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Jerusalem, A Useless Vine

Ezekiel 15:1-8

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Jerusalem A Useless Vine

Text:

Ezekiel 15:1-8,

1. The word of the Lord came to me:

2. “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest?

3. Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on?

4. And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything?

5. If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

6. “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 living in Jerusalem.

7. I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord.

8. I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign Lord.” (NIV 1984)

Introduction:

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I. Hamilton wrote, “A similar viticulture metaphor appears in . (compare Hosea 10:1, Jeremiah 2:21).

A. Psalm 80:8-19, You transplanted a vine from ; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it. Return to us, God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine, the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself. Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish. Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. (NIV 1984)

1. Fredenburg wrote, “This metaphor (Ezekiel 15:1-8 may most closely be compared to the metaphor of the northern kingdom’s demise under Assyria in 721 B.C. in Psalm 80.”

B. Hosea 10:1, was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. (NIV 1984)

C. Jeremiah 2:21, I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? (NIV 1984)

II. Smith observed that four objections were registered against Ezekiel’s teachings by the exiles in in :1-15: 8; viz…..

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A. Surely Ezekiel’s warnings did not apply to them, the elders. (Ezekiel 14:3-8)

B. How can you be so hard on us by what you are saying to us, Ezekiel? (Ezekiel 14:9-11)

C. Some righteous people were still living in the midst of the nation. How could God destroy those righteous ones along with the wicked? (Ezekiel 14:12-23)

D. How can God forsake his covenant, the vine of his planting? (Ezekiel 15:1-8)

III. Fredenburg wrote, “Because of the importance of viticulture in the Mediterranean world, metaphors derived from vines, vineyards, grapes, or drinking were common.”

IV. The vine in this passage represents apostate Israel including Jerusalem which was useless for the production of fruit or anything else of value and was fit only for burning, Coffman advised.

Commentary:

Ezekiel 15:1, The word of the Lord came to me: (NIV 1984)

I. The word of the Lord came to me:…..

A. The Lord made his will known to his people by way of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 15:2, “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? (NIV 1984)

I. “Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest?

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A. Hamilton wrote that this “wood of the vine” alludes to Israel as Yahweh’s vineyard.

1. Deuteronomy 32:32, Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness. (NIV 1984)

2. :1-8, I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land. (NIV 1984)

3. Genesis 49:22, “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. (NIV 1984)

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B. Smith explained, “In comparison to other trees of the forest the vine tree was insignificant. Its wood was useless, incapable of being fashioned by craftsmen.” Not even a peg could be made from the wood of the vine tree. “It was good for nothing except fuel.”

1. If the vine does not bear fruit, it is useless. (Clarke)

2. Since Israel had ceased bearing fruit, it was now useless. (See Clarke.)

C. Fredenburg identified this metaphor as a riddle.

D. Coffman advised, “The vine of this question is not the noble, cultivated vine that once illustrated the chosen people of God, but the wild, degenerate vine among the trees of the forest. It bears no fruit except inedible bitter grapes and its wood is worthless as wood could be fit only for fuel.

Ezekiel 15:3, Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on? (NIV 1984)

I. Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?

A. “Grapevine wood, otherwise unusable, is useful for fuel, Hamilton wrote, and Fredenburg gave the clear answer to this question as “No.”

II. Do they make pegs from it to hang things on?

A. Even pegs could not be made from the wood of these grape vines.

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1. Isaiah 22:23, I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father. (NIV 1984)

2. Zechariah 10:4, From Judah will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler. (NIV 1984)

Ezekiel 15:4, And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything? (NIV 1984)

I. And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything?

A. The only thing unproductive grapevines were good for was fuel for the fire and after that they were good for nothing.

1. Trimmings were usually bound in to bundles and thrown into the fire (Allen).

B. If pulled from the fire before it is totally consumed, it would not be good even for charcoal. (Burn via Coffman)

1. Jerusalem – Israel had been “burned” north by Assyria and south by Babylon and Jerusalem would soon be totally destroyed by Babylon leaving it of no value whatsoever and would be left useless.

2. Jerusalem was fruitless and useless! Fit only to be destroyed (See McGee).

a. Matthew 7:9, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? (NIV 1984)

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b. Mark 11:12-26, The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (NIV 1984)

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c. Luke 13:6-9, Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (NIV 1984)

Ezekiel 15:5, If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred? (NIV 1984)

I. If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

A. Since the Israelites did not produce fruit, they were fit only to be burned.

1. We Christians need to learn this lesson well: Bear fruit or be thrown into the fire!

Ezekiel 15:6, “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 living in Jerusalem. (NIV 1984)

I. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:…

A. Twice in eight verses it is clearly stated that what Ezekiel heard and proclaimed came to him directly from the Lord.

1. Every word, therefore, Ezekiel spoke was true.

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2. May it be so with us!

II. 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 living on Jerusalem.

A. “The inhabitants of Jerusalem were like that vine tree,” Smith wrote, fit only for the fire!

B. “The metaphor’s meaning becomes clear as Ezekiel turns it into an analogy. Just as grapevine wood is only good as fuel for the fire, so now also are the people of Jerusalem, Fredenburg wrote.

1. There remains no longer a constructive use for either Jerusalem or its inhabitants. (Fredenburg)

2. :1-8, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (NIV 1984)

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a. Jesus presented himself as The True Vine, the True Israel of God. (Coffman)

b. Physical Israel was no longer God’s chosen people.

c. Physical Israel had been replaced by Jesus Christ and his devoted followers as the true vine, the true Israel of God.

Ezekiel 15:7, I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the Lord. (NIV 1984)

I. I will set my face against them.

A. Yahweh has set his face against Jerusalem and its inhabitants.

1. Leviticus 26:17, I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. (NIV 1984)

2. God was hostile toward these Jerusalem sinners.

B. Clarke wrote, “The design of this parable is to abate the pride of the Jews; to show them that, in their best estates, they had nothing but what they have received, and therefore deserved nothing; and now, having fallen from all righteousness, they can have no expectation of anything but judgment unmixed with mercy.”

II. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them.

A. This coming out of the fire refers to Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem 598-599 B.C.E. (Hamilton)

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1. However, the fire will yet consume Jerusalem referring to Nebuchadnezzar who totally destroyed the city in 586 B.C.

a. :2, 4, When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind for I will pursue them with drawn sword. Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel. (NIV 1984)

b. :7, Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. (NIV 1984)

2. Because of their gross and long standing rebellion against God, Jerusalem is good for only one thing; that is, to be burned. (Fredenburg)

a. Ezekiel 14:13-14, “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD . (NIV 1984)

3. To escape will be impossible.

III. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the LORD.

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A. There was no hope or deliverance for Jerusalem! (See Coffman)

Ezekiel 15:8, I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign Lord.” (NIV 1984)

I. I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign LORD.

A. God was just in leaving the land desolate because the people had been unfaithful. (See Smith)

B. Israel as God’s Chosen People was no more!

C. We will reap what we saw! No exceptions.

Conclusion:

I. As vines in God’s vineyard, we are to bear fruit.

A. If we do not bear fruit, we are worthless and will be cast into the fire. (See The Pulpit Commentary)

II. Ezekiel faithfully spoke the word of the LORD.

A. It is absolutely imperative that we speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as it was once for all delivered to us in the Holy !

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Questions

On

Ezekiel 15:1-8

(Questions based on NIV text)

1. Define viticulture ______

2. What four objectives were registered against Ezekiel’s teachings by the exiles in Babylon in Ezekiel 14:1-15:8? ______

3. Because of the importance of ______in the ______, ______derived from ______, ______, or ______were common.

4. What does the vine represent in Ezekiel 15? ______

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______

5. How did the word of the LORD come to Ezekiel? What did Ezekiel do with the word of the LORD? ______

6. How does the word of the LORD come to us today? How are we to respond to this word of the LORD? ______

7. What is the meaning of the designation “Son of man” as used in references to Ezekiel? ______

8. Who in the New Testament is known as “Son of man”? Why was this designation especially appropriate? ______

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9. How is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest? ______

10. What does the vine in verse 2 represent? ______

11. To what vine, according to Coffman, does and does not “vine” refer in Verse 2? ______

12. What is the prime duty of vines? ______

13. Is wood ever taken from the grapevine used to make anything useful? What does this wood represent? ______

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______

14. Grape vines (wood) could not even be used to make ______to hang things on. After having been burned on both ends and in the middle what remained was not even good for ______.

15. ______- ______had been “______” north by ______and south by ______and ______would soon be totally ______by ______leaving it of no ______whatsoever and would be left ______.

16. Jerusalem was fruitless? How serious was this for Jerusalem? How serious is the sin of fruitlessness to Christians now? ______

17. ______in ______verses it is ______stated that what ______and ______came to him ______from the ______. Every ______, therefore, that ______was ______, May it be so with us!

18. The ______of ______were like the ______, fit only for the ______.

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19. The ______’s meaning (v.6b) becomes clear as ______turns it into an ______, Just as ______is only ______as ______for the ______, ______, so now also are the ______of ______.

20. There remains no ______a ______use for either ______or its ______.

21. ______was no longer ______’s ______had been ______by ______and his ______as the ______, the ______of ______!

22. Why did the LORD set his face against Jerusalem? What does, “I will set my face against them,” mean? What happened because God set his face against Jerusalem? ______

23. When did Jerusalem “come out of the fire”? When did the fire consume Jerusalem? ______

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24. What were the results of God’s setting his face against Jerusalem? ______

25. Why did the LORD make the land desolate? ______

26. As vines in God’s vineyard, we are to bear fruit. What fruit are we to produce? ______

27. ______the ______of the ______, the ______. It is ______that we ______the ______, ______., and ______but the ______.

28. How can it be determine what is true and what is false? ______

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______

29. Chapter 15 has eight (8) verses while Chapter 16 has sixty-three (63) verses. What accounts for these and other similar differences? ______

30. Who divided the Bible into Chapters and verses? When was this done? ______

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