Both Psalm 80:8-19 and Isaiah 5:1-7 portray Israel as a choice vine, carefully tended by God. This vine is expected to produce good fruit in response to God’s care; however, in Isaiah, it instead yields rotten fruit.
Like a good storyteller, Ezekiel picks up the image of the vine and invites his audience to participate in his story.
The word of the Lord came to me:
O mortal, how does the wood of the vine surpass all other wood,
the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest?
Is wood taken from it to make anything?
Does one take a peg from it on which to hang any object?
It is put in the fire for fuel;
when the fire has consumed both ends of it
and the middle of it is charred,
is it useful for anything?
When it was whole it was used for nothing;
how much less—when the fire has consumed it,
and it is charred—
can it ever be used for anything! (Ezekiel 15.1-5)
A grapevine is valuable for producing grapes, but it’s not very useful around the house. For instance, a grapevine peg in a wall would make a poor choice for hanging a coat.
When Jesus talked about the vine, He illustrated both the positive and negative aspects of the vine.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit.
Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned (John 15.1-6).
In Ezekiel’s day, Jesus’s day, and even today, those who remain in a faithful relationship with God function as a vine is meant to.
Conversely, those who do not abide in a relationship with the Lord fail to produce fruit and face the same fate as the vine in Ezekiel’s illustration.
The Fear of the Lord
There are no greater blessings than being able to live in an abiding relationship with the greatest being in the universe.
On the other hand, as the author of Hebrews says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).
Ezekiel’s tragic message to both the people living in Jerusalem and the exiles in Babylon was that they had failed as the Lord’s vine and were therefore destined for judgment.
Therefore thus says the Lord God: 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 inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I will set my face against them; although they escape from the fire, the fire shall still consume them, and you shall know that I am the Lord when I set my face against them.
And I will make the land desolate because they have acted faithlessly, says the Lord God (Ezekiel 15.6-8).
Lost Keys and Lost Lives
Dallas Willard describes lost human beings with the analogy of lost keys. When I lose my keys, they are no longer useful to me. They may still exist somewhere, but because they’re lost, I can’t use them.
Similarly, when we are lost to God, like the useless vine, we are no longer available for a relationship with Him or to serve His purposes in the world.
The message of the prophets and Jesus is clear: we must choose not to remain lost but instead come to God wholeheartedly, restoring our relationship with Him.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 