Reflections on Ezekiel 15

Ezekiel 15 (Contemporary English Version)
1. Some time later, the LORD said:
   
2. Ezekiel, son of man, what happens to the wood of a grapevine after the grapes have been picked? It isn't like other trees in the forest,
   
3. because the wood of a grapevine can't be used to make anything, not even a small peg to hang things on.
   
4. It can only be used as firewood. But after its ends are burnt and its middle is charred, it can't be used for anything.
   
5. The wood is useless before it is burned, and afterwards, it is completely worthless.
   
6. I, the LORD God, promise that just as the wood of a grapevine is burned as firewood,
   
7. I will punish the people of Jerusalem with fire. Some of them have escaped one destruction, but soon they will be completely burned. And when that happens, you, Ezekiel, will know that I am the LORD.
   
8. I will make their country an empty wasteland, because they have not been loyal to me. I, the LORD God, have spoken.
   
   

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   The point of a relationship with God is that we might glorify and worship Him and He might give us abundant lives. We tend to define an abundant life in terms of the externals such as wealth and prominence, etc. God defines it in terms of internals such as joy, peace, love, etc. These are the things upon which a life of abundance and of meaning and of purpose is built. These are the things that make a person truly happy. A life such as this cannot be taken from us as long as we remain in the One who gives it to us. The storms of life take from us only the externals upon which such a life is not dependent.
   
   The people of Judah, however, had staked their lives on the externals. They were not interested in the life God wanted to give them and the result was that they had also turned from glorifying and worshiping God. Their lives produced no fruit that gave evidence of their covenant relationship with God. Therefore they had become as useless as a grape vine that produced no grapes. The fruitless grapevine was used in this passage to illustrate the status of Judah in God's eyes. She was useless. A grapevine that produced no grapes had no other use. Its wood could not be used even for a simple peg on which to hang things. Even the wood of a fruitful grapevine was of no use for wood products. But a vine that had been charred by fire was definitely of no use. Thus the fruitless vine can only be used as firewood.
   
   This was the status of Judah. Due to her unfaithfulness to God she had become unfruitful and thus useless and fit only for the fire of God's wrath. There was no escaping this end. As God said, "They may have escaped from the fire, but it will still consume them." (15:7) But even in this God had a purpose beyond the judgment, for through this action Judah would "know that I am the LORD."