Ezekiel 15:1-8
A Useless Vine
Read the passage
1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?
3Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can one make from it a peg on which to hang utensils?
4No, it is cast into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything?
5Even when it was whole, it could not be made useful. How much less can it ever be useful when the fire has consumed it and charred it!
6Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the people of Jerusalem.
7And I will set My face against them. Though they may have escaped the fire, yet another fire will consume them. And when I set My face against them, you will know that I am the LORD.
8Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
God asks Ezekiel what makes vine wood better than the branches of other trees. Can it be used to make something useful, or even a peg for hanging utensils? The wood of a vine cannot serve that purpose. It is put into the fire for fuel.
Once both ends have burned and the middle is charred, it is even less suitable for making anything. God applies the image to Jerusalem: He will give up its people as vine wood is given to the fire. Their place among His people will not protect them from His judgment.
Even those who escape one fire will be consumed by another. God will set His face against them, and they will know that He is the LORD. He names the reason for the desolation plainly: they have acted unfaithfully.
Questions
1 What is vine wood unable to make?
AnswerIt cannot be made into something useful, even a peg on which to hang utensils.
2 What happens after both ends are burned?
AnswerIts middle is charred, making it still less suitable for making anything useful.
3 What does the vine represent?
AnswerIt represents Jerusalem in its unfaithfulness.
4 What would Jerusalem's inhabitants know?
AnswerThey would know that the LORD had acted against them because of their unfaithfulness.
What This Means for Us
Getting through a crisis can leave us relieved but unchanged. Jerusalem is warned that escaping one fire will not make continued unfaithfulness safe. Survival is no reason to dismiss what God has said.
Think of a warning you took seriously for a time and then forgot when life settled down. Does the need for change remain? Bring that unfinished obedience back before God, and follow through on it.
Prayer
LORD, help us remember what You have shown us when the immediate fear has passed. Turn us from unfaithfulness, and give us the resolve to follow through on the changes we need to make. Amen.