Ezekiel 15
1Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3Will wood be taken of it to make anything? Will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel on it? 4Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire has devoured both its ends, and the middle of it is burned. Is it profitable for any work? 5Behold, when it was whole, it was suitable for no work. How much less, when the fire has devoured it, and it has been burned, will it yet be suitable for any work?” 6Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: “As the vine wood among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7I will set my face against them. They will go out from the fire, but the fire will still devour them. Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when I set my face against them. 8I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,” says the Lord Yahweh.
Introduction
Ezekiel 15
Ezekiel has again and again, in God's name, foretold the utter ruin of Jerusalem; but, it should seem, he finds it hard to reconcile himself to it, and to acquiesce in the will of God in this severe dispensation; and therefore God takes various methods to satisfy him not only that it shall be so, but that there is no remedy: it must be so; it is fit that it should be so. Here, in this short chapter, he shows him (probably with design that he should tell the people) that it was as requisite Jerusalem should be destroyed as that the dead and withered branches of a vine should be cut off and thrown into the fire. I. The similitude is very elegant (Eze 15:1-5), but, II. The explanation of the similitude is very dreadful (Eze 15:6-8).
Cross-references: Ezek 15:1 · Ezek 15:6