# Ezekiel 15 📖: The Useless Vine [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Ezekiel Overview]] | [[Ezekiel 14]] | [[Ezekiel 16]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Burning a Useless Vine [[#Verse 01.]] The Lord’s message came to me:  [[#Verse 02.]] “Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine?  [[#Verse 03.]] Can wood be taken from it to make anything useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on?  [[#Verse 04.]] No! It is thrown in the fire for fuel; when the fire has burned up both ends of it and it is charred in the middle, will it be useful for anything?  [[#Verse 05.]] Indeed! If it was not made into anything useful when it was whole, how much less can it be made into anything when the fire has burned it up and it is charred? [[#Verse 06.]] “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Like the wood of the vine is among the trees of the forest that I have provided as fuel for the fire—so I will provide the residents of Jerusalem as fuel.  [[#Verse 07.]] I will set my face against them—although they have escaped from the fire, the fire will still consume them! Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.  [[#Verse 08.]] I will make the land desolate because they have acted unfaithfully, declares the Sovereign Lord.” ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Ezekiel 15 is one of the shortest chapters in the book, only eight verses long. 2. Israel is often pictured as a vine in Scripture (Psalm 80:8-16; Isaiah 5:1-7; Hosea 10:1). 3. Grapevine wood is soft and twisted. It cannot even be made into a peg to hang a pot (15:3). 4. A vine's only real value is its fruit. Without fruit, it is good only for fuel. 5. The vine had already been burned at both ends and charred in the middle (15:4). 6. Many see the charred vine as a picture of Jerusalem after the deportation of 597 BC, with worse still to come. 7. God says they will come out of one fire, only to be consumed by another (15:7). 8. The chapter ends by naming the reason: they acted unfaithfully (15:8). 9. The Jewish historian Josephus describes a great golden vine over the entrance of Herod's temple. 10. Jesus warns that branches that do not remain in Him are thrown into the fire (John 15:6). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the true Vine. Jerusalem had become a fruitless vine, good only for fuel (15:6), but Jesus is the true Vine, and those who remain in Him bear much fruit (John 15:1-5). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Vine wood is useless for building, and a vine's value is its fruit (15:2-5). What does it mean for your life to bear fruit for God? 2. Jerusalem's privilege did not protect her from judgment (15:6-8). Why is being near God's things not the same as being close to God? 3. Jesus says apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). What helps you remain connected to Him day by day? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 2-3: Vine wood cannot even be used to make a peg. - 📖 verse 6: Like vine wood given to the fire, so God will give up the people of Jerusalem. - 📖 verse 8: The land will become desolate because they acted unfaithfully. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[John 15#Verse 01.|John 15:1-6]] - I am the true vine. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 05#Verse 01.|Isaiah 5:1-7]] - The song of the vineyard. - 🔗 [[Psalm 80#Verse 08.|Psalm 80:8-16]] - You brought a vine out of Egypt. - 🔗 [[Hosea 10#Verse 01.|Hosea 10:1]] - Israel is a luxuriant vine. - 🔗 [[Matthew 03#Verse 10.|Matthew 3:10]] - Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Ezekiel 15 - SOAP|Everyone Has Value]] ## 📂 Internal Notes