This Old House was one of the earliest home improvement shows on national television. Premiering in 1979, the show launched a new television genre, and 45 years later, it continues to empower legions of do-it-yourself remodelers. Since most of us don’t have vineyards today and may know little about maintaining them, perhaps we should think of God viewing His people as a fixer-upper, and He is eager to get started on a major renovation project. In Isaiah 27, the vineyard called Israel appears quite different than it did back in chapter 5. There, God called in the wild animals to destroy His vineyard because the grapes were so bitter. He tore down the walls and left it to briers and thorns. But now He is not angry, and He wishes there were briers and thorns to contend with, so He could chop them down and burn them. God is committed to see this vineyard flourish! Eventually it will fill the earth, so that the entire world becomes a garden of fruitful, Spirit-filled people (v 1-6). God’s love for His own has never meant that their lives would be trouble-free. Looking back on their history, Isaiah can see that God had disciplined His people. But He never afflicted them the way He afflicted those who had afflicted them. Rather, He measured their sufferings with careful restraint, dealing gently with Israel until they were freed from all idols (v 7-9). On the great and final day of His wrath, the city of this present world will be forsaken by God (v 10-11), while His own people will be a treasured harvest that He carefully gathers in, one by one, from the east to the west (v 12). On that day, a great trumpet will sound, as in the happy Year of Jubilee, and the children of God will be free forever. In the end, not one will be lost, but all will be brought home to “the holy mountain at Jerusalem” (v 13), the city which is pictured in Revelation as “coming down out of heaven from God.” Clearly, God loves this old house! If there are termites, He will find delight in rooting them out and repairing the damage. If there is old plumbing and wiring, He’ll be eager to replace it. By the time He is done, you will hardly recognize the place! And why is He doing all this? So He can turn around and sell it for a profit? No, He would never pour so much of Himself into the old house only to part with it. He is committed to this work of renovation because this house is where He wants to live! If we think of God passionately loving “the old house” that we are, then the crashing of the hammer and ripping of the saw will be easier to bear. Remember, God is not finished with you yet! For further meditation: