Jacob 5:21 - 5:25

Jacob 5:21 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree? For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard.

The servant now had a question. Why did he graft some of the branches in one of the poorest parts of the vineyard? [Or why did he take some of the members of the house of Israel to some of the poorest parts of the world? I’m not sure if “poorest” meant the quality of the growing conditions for farming or if the indigenes people of the land were really inhospitable.]

Jacob 5:22 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.

The master reproves the servant for questioning where he took this particular group of people. He knew that the conditions were poor, but because of the quality of the people, they prospered and because a righteous people. The Lord gave them a lot of attention through the ministry of prophets and angels and as a result they followed the instructions that he gave to them in this strange land. [This speaks of the quality of this group that was lead away. They were being dragged down by wickedness of the house of Israel where they were living. But in this new place they could followed the commandments strictly and through their desires to be righteous they became a successful branch of the house of Israel.]

Jacob 5:23 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Look hither; behold I have planted another branch of the tree also; and thou knowest that this spot of ground was poorer than the first. But, behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self.

To show to the servant that the master knew what he was doing, he shows him an even poorer spot in the vineyard where people were lead to and they were also successful in their new land. Again they were administered to by prophets and angels and became a righteous branch of the house of Israel too.

Jacob 5:24 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said again unto his servant: Look hither, and behold another branch also, which I have planted; behold that I have nourished it also, and it hath brought forth fruit.

The master shows the servant another graft and another part of the vineyard and it also prospered. [We are not told as to the quality of the spot but I infer that it was not as bad as the two previous ones. This shows that it’s the quality of the people not where they are place that determines their success.]

Jacob 5:25 And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of ground; and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree hath brought forth tame fruit, and the other part of the tree hath brought forth wild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others.

The last spot they examine the grafts have produced some good fruit but also some wide fruit. This spot was treated like all the others, but the outcome was different. Some folks took to the ministry of prophets some did not. [This illustrates my comment from the previous verse. It is the quality of the people not where they live necessarily that determines their righteousness.]