Topical Bible: Grape: Proverb of

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In biblical literature, the grape is often used symbolically and proverbially to convey spiritual truths and moral lessons. The grape, as a fruit of the vine, holds significant agricultural and cultural importance in the biblical world, and its imagery is frequently employed in Scripture to illustrate various aspects of life, faith, and divine judgment.

Symbol of Abundance and Blessing

The grape is frequently associated with abundance and divine blessing. In the Old Testament, the Promised Land is described as a land "flowing with milk and honey," and its fertility is often exemplified by the presence of vineyards and the abundance of grapes. This imagery is vividly captured in the account of the spies sent by Moses to explore Canaan, who returned with a cluster of grapes so large that it had to be carried on a pole between two men (Numbers 13:23). This scene underscores the prosperity and fruitfulness that God promised to His people.

Metaphor for Israel

The grapevine is also a metaphor for Israel, God's chosen people. In Isaiah 5:1-7, the prophet presents a parable of a vineyard, where God is the owner who lovingly tends to His vineyard, Israel. Despite His care, the vineyard yields only wild grapes, symbolizing Israel's unfaithfulness and moral decay. This imagery is echoed in Jeremiah 2:21, where God laments, "I planted you as a choice vine from the very best seed. How then could you turn yourself before Me into a wild vine?"

Proverbial Warnings

The grape is used in proverbs and teachings to convey warnings and moral lessons. In Ezekiel 18:2, the proverb "The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" is cited, illustrating the concept of generational consequences and the belief that the sins of one generation affect the next. However, God refutes this proverb, emphasizing individual responsibility for sin and righteousness.

Symbol of Judgment

Grapes are also a symbol of divine judgment. In Revelation 14:18-20, the imagery of the grape harvest is used to depict the final judgment, where the earth's wicked are gathered like grapes and thrown into the great winepress of God's wrath. This powerful imagery serves as a sobering reminder of the ultimate accountability before God.

New Testament Teachings

In the New Testament, Jesus uses the grapevine metaphor in His teachings. In John 15:1-8, Jesus declares, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser." He emphasizes the importance of abiding in Him, as branches must remain connected to the vine to bear fruit. This teaching highlights the necessity of a close relationship with Christ for spiritual vitality and fruitfulness.

The grape, in its various symbolic uses throughout Scripture, serves as a rich source of spiritual insight, illustrating themes of blessing, judgment, faithfulness, and the necessity of a life rooted in Christ.

Nave's Topical Index

Ezekiel 18:2
What mean you, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?
Nave's Topical Index

Library

Habakkuk-On his Watch-Tower
... but the oppressed people of God understood them; till it abides a proverb, and an ...
the keeper of the vineyard, and to be the home of the grape-gatherers at the ...
/.../whyte/lord teach us to pray/ix habakkuk-on his watch-tower.htm

On Drinking.
... For the blood of the grape"that is, the Word"desired to be mixed with water ... It has
been appropriately said, "As the furnace proverb the steel blade in the ...
/.../clement/the instructor paedagogus/chapter ii on drinking.htm

Apocryphal Traditions.
... by giving your goods to the poor, according to the ancient proverb (Prov.19 ... thousand
bunches, and on each bunch ten thousand grapes, and each grape when pressed ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 18 apocryphal traditions.htm

Where to Find Fruit
... Then indeed the vine flourished, the tender grape appeared, the pomegranates budded
forth ... To use the old proverb," Why carry coals to Newcastle?" Who would ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 10 1864/where to find fruit.htm

Exposition of the Moral Law.
... after being subjected to a long period of uninterrupted calamities, had begun to
say, as a proverb, that their fathers had eaten the sour grape, and thus set ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 8 exposition of the.htm

The Heart: a Gift for God
... juice of the grape is that which comes with the slightest pressure at the first
touch. Oh, to give God our freest love! You know the old proverb that one ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/the heart a gift for.htm

Dialogue i. --The Immutable.
... the vine the Lord's blood, so he called the blood of the true vine blood of the
grape. ... Orth."It seems, as the proverb has it, as if we are drawing water in a ...
/.../theodoret/the ecclesiastical history of theodoret/dialogue i the immutable.htm

Introduction to Oration ii.
... seeing not to see, and hearing not to hear them, according to the proverb, that
we ... of the upright, there being scarcely a stalk or a gleaning grape left, since ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/introduction to oration ii.htm

The Barren Fig-Tree;
... There is the grape, and the wild grape; the vine, and the wild vine; the rose, and ...
set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb: and I ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the barren fig-tree.htm

On the Soul and the Resurrection.
... Most certainly, the Virgin replied, the soul herself, to those who wish to follow
the wise proverb and know themselves, is a competent [1758] instructress; of ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/on the soul and the 2.htm