Ezekiel 15: The Parable of the Useless Vine
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?
Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work?
Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.
And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 15 serves as a stark warning delivered through a powerful, albeit simple, parable. God, in His wisdom, employed Ezekiel's prophetic gifts to communicate messages of judgment to His people. This chapter, along with Ezekiel 16 and 17, forms a trilogy of parables designed to expose Israel's sin and foreshadow impending consequences. In Ezekiel 15:1-8, we encounter the parable of the useless vine, a potent illustration of Jerusalem's state and its inevitable fate.
Ezekiel 15:1-8 begins with the word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel, setting the stage for the parable. The core message revolves around the inherent purpose of a vine. Unlike sturdy trees whose wood can be fashioned into furniture or tools, the vine's value lies solely in its capacity to bear fruit. Ezekiel 15:2-3 emphasizes this point: "Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of any other tree—than a vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Or do people make pegs from it to hang things on?" The rhetorical questions highlight the vine's uselessness without its fruit.
The parable takes a darker turn in Ezekiel 15:4-5. When the vine fails to produce fruit, it becomes fit only for one purpose: fuel for the fire. "When fire has consumed two of its ends and the middle is charred, is it still good for anything? Suppose it was whole, would it ever be made into something useful? How much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has consumed it and it is charred?" This imagery vividly depicts the judgment that awaits Jerusalem.
The meaning is then explicitly clarified in Ezekiel 15:6-8. The Lord states, "Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people who live in Jerusalem. I will set my face against them. Although they have escaped from the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord. I will make the land desolate, because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign Lord." The residents of Jerusalem, like the fruitless vine, had failed to fulfill their purpose. They had been spared from the initial Babylonian invasion in 597 BC, but this was merely a temporary reprieve. Just as the fire consumes the useless vine, so too would God's judgment ultimately consume them, leaving their land desolate.
This parable serves as a powerful reminder that God expects fruitfulness from His people. He has a purpose for each of us, and when we fail to live up to that purpose, we risk facing the consequences of our unfaithfulness. The residents of Jerusalem thought they had escaped judgment, but Ezekiel's message made it clear that a season of respite doesn't mean immunity from future accountability. The chapter serves as a warning to all generations that escaping one form of judgment does not guarantee immunity from future reckoning. God's standards are unchanging, and His call to fruitfulness remains constant. Just as the vine is created to bear fruit, so we are created to bear fruit in our lives, reflecting God's love, grace, and righteousness in all that we do.
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?
Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work?
Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.
And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord God.
Ezekiel 15 serves as a stark warning delivered through a powerful, albeit simple, parable. God, in His wisdom, employed Ezekiel's prophetic gifts to communicate messages of judgment to His people. This chapter, along with Ezekiel 16 and 17, forms a trilogy of parables designed to expose Israel's sin and foreshadow impending consequences. In Ezekiel 15:1-8, we encounter the parable of the useless vine, a potent illustration of Jerusalem's state and its inevitable fate.
Ezekiel 15:1-8 begins with the word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel, setting the stage for the parable. The core message revolves around the inherent purpose of a vine. Unlike sturdy trees whose wood can be fashioned into furniture or tools, the vine's value lies solely in its capacity to bear fruit. Ezekiel 15:2-3 emphasizes this point: "Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of any other tree—than a vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Or do people make pegs from it to hang things on?" The rhetorical questions highlight the vine's uselessness without its fruit.
The parable takes a darker turn in Ezekiel 15:4-5. When the vine fails to produce fruit, it becomes fit only for one purpose: fuel for the fire. "When fire has consumed two of its ends and the middle is charred, is it still good for anything? Suppose it was whole, would it ever be made into something useful? How much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has consumed it and it is charred?" This imagery vividly depicts the judgment that awaits Jerusalem.
The meaning is then explicitly clarified in Ezekiel 15:6-8. The Lord states, "Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people who live in Jerusalem. I will set my face against them. Although they have escaped from the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord. I will make the land desolate, because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign Lord." The residents of Jerusalem, like the fruitless vine, had failed to fulfill their purpose. They had been spared from the initial Babylonian invasion in 597 BC, but this was merely a temporary reprieve. Just as the fire consumes the useless vine, so too would God's judgment ultimately consume them, leaving their land desolate.
This parable serves as a powerful reminder that God expects fruitfulness from His people. He has a purpose for each of us, and when we fail to live up to that purpose, we risk facing the consequences of our unfaithfulness. The residents of Jerusalem thought they had escaped judgment, but Ezekiel's message made it clear that a season of respite doesn't mean immunity from future accountability. The chapter serves as a warning to all generations that escaping one form of judgment does not guarantee immunity from future reckoning. God's standards are unchanging, and His call to fruitfulness remains constant. Just as the vine is created to bear fruit, so we are created to bear fruit in our lives, reflecting God's love, grace, and righteousness in all that we do.