07/08/2015 MELON/CHOICES
Isaiah 1:8 The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege. [New International translation.]
And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. [Revised Standard translation.]
Summary: The prophet Isaiah lived in the 8th century before the birth of JESUS CHRIST. Isaiah’s name signifies “the salvation of GOD,” or “Yah is salvation.” He was called to prophesy to the Kingdom of Judah, [i.e., the daughters of Zion] about God’s judgment of the people for their rebellion and sin against God and about God’s future plan for salvation through the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Like many prophetic scriptures, there is a lot of imagery in the words of the message.
In Isaiah 1:8, the “Daughter of Zion” refers to the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the city of David, was built on a hill called Zion and is given a “feminine” reference—“daughter,” probably because of it’s great “beauty.” The “field of cucumbers” and the “field of melons” refer to the same kind of fruit—fruit that were in great demand in this region because of their cooling qualities, especially in this hot ancient time climate. Melon and cucumbers were planted around the city. To protect the fruit, a shelter was often erected in the field so that a watchman could guard the field from birds, animals thieves or anything else that might damage, destroy or steal the crop. This shelter was a lonely place. The fact that the booth or shelter had been abandoned, suggests that the fields around the precious fruit had been taken and the city of Jerusalem was surrounded or “besieged.”
The fact that such an essential regional fruit was abandoned and that the city fields were surrounded by the enemy were indications of the hopelessness of the situation that Jerusalem would soon find itself because of the people’s sinful ways. Despite Isaiah’s prophetic warning from God, and Isaiah’s plea that the people “Heed the word of the Lord” and that the people “listen,” the Israelites refused and instead chose to continue down the path of self-destruction, which eventually resulted into the people being led into Babylonian captivity.