Ezekiel 15

Chapters 1–24 of Ezekiel prophesy the judgment that will fall on Judah and Jerusalem before Jerusalem's fall. Chapter 15 is a short parable within that section. The preceding chapter, Ezekiel 14, declares that even if righteous men such as Noah, Daniel, and Job were present, they could not save the land. This chapter carries that declaration forward through the parable of the vine. The following chapter, Ezekiel 16, begins a long allegory that likens Jerusalem to an adulterous wife.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 The LORD asks the son of man what advantage the vine has over the other trees of the forest. Nothing can be made from vine wood, not even a peg on which to hang a vessel; it is good only for fuel. If it was useless even when whole, it is all the more useless once both ends and the middle have been burned.
• Verses 6–8 The parable is applied to Jerusalem. As the vine of the forest is given to the fire for fuel, so the LORD will give over the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Though they come out of the fire, fire will still consume them, and then they will know the LORD. The LORD declares that He will make the land desolate because of their trespass.

Key Verses

• Ezekiel 15:2 "What is the vine tree more than any tree" — The parable opens by assessing the vine, a symbol of Israel, not by its fruit but solely by its usefulness as timber.
• Ezekiel 15:6 "So will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem" — This verse identifies whom the parable concerns.
• Ezekiel 15:7 "Ye shall know that I am the LORD" — An expression repeated dozens of times throughout Ezekiel, it reveals the purpose of the judgment.

People and Places

• The LORD: He speaks the parable and pronounces judgment.
• Ezekiel: A prophet living in captivity in Babylon. In the text he is addressed as "son of man." In Ezekiel, son of man is understood to mean "son of a human being," that is, a frail mortal. Although it is the same expression Jesus uses of Himself in the Gospels, the two usages are read as distinct.
• Jerusalem: The capital of Judah, whose inhabitants are the object of judgment.

Points for Reflection

• The Old Testament often likens Israel to a vine or a vineyard (Psalm 80, Isaiah 5:1–7, Jeremiah 2:21, Hosea 10:1). Whereas those passages generally look for fruit, this chapter says nothing about fruit and asks only about the usefulness of the wood itself. Many commentators take this to mean that a vine that bears no fruit is good for nothing but fuel. Some also see the parable as a rebuke of the people's pride in being chosen.
• The text does not identify the event to which "come out of the fire" refers. It is commonly understood to mean that Jerusalem, having survived the first deportation in 597 BC, would enter the fire again when it fell in 586 BC (Babylonian exile).
• In John 15:1–8, Jesus calls Himself the true vine and says that branches that do not abide in Him are cast into the fire and burned (John 15:6). Because the language resembles that of this chapter, the two passages are often read together. Interpretations of John 15:6 differ among traditions. The Wesleyan and Arminian traditions read the verse as a warning that salvation can be lost. The Reformed tradition, in keeping with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, holds that it refers to those who were never true believers in the first place.