, Songs 1:16); A Father’s Tree, The Lollipop® Crabapple Story (Songs 2:3); Strengthen Me with Raisins, Refresh Me with Apples (Songs 2:5); Under your Own Vine and Fig Tree (Songs 2:13); Cultivating Calamus (Songs 4:14); God’s Focus in Saffron Crocus (Songs 4:14); Eaglewood in God’s Word (aloes, Songs 4:14); Pistachio Cookies or A Lenten Look at Trees: Almond (nut trees, Songs 6:11); Blue Wheat (Songs 7:2); Fresh Kale & Date Salad (Songs 7:8). Additionally, Song of Songs includes 5 of the 7 Species, read more at The 7 Species: A Garden-to-Table Guide
Do you love connecting God’s Word to your gardening work and the trees and plants around you? You will love my new book, My Father is the Gardener, Devotions in Botany and Gardening of the Bible, order at this link.
Read more devotions on the Song of Songs gardens in God’s Word for Gardeners Bible in the Garden Tour section on En Gedi, beginning on page a-16. Find grapevines in the Garden Stories section on Away From the Last Supper, beginning on page a-46
Find each year’s Lent series from the Devotions Blog on a new webpage called Series of 7 Studies. They are 7-part, successive devotions focused on garden topics in God’s Word to dig into at any time
Photo Credits: Photo 144684931 © Sarfraz Ahmad | Dreamstime.com Budding Vines of Vitis vinifera (multiple dangling clusters, center of post); Photo 223043511 © Valery Petrov | Dreamstime.com singular flower cluster on budding vines in a garden; all other photos ©Shelley S. Cramm
CEB notes Scripture quotations taken from the Common English Bible © 2011 Common English Bible, Nashville, Tennessee. All Rights Reserved. The CEB translation was funded by the Church Resources Development Corp, which allows for cooperation among denominational publishers in the development and distribution of Bibles, curriculum, and worship materials.
CJB notes Scripture quotations taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.
ERV denotes Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE: EASY-TO-READ VERSION © 2014 by Bible League International. Used by permission.
ESV denotes Scripture quotations taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.
HCSB denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
ISV denotes Scripture quotations from The Holy Bible: International Standard Version. Release 2.0, Build 2015.02.09. Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
The Message denotes Scripture quotations taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.
NIV denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
NLT denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
NOG denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Names of God Bible copyright © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group, 6030 East Fulton Road, Ada, MI 49301. All Rights Reserved.
PHILLIPS denotes Scripture quotations taken from The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.
TLB denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.
TPT denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com
VOICE denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Voice™. Copyright © 2012 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
