Ezekiel Chapter 15
Ezekiel 15
The Parable of the Wood of the Grapevine
Ezekiel 15 gives a short but severe parable about the wood of the grapevine. Israel often thought of herself as the LORD’s special vine, chosen, privileged, and planted by God. That was true, but privilege without fruit only increased responsibility. The LORD now strips the image down to its most basic point. If a vine bears fruit, it has value. If it bears no fruit, its wood is useless. It cannot be made into furniture, tools, or even a reliable peg. It is fit only for burning. In this chapter, Jerusalem is compared to the fruitless wood of the vine, already burned by previous judgments and now appointed for further fire because of persistent unfaithfulness.
A. The example of the wood of the grapevine.
1. Ezekiel 15:1-3, The uselessness of the wood of the grapevine.
Ezekiel 15:1, And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 15:2, Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among-the trees of the forest?
Ezekiel 15:3, Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang-any vessel thereon?
And the word of the LORD came unto me introduces another message from God to Ezekiel. The prophet is not giving a natural observation about vines. He is receiving a divine parable. The LORD uses something ordinary and familiar, the wood of a grapevine, to expose the false confidence of Jerusalem.
What is the vine tree more than any tree asks a searching question. Israel had often been pictured as a vine in Scripture. That image could speak of blessing, fruitfulness, covenant privilege, and God’s planting. But in Ezekiel 15, the LORD does not focus on the fruit of the vine. He focuses only on the wood. That is the point. If the vine bears no fruit, what good is its wood?
The vine was a well-known biblical picture. Jacob’s prophecy connected the vine with future messianic blessing.
Genesis 49:11, Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his-garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
When the spies entered Canaan, the fruit of the vine showed the abundance of the land God promised Israel.
Numbers 13:23, And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster-of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of-the figs.
A corrupt vine could also picture the wickedness of man.
Deuteronomy 32:32, For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes-are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
Jotham used the vine in his parable when he rebuked the men of Shechem.
Judges 9:12, Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us.
Judges 9:13, And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go-to be promoted over the trees?
Israel was also described as a vine brought out of Egypt and planted by God.
Psalm 80:8, Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
Psalm 80:9, Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the-land.
Psalm 80:10, The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly-cedars.
Psalm 80:11, She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.
Psalm 80:12, Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do-pluck her?
Psalm 80:13, The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth-devour it.
Psalm 80:14, Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit-this vine;
Psalm 80:15, And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
Psalm 80:16, It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
Psalm 80:17, Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest-strong for thyself.
Psalm 80:18, So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
Psalm 80:19, Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
Isaiah also pictured Israel as the LORD’s vineyard, planted and cared for by God, yet producing wild grapes instead of good fruit.
Isaiah 5:1, Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath-a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
Isaiah 5:2, And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine,-and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that-it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
Isaiah 5:3, And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and-my vineyard.
Isaiah 5:4, What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore,-when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
Isaiah 5:5, And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take-away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall-be trodden down:
Isaiah 5:6, And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come-up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
Isaiah 5:7, For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah-his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
Hosea described Israel as a vine that brought forth fruit unto herself.
Hosea 10:1, Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit-he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.
Jeremiah described Israel as a noble vine that had degenerated.
Jeremiah 2:21, Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into-the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
Ezekiel himself later uses the image of the vine again.
Ezekiel 17:5, He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he-placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.
Ezekiel 17:6, And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the-roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.
Ezekiel 17:7, There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend-her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of-her plantation.
Ezekiel 17:8, It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that-it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.
Ezekiel 17:9, Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof,-and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring,-even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.
Ezekiel 17:10, Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth-it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.
Ezekiel 19:10, Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of-branches by reason of many waters.
Ezekiel 19:11, And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted-among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.
Ezekiel 19:12, But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind-dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.
Ezekiel 19:13, And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.
Ezekiel 19:14, And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she-hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
Jesus later used the vineyard image to condemn the rebellious leaders of Israel in His day.
Luke 20:9, Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let-it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.
Luke 20:10, And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit-of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.
Luke 20:11, And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him-away empty.
Luke 20:12, And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
Luke 20:13, Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may-be they will reverence him when they see him.
Luke 20:14, But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let-us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.
Luke 20:15, So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard-do unto them?
Luke 20:16, He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it,-they said, God forbid.
Luke 20:17, And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders-rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?
Luke 20:18, Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind-him to powder.
Luke 20:19, And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they-feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.
Jesus also used the vine to describe the relationship between Himself and His own people.
John 15:1, I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
John 15:2, Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit,-he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
John 15:3, Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
John 15:4, Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it-abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
John 15:5, I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him,-the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:6, If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and-men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
John 15:7, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and-it shall be done unto you.
John 15:8, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
The point in Ezekiel 15 is sharp. Israel could not hide behind the fact that she was God’s vine. If the vine produces no fruit, its wood is not valuable. Israel’s privilege made her more accountable, not less. The LORD had planted, preserved, instructed, and warned Israel. Therefore, fruitlessness was not a small failure. It was covenant rebellion.
Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? asks whether the wood of a vine can be used like the wood of forest trees. The answer is no. The wood of the grapevine is crooked, weak, brittle, and useless for normal construction. If the vine has fruit, it has value. If it has no fruit, its wood has no practical strength.
This is devastating because Ezekiel says nothing in this parable about fruit. The absence of any mention of fruit is the point. At this stage in Jerusalem’s history, fruit is not even under discussion. The LORD is evaluating a fruitless vine only by the value of its wood, and the wood is useless.
Or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? means the wood is not even strong enough to make a peg. A peg was a simple object, but it needed strength and reliability. Grapevine wood could not provide even that. Israel was neither fruitful nor dependable.
The image of a peg elsewhere can speak of stability and reliability.
Isaiah 22:23, And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious-throne to his father’s house.
Isaiah 22:24, And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue,-all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.
Isaiah 22:25, In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure-place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut-off: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Zechariah 10:4, Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow,-out of him every oppressor together.
Ezra 9:8, And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us-a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our-eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
Jerusalem was not a sure peg. It could not bear weight. It could not be relied upon. A fruitless vine is not only unfruitful, it is useless for any other purpose. That is the force of the parable.
2. Ezekiel 15:4-5, The burning of the wood of the grapevine.
Ezekiel 15:4, 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?
Ezekiel 15:5, 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?
Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel gives the only practical use for fruitless vine wood. If it cannot bear fruit, cannot build, cannot support, and cannot even serve as a peg, then it is fit only for burning. The image is severe because Jerusalem had become a fruitless vine before the LORD.
The fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned pictures wood already partially consumed. This points to Jerusalem’s previous calamities. Judah had already suffered invasions, deportations, and humiliation under Babylon. The nation had already been burned at both ends, so to speak. Yet instead of repenting, Jerusalem remained useless and rebellious.
Is it meet for any work? asks whether partially burned grapevine wood has any value. The answer is obvious. If the vine wood was useless before burning, it is even more useless after being charred. Fire does not improve wood. Judgment had not produced repentance in Jerusalem. The previous fires had not made the city faithful.
Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work means that even before severe judgment, Jerusalem had no spiritual usefulness because she bore no fruit. The city had temple, priesthood, sacrifices, history, and covenant privilege, but she lacked covenant faithfulness. Outward religious possession did not make her useful to God.
How much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned? presses the argument further. If Jerusalem was unfruitful and useless before the judgments, how much more after being scorched by them. The previous Babylonian invasions had not turned the people back to the LORD. They had been through the fire and still did not produce the fruit of repentance.
This principle is sobering. Discipline that does not lead to repentance leaves a man more accountable, not less. If God burns away false securities and a person still refuses to bear fruit, there remains only further judgment.
B. Jerusalem is like the wood of the grapevine.
1. Ezekiel 15:6-7, The people of Jerusalem are like the useless wood of the grapevine.
Ezekiel 15:6, 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.
Ezekiel 15:7, 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.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD moves from the parable to its interpretation. The useless vine wood represents the inhabitants of Jerusalem. God is not merely giving an agricultural lesson. He is declaring the fate of a fruitless and rebellious city.
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 means Jerusalem is like the fruitless vine branch appointed for burning. The LORD Himself gives the wood to the fire. Babylon would be the historical instrument, but God is the One handing Jerusalem over to judgment.
Jerusalem’s special status did not protect her from judgment. In fact, her special status made her fruitlessness more offensive. The city had been given privileges other nations did not have. Therefore, its rebellion was not merely ordinary pagan darkness. It was covenant treachery.
And I will set my face against them is one of the strongest statements of divine opposition. The face of the LORD can mean blessing, favor, and fellowship. Here it means direct judgment. The LORD sets His face against Jerusalem because Jerusalem has persisted in unfaithfulness.
This language had already appeared in Ezekiel 14 with reference to the idolater who comes to inquire while harboring idols in his heart.
Ezekiel 14:8, And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb,-and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the-LORD.
They shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them means the inhabitants of Jerusalem would escape one calamity only to fall into another. Judah had already experienced the fire of previous Babylonian invasions and deportations, especially in 605 B.C. and 597 B.C. Yet the city was not finished with judgment. Another fire was coming, the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
This image is terrifying because it shows that surviving one judgment does not guarantee safety if repentance does not follow. Jerusalem had emerged from earlier fires, but not as a purified people. She remained fruitless and rebellious. Therefore, another fire would devour her.
Then ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them gives the purpose of the judgment. The people refused to know the LORD through obedience, worship, and repentance. Therefore, they would know Him through judgment. The prophecy itself would vindicate the LORD when it came to pass. He warned them beforehand so that when the fire came, they would know it was not chance, weakness, or Babylonian superiority. It was the judgment of the covenant God.
This also connects with the teaching of Christ in John 15. Fruitless branches are not treated as spiritually useful. They are taken away, cast forth, withered, gathered, and burned.
John 15:6, If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and-men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
There is no failure in Christ, the true vine. The failure is in branches that do not abide and do not bear fruit. Ezekiel’s parable warns Jerusalem, and Christ’s teaching warns all who claim connection to Him while bearing no fruit.
2. Ezekiel 15:8, The reason for the coming desolation upon Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 15:8, And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.
And I will make the land desolate gives the final sentence. The judgment would not be symbolic only. The land itself would be made desolate. Jerusalem would be destroyed, the people would be removed, and the land would be emptied because of covenant rebellion.
This fulfilled the covenant warnings already given through Moses. If Israel persisted in rebellion, the land would become desolate and the people would be scattered.
Leviticus 26:31, And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell-the savour of your sweet odours.
Leviticus 26:32, And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
Leviticus 26:33, And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land-shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
Because they have committed a trespass gives the reason. The desolation was not random, unfair, or excessive. Judah had committed covenant treachery. The issue was not one isolated failure, but persistent unfaithfulness. They had continued in idolatry, rebellion, violence, and refusal to repent.
The LORD’s judgment was therefore righteous. Jerusalem had been treated as God’s vine, but she bore no fruit. She had endured earlier fires, but she did not repent. She had privilege, but not faithfulness. Therefore, she would be given to the fire and the land made desolate.
Ezekiel 15 is short, but the message is blunt. Religious privilege without fruit does not protect from judgment. A vine is valuable only if it bears fruit. If it is fruitless, its wood is useless. Jerusalem’s covenant identity did not excuse her rebellion. It increased her accountability. The LORD had planted Israel to bear fruit for His glory, but because Jerusalem persisted in unfaithfulness, He would set His face against her, give her to the fire, and make the land desolate.
