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
(Ezekiel 15:1-5),
but,
II. The explanation of the similitude is very dreadful,
Ezekiel 15:6-8.
Jerusalem a Condemned Vine.
B. C. 593.
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
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?
3 Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men
take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
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?
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?
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.
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.
8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have
committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.
The prophet, we may suppose, was thinking what a glorious city
Jerusalem was, above any city in the world; it was the crown and joy
of the whole earth; and therefore what a pity it was that it should
be destroyed; it was a noble structure, the city of God, and the city
of Israel's solemnities. But, if these were the thoughts of his heart,
God here returns an answer to them by comparing Jerusalem to a vine.
1. It is true, if a vine be fruitful, it is a most valuable tree, none
more so; it was one of those that were courted to have dominion over
the trees, and the fruit of it is such as cheers God and man
(Judges 9:12,13);
it makes glad the heart,
Psalms 104:15.
So Jerusalem was planted a choice and noble vine, wholly a right
seed
(Jeremiah 2:21);
and, if it had brought forth fruit suitable to its character as a holy
city, it would have been the glory both of God and Israel. It was a
vine which God's right hand had planted, a branch out of a
dry ground, which, though its original was mean and despicable, God
had made strong for himself
(Psalms 80:15),
to be to him for a name and for a praise.
2. But, if it be not fruitful, it is good for nothing, it is as
worthless and useless a production of the earth as even thorns and
briers are: What is the vine-tree, if you take the tree by
itself, without consideration of the fruit? What is it more than any
tree, that it should have so much care taken of it and so much cost
laid out upon it? What is a branch of the vine, though it spread
more than a branch which is among the trees of the forest, where
it grows neglected and exposed? Or, as some read it, What is the
vine more than any tree if the branch of it be as the trees of the
forest; that is, if it bear no fruit, as forest-trees seldom do,
being designed for timber-trees, not fruit-trees? Now there are some
fruit-trees which, if they do not bear, are nevertheless of good use,
as the wood of them may be made to turn to a good account; but the vine
is not of this sort: if that do not answer its end as a fruit-tree, it
is worth nothing as a timber-tree. Observe,
I. How this similitude is expressed here. The wild vine, that is
among the trees of the forest, or the empty vine (which Israel is
compared to,
Hebrews 10:1),
that bears no more fruit than a forest-tree, is good for nothing; it is
as useless as a brier, and more so, for that will add some sharpness to
the thorny hedge, which the vine-branch will not do. He shows,
1. That it is fit for no use. The wood of it is not taken to
do any work; one cannot so much as make a pin of it to hand a
vessel upon,
Ezekiel 15:3.
See how variously the gifts of nature are dispensed for the service of
man. Among the plants, the roots of some, the seeds or fruits of
others, the leaves of others, and of some the stalks, are most
serviceable to us; so, among trees, some are strong and not fruitful,
as the oaks and cedars; others are weak but very fruitful, as the vine,
which is unsightly, low, and depending, yet of great use. Rachel is
comely but barren, Leah homely but fruitful.
2. That therefore it is made use of for fuel; it will serve to
heat the oven with. Because it is not meet for any work, it
is cast into the fire,
Ezekiel 15:4.
When it is good for nothing else it is useful this way, and answers a
very needful intention, for fuel is a thing we must have, and to
burn any thing for fuel which is good for other work is bad husbandry.
To what purpose is this waste? The unfruitful vine is disposed
of in the same way with the briers and thorns, which are rejected, and
whose end is to be burnt,
Hebrews 6:8.
And what care is taken of it then? If a piece of solid timber be
kindled, somebody perhaps may snatch it as a brand out of the
burning, and say, "It is a pity to burn it, for it may be put to
some better use;" but if the branch of a vine be on fire, and, as
usual, both the ends of it and the middle be kindled together, nobody
goes about to save it. When it was whole it was meet for no work,
much less when the fire has devoured it
(Ezekiel 15:5);
even the ashes of it are not worth saving.
II. How this similitude is applied to Jerusalem.
1. That holy city had become unprofitable and good for nothing. It had
been as the vine-tree among the trees of the vineyard, abounding
in the fruits of righteousness to the glory of God. When religion
flourished there, and the pure worship of God was kept up, many a
joyful vintage was then gathered in from it; and, while it continued
so, God made a hedge about it; it was his pleasant plant
(Isaiah 5:7);
he watered it every moment and kept it night and day
(Isaiah 27:3);
but it had now become the degenerate plant of a strange vine, of
a wild vine (such as we read of
2 Kings 4:39),
a vine-tree among the trees of the wild grapes
(Isaiah 5:4),
which are not only of no use, but are nauseous and noxious
(Deuteronomy 32:32),
their grapes are grapes of gall, and their clusters are bitter.
It is explained
(Ezekiel 15:8):
"They have trespassed a trespass, that is, they have
treacherously prevaricated with God and perfidiously apostatized from
him;" for so the word signifies. Note, Professors of religion, if they
do not live up to their profession, but contradict it, if they
degenerate and depart from it, are the most unprofitable creatures in
the world, like the salt that has lost its savour and is
thenceforth good for nothing,
Mark 9:50.
Other nations were famed for valour or politics, some for war, others
for trade, and retained their credit; but the Jewish nation, being
famous as a holy people, when they lost their holiness, and became
wicked, were thenceforth good for nothing; with that they lost
all their credit and usefulness, and became the most base and
despicable people under the sun, trodden under foot of the
Gentiles. Daniel, and other pious Jews, were of great use in their
generation; but the idolatrous Jews then, and the unbelieving Jews now
since the preaching of the gospel, have been, and are, of no common
service, not fit for any work.
2. Being so, it is given to the fire for fuel,
Ezekiel 15:6.
Note, Those who are not fruitful to the glory of God's grace will be
fuel to the fire of his wrath; and thus, if they give not honour to
him, he will get himself honour upon them, honour that will
shine brightly in that flaming fire by which impenitent sinners will be
for ever consumed. He will not be a loser at last by any of his
creatures. The Lord has made all things for himself, yea,
even the wicked, that would not otherwise be for him, for the
day of evil
(Proverbs 16:4);
and in those who would not glorify him as the God to whom duty
belongs he will be glorified as the God to whom vengeance
belongs. The fire of God's wrath had before devoured both the
ends of the Jewish nation
(Ezekiel 15:4),
Samaria and the cities of Judah; and now Jerusalem, that was the
midst of it, was thrown into the fire, to be burnt
too, for it is meet for no work; it will not be wrought upon, by
any of the methods God has taken, to be serviceable to him. The
inhabitants of Jerusalem were like a vine-branch, rotten and
awkward; and therefore
(Ezekiel 15:7),
"I will set my face against them, to thwart all their counsels,"
as they set their faces against God, to contradict his word and defeat
all his designs. It is decreed; the consumption is determined: I
will make the land quite desolate, and therefore, when they
go out from one fire, another fire shall devour them
(Ezekiel 15:7);
the end of one judgment shall be the beginning of another, and their
escape from one only a reprieve till another comes; they shall go from
misery in their own country to misery in Babylon. Those who kept out
of the way of the sword perished by famine or pestilence. When one
descent of the Chaldean forces upon them was over, and they thought,
Surely the bitterness of death is past, yet soon after they
returned again with double violence, till they had made a full end.
Thus they shall know that I am the Lord, a God of almighty
power, when I set my face against them. Note, God shows himself
to be the Lord, by perfecting the destruction of his implacable
enemies as well as the deliverances of his obedient people. Those whom
God sets his face, though they may come out of one trouble
little hurt, will fall into another; though they come out of the
pit, they will be taken in the snare
(Isaiah 24:18);
though they escape the sword of Hazael, they will fall by that
of Jehu
(1 Kings 19:17);
for evil pursues sinners. Nay, though they go out from the
fire of temporal judgments, and seem to die in peace, yet there is
an everlasting fire that will devour them; for, when God
judges, first or last he will overcome, and he will be
known by the judgments which he executes. See
Matthew 3:10,Joh+15:6.
Matthew Henry "Verse by Verse Commentary for 'Ezekiel' Matthew Henry Bible Commentary".
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