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? BEHOLD, IT IS CAST INTO THE FIRE - (, "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"). THE FIRE DEVOURETH BOTH THE ENDS - the northern kingdom having been already overturned by Assyria under Tiglath-pileser; the southern being pressed on by Egypt under Pharaoh-necho ( ). AND THE MIDST OF IT IS BURNT - rather, 'is on flame;'-namely, Jerusalem, which had now caught the flame by the attack of Nehuchadnezzar. IS IT MEET FOR ANY WORK? - "it," i:e., the scorched part still remain...

Verse Ezekiel 15:4. _THE FIRE DEVOURETH BOTH THE ENDS OF IT, AND THE MIDST_ _OF IT IS BURNED._] Judea is like a vine branch thrown into the fire, which seizes on _both the ends_, and _scorches the middle_: so both the extremities of the land is wasted; and the middle, Jerusalem, is now threatened with a siege, and by and by will be totally destroyed....

BEHOLD, IT IS CAST INTO THE FIRE - The wood is in itself useless for any purpose; but what if it have been cast into the fire, and half burned, what of it then?...

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

BEHOLD, IT IS CAST INTO THE FIRE FOR FUEL, That is; a vine tree when cut down, or a branch when cut off, it is good for nothing else; and that is the use it is generally put to; see John 15:6; and this, it is suggested, would be the end of the Jewish nation; who were become by their sins like a wild vine, and were fit fuel for the fire of divine wrath: THE FIRE DEVOURETH BOTH THE ENDS OF IT; the branch cast into it, and so is quickly consumed. Kimchi explains this by Isaiah 9:12; "the Syrians before, and the Philistines behind, and they devour Israel with open mouth"; and Abendana of the ten tribes; but it seems only to design how soon the fire takes it; and how inevitable the consumption is when it is fired at both ends: AND THE MIDST OF IT IS BURNT: presently; it being dried,

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

BEHOLD. Figure of speech _Asterismos_. App-8. CAST INTO THE FIRE. Compare John 15:6. IS IT MEET. ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-8....

A hypothetical sentence: Behold, when it hath been cast into the fire for fuel, when the fire hath devoured both the ends of it, and the midst of it is charred, will it be meet for any work? This part of the similitude is borrowed from the actual instance of Israel. As it is Jerusalem, including Judah, that is compared to the vine, the burning of the ends and scorching of the middle probably refers to the calamities sustained by that kingdom, such as the captivity under Jehoiachin and other severe reverses....

THE FIRE DEVOURETH, &C.— A very apt representation of the state of Judea, when both its extremities were consumed by the ravages of the destroyer; and the middle of it, where the capital city stood, was threatened every moment with destruction from the enemy. Instead of, _The midst of it is burned,_ Houbigant reads very properly, _The middle of it is scorched;_ "is now, as it were, just about to catch fire, and to be burned. If therefore that middle should be snatched out of the fire, would it be of any use? Certainly not; for if it was useless before it was scorched, how much more, &c." See the next verse....