Ezekiel 15:1

15:1-8 Jerusalem like an unfruitful vine. - If a vine be fruitful, it is valuable. But if not fruitful, it is worthless and useless, it is cast into the fire. Thus man is capable of yielding a precious fruit, in living to God; this is the sole end of his existence; and if he fails in this, he is of no use but to be destroyed. What blindness then attaches to those who live in the total neglect of God and of true religion! This similitude is applied to Jerusalem. Let us beware of an unfruitful profession. Let us come to Christ, and seek to abide in him, and to have his words abide in us.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. The destruction of Jerusalem had been represented under various types and similes before, as of a siege, and a sharp razor; and here of a fruitless and useless vine, only fit for the fire; which was delivered out by a spirit of prophecy. The Targum calls it the word of prophecy, as usual.

Ezekiel 15:1-5 . What is the vine more than any tree? — The house of Israel is often compared to a vine, which when fruitful is very profitable and valuable, but when barren is very worthless and contemptible. Of this the prophet reminds the Jews to humble them, and awaken them to a sense of the importance of bringing forth the fruits of righteousness. Or, than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? — One single branch of a tree in the forest is of more use and value than the whole vine-tree is, except for its fruit. Some, however, render this latter clause, If its branch is as the trees of the forest; that is, if it brings forth no fruit. Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? — There are some fruit-trees, the wood of which, if they do not bear fruit, is of much use, and may be made to turn to a good account; but the vine is not one of these; its wood is of no use in building, or in making any piece of furniture or domestic utensil; nor indeed is it fit for any of the purposes for which the wood of other trees is used. It will not afford even a pin to drive into a wall or post, on which you may safely hang any weight: and, therefore, if the vine do not bring forth grapes it is good for nothing. Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel — When, for its barrenness, it is cut down, it is only fit to be burned.

The fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it, &c. — “A very apt representation of the state of Judea, when both its extremities were consumed by the ravages of the destroyer, and the middle of it, where the capital city stood, was threatened every moment with destruction from the enemy.” Is it meet for any work? — Is it worth any body’s while to save it from being burned for any use! If a piece of solid timber be kindled, somebody, perhaps, may snatch it out of the fire, and say it is a pity to burn it, for it may be put to some better use; but if the branch of a vine be on fire, and, as usual, both the ends of it and the middle are kindled together, nobody goes about to save it: for when it was whole it was meet for no work, much less when the fire has almost devoured it. Just so, the parable implies, it was of no use or consequence to save the Jewish nation from destruction, were it possible to do it, which had so little answered the design of God, in making them his people, and had been of so little use in promoting his glory among the surrounding nations.

CHAPTER 15 Eze 15:1-8. The Worthlessness of the Vine as Wood Especially When Burnt, Is the Image of the Worthlessness and Guilt of the Jews, Who Shall Pass from One Fire to Another. This chapter represents, in the way of a brief introduction, what the sixteenth chapter details minutely.

And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Ezekiel 15:2 . Son of man, what advantage has the wood of the vine over every wood, the vine-branch, which was among the trees of the forest? Ezekiel 15:3 . Is wood taken from it to use for any work? or do men take a peg from it to hang all kinds of vessels upon? Ezekiel 15:4 . Behold, it is given to the fire to consume. If the fire has consumed its two ends, and the middle of it is scorched, will it then be fit for any work? Ezekiel 15:5 . Behold, when it is uninjured, it is not used for any work: how much less when the fire has consumed it and scorched it can it be still used for work? Ezekiel 15:6 . Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, As the wood of the vine among the wood of the forest, which I give to the fire to consume, so do I give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Ezekiel 15:7 . And direct my face against them. They have gone out of the fire, and the fire will consume them; that ye may learn that I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them. Ezekiel 15:8 . And I make the land a desert, because they committed treachery, is the saying of the Lord Jehovah. - Israel is like the wood of the wild vine, which is put into the fire to burn, because it is good for nothing. From Deuteronomy 32:32-33 onwards, Israel is frequently compared to a vine or a vineyard (cf. Psalm 80:9 .; Isaiah 5 ; Hosea 10:1 ; Jeremiah 2:21 ), and always, with the exception of Psalm 80 , to point out its degeneracy.

This comparison lies at the foundation of the figure employed, in Ezekiel 15:2-5 , of the wood of the wild vine. This wood has no superiority over any other kind of wood. It cannot be used, like other timber, for any useful purposes; but is only fit to be burned, so that it is really inferior to all other wood ( Ezekiel 15:2 and Ezekiel 15:3 ). And if, in its perfect state, it cannot be used for anything, how much less when it is partially scorched and consumed ( Ezekiel 15:4 and Ezekiel 15:5 )! מה־יּהיה, followed by מן, means, what is it above (מן, comparative)? - i.e., what superiority has it to כּל־עץ, all kinds of wood? i.e., any other wood. 'הזמורה אשׁר וגו is in apposition to עץ הנּפן, and is not to be connected with מכּל־עץ, as it has been by the lxx and Vulgate, - notwithstanding the Masoretic accentuation, - so as to mean every kind of fagot; for זמורה does not mean a fagot, but the tendril or branch of the vine (cf. Ezekiel 8:17 ), which is still further defined by the following relative clause: to be a wood-vine, i.e., a wild vine, which bears only sour, uneatable grapes. The preterite היה (which was; not, "is") may be explained from the idea that the vine had been fetched from the forest in order that its wood might be used. The answer given in Ezekiel 15:3 is, that this vine-wood cannot be used for any purpose whatever, not even as a peg for hanging any kind of domestic utensils upon (see comm. on Zechariah 10:4 ). It is too weak even for this.