Ezekiel 15:3

Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? WHAT IS THE VINE TREE MORE THAN ANY TREE? What has the vine-wood to make it preeminent above other forest-wood? Nothing. Nay, the reverse. Other trees yield useful timber, but vine-wood is soft, brittle, crooked, and seldom large. WILL MEN TAKE A PIN OF IT TO HANG ANY VESSEL THEREON? Not so much as a "pin" (the large wooden peg used inside houses in the East to hang household articles on) can be made of it (). Its sole excellency is that it should bear fruit: when it does not bear fruit it is not only not better, but inferior to other trees. So if God's people lose their distinctive excellency by not bearing fruits of righteousness, they are more unprofitable than the worldly ...

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 15:2 WHAT IS THE VINE TREE, etc.? The prophet's mind had apparently been dwelling, after the close of his previous utterance, on the imagery of earlier writers, in which Israel had appeared as the vine of Jehovah (Genesis 49:22; Psalms 80:9; Hosea 10:1; Isaiah 5:1.; Deuteronomy 32:32; Jeremiah 2:21), and to which

SHALL WOOD BE TAKEN THEREOF TO DO ANY WORK?.... The carpenter and joiner, the house or ship builder, are employed in; as to build houses of, make beams, rafters, floors, c. build ships with, make masts of, c. or any vessel or utensil for the use of man? it never is it is not fit for any such purpose. Pliny d speaks of some rarities made of the wood of vines, but not things of common use and these not of any vines, but of some peculiar ones, favoured by the air and soil OR WILL [MEN] TAKE A PIN OF IT TO HANG ANY VESSEL THEREON? it is not fit to make a peg of to hang a hat on; and much less for anything that requires more strength. d Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 1....

Ezekiel 15:1. This is the first of three parables to demonstrate still further the delusion of their false hope that deliverance would come. The vine is a type of Israel Psalms 80:8; Isaiah 5:1, and Hosea 10:1. The vine is only good for one thing, which is the bearing of fruit; apart from this it is worthless. The wood cannot be used for anything whatever. It is good for nothing but burning. Nebuchadnezzar carried out this sentence 2 Kings 25:9. It reminds us also of the parable of the vine our Lord spoke, in which, speaking of the unfruitful branch, He said, “Men gath

EZEKIEL 15. THE USELESS VINE (JERUSALEM) IS DOOMED TO DESTRUCTION. We have seen some of the reasons why the illusion of the inviolability of Jerusalem was so hard to slay (chs. 12f.). Here we meet with another. The people believed themselves to be the darlings of Yahweh. Had not the great Isaiah (ch. 5) compared them to a vine, which had enjoyed His special nurture and care? Good, says Ezekiel, but remember how useless the vine is; why you cannot even make a peg out of its wood. While, as for the fruit of this particular vine he passes over this in ominous silence it has either none to show, or the foul fruit (of injustice and oppression) so stingingly denounced by Isaiah (Isaiah 5:4; Isaiah 5:7). Besides, it has already been burned at both ends an allusion to the fall of Israel in 721 B.C. and the first deportation of

PIN. peg....

Uselessness of the wood of the vine. _to do any work_ i.e. use for any work or purpose. The words may mean, to make it into any work or article of workmanship. It has too little firmness even to be made into a pin to hang any article upon....

SHALL WOOD BE TAKEN THEREOF— It is observable, that the wood of the vine is of no use in building, or in making any piece of furniture or domestic utensil. Bishop Lowth observes, that it is the chief excellence of a parable to consist of an image which is known and proper to the subject, and whose end is plain and determined by custom; the necessary consequence of which is perspicuity, wherein the chief beauty of an allegory consists. The prophets frequently make use of this kind of images, by way of comparison or illustration; and this of the useless _vine,_ by which these ungrateful people are more than once described, is an image of this sort. See his 10th Prelection....

CHAPTER EIGHT PARABLES AND PICTURES 15:1-17:24 The justification of God's judgment against Judah continues in Chapter s 15-17, but the nature of the defense changes. Here Ezekiel employs parables or allegories to paint a rather gruesome word picture of the ingratitude, sin and rebellion of God's people. He describes (1) the useless vine (Ezekiel 15:1-8); (2) the faithless wife (Ezekiel 16:1-43); (3) the fallen sister (Ezekiel 16:44-63); and (4) the lowly vine (Ezekiel 17:1-21). The section closes with a brief and optimistic parable of the stately cedar ...

EZEKIEL'S PARABLE OF THE VINE Jerusalem and Israel are compared elsewhere in Scripture to a cultivated vine, bearing or expected to bear fruit. Ezekiel's similitude, however, is that of the wild vine (Ezekiel 15:2, RV), regarded simply as a tree. It is the most worthless of trees. Its wood is of no use for any purpose, being too weak even to make a peg of. A vine branch that happens to be half-burnt is even more worthless than it was before. Jerusalem is such a half-burnt vine, already charred by the first captivity. It is only fit for fuel, and will be wholly consumed....