Psalm 80:13

Psalm 80:13

Wild boars and insects!

Oh dear, the vineyard has really fallen into disrepair! The perimeter walls have been broken down and foreigners and passers-by are encroaching on the land and helping themselves to the grapes. Now we learn that wild boars have also entered the vineyard and are destroying the plants! Wild boars are still roaming the Middle East today, they will feed on roots, bulbs, seeds, nuts and green plants. They are opportunistic feeders and will scavenge and eat anything they find on the ground. In a well-run vineyard they would be regarded as unwelcome pests and kept out. This picture of the land of Israel shows us that the nation had become easy pickings, anyone could enter and take what they wanted; the people were defenceless.

Not only so, but insects from the field had stripped the crops. Presumably the Psalm is describing locusts or maybe the grapevine moth and leafhoppers. There are plenty of pests that would enjoy unlimited access to an unkempt vineyard. The pictures painted here are of dilapidation, lack of skilled manpower, neglect and abandonment. This is how the Israelites felt about the land, themselves and their owner! Without God’s intervention, they were finished! We must learn a lesson from them. Our vineyards are our own personal lives, our marriages and our churches. We need to guard the perimeters, to tend the crops and to get rid of pests!

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