In at least six places the Bible calls wine a blessing from God (Numbers 18:12; Judges 9:13; Psalms 104:15; Proverbs 31:6; Ecclesiastes 10:19; Zechariah 10:7) if used responsibly. A vineyard is a considerable investment of time and effort hence the tradition of a security tower to watch over the vineyard. That is some background to the parable of the vineyard (Matthew 21:33). Tenant farmers murdered two groups of the landowner’s employees and the owner’s son, presumably to claim the land as their own. This purposefully exaggerated story points out the sheer idiocy of killing not only God’s prophets but also God’s Son. What did the landowner want? He wanted to “collect his fruit” and needed faithful tenants. The vineyard is God’s kingdom (vs. 43) belonging to “a people who will produce its fruit.”
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