1638. A Useless Vine
A 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" (Eze_15:1-8).
We come now to consider the fruitless vine, and God's reason for taking it away.
1. We Have Suggested Herein the Exclusive Usefulness of the Vine
"Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?" (Eze_15:2).
The question is an inquiry as to the superiority of the vine. The answer is inferred.
There is but one glory to the vine, and that is its fruit. There can be but one superiority of the vine over the tree, and that is in the quality and quantity of its fruit.
The Lord planted Israel as a vine, because the Lord sought fruit from Israel.
He wanted fruit, more fruit, much fruit; but He found no fruit.
2. We Have Suggested Herein the Uselessness of the Fruitless Vine
"Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?" (Eze_15:3).
Other trees may be useful, even though fruitless. Many of the trees of the forest are not made to bear fruit, they are made to turn into wood; in this they are valuable.
The vine holds no value at all excepting in the fruit it bears. Man has never found any use for the wood of the vine; it cannot be used for even so simple a thing as the making of a pin on which to hang a vessel.
God's people, if fruitless, are worthless.
3. We Have Suggested Herein Israel's Curse
"Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned" (Eze_15:4).
When the vine bore no fruit, it was not meet for any work; therefore, men gather it, and it is burned.
When Israel bore no fruit, she was of no value, therefore, men gathered her and she was 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" (Eze_15:6-7).
Israel today has been cast out and trodden under the feet of the Gentiles and burned because she brought forth no fruit unto God.
Israel today is like a branch that has been broken off and cast aside.
She believed not, and God spared her not.
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR