Ezekiel 15

Ezekiel 15:1

M. The Parable of the Fruitless Vine (Chap. 15)A vine is good only for bearing fruit; it is not good for making furniture or even a little peg. If it has been charred in a fire, it is even more useless. In one sense, the vine is the people of Jerusalem (v. 6). Failing to bear fruit for God, they were charred by the fire of the Babylonian invasion. But in a wider sense the vine represents the entire nation, including both Israel and Judah (v. 4). The northern end of the branch was charred by the Assyrians. The southern end was charred by the Egyptians. And now the middle, i.e., Jerusalem, would be charred by the Babylonians (see 2Ki_25:9). The second fire of verse 7 pictures the captivity of those who escaped. God has determined to make the land desolate (v. 8). As believers we have high privileges, but also the responsibility to produce fruit for God’s glory. If we don’t glorify Him with our life, our existence is vain and useless. It is like the vine without fruit, and our testimony will be destroyed (cf. Joh_15:6). As branches in Christ, the True Vine, our chief function is to bear fruit for God. Primarily that means the development of Christian character as seen in the fruit of the Spirit.