The Vine’s Purpose
Ezekiel 15:1-2 “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?”
Ezekiel has been “warning” (enlightening by caution) the captives against a false sense of entitlement.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel had told them that the Lord would destroy Jerusalem for the sins of the people there. That they would be in captivity for years (as Jeremiah had said)….
….but they did not want to believe that things were that bad….or that the Lord would drive them out of the Land that He had once given them.
Israel was figuratively God’s grape-vine.
Their purpose was to bear the fruit of the knowledge of God in praise, work, and worship (Deuteronomy 6:20–25) among their children and family….
….and to be witness to the nations round about, of the joy in serving the True God…and to show HIs glory.
This was the “fruit” they were to bring forth in their lives.
But they refused (in general) and so God was finally….after years of speaking to them….of sending them prophets…going to “burn” them….give Jerusalem to the fire of judgment.
Ezekiel 15:4-5 “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, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?”
The Lord says, “What good is it for wood?” Not much good….”will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?”
To be cut down for wood….it is little….it can’t even make a pin to hang something on in the house.
It is not even good for burning….for it is not as other trees, which when cut down make stacks of timber.
But it burns at both ends, and burns up….with no lasting heat. It is of little use.
When it was a vine, “it was meet for no work”. It did not fulfill its Purpose.
This is an important phrase, for we, in the church are told:
2 Timothy 2:21 “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
Prepared unto the honor of the Lord….and the work of the Lord for us.
Are we?
(As my husband’s Papers, about his Awakening meetings, said:
…we are to be set aside–”sanctified and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work”…and that is what these meetings will deal with. It is to the church….when we are ready,…we can invite the lost.
For it is always first in us….then in our church, and our home and ever outward.
Again I would ask…are we set aside to God and His Will for our everyday lives? Are we prepared by submission and yielding to every good work?)
Ezekiel 15:6,8 “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass saith the Lord God.”
Therefore, as the vine wood is given for the fire when it is useless, so I will give the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the fire….because of their “trespass” against Me.
(I want to speak briefly about the Trespass offering.
The Trespass offering was for sins done knowingly: stealing, defrauding someone, or things found and kept, when they should have been returned to the owner.
The law was that the person was to make restitution of these things….plus…one-fifth more was to be given, from his own possessions.
But it was not enough to repair the wrong done to the neighbor or to the social group….the person was also required to bring an offering….a ram, without blemish, which would be placed on the Burnt Altar, and roasted, and then given to the priests.
This was to be done to show his sorrow and repentance for having slandered and dishonored God and His laws of mercy.)
Israel had willingly sinned–yet had not repented and changed their ways….their had been no Trespass offering …
…..even when He had rose up early and spoken to them (Jeremiah 29:19 actually the Lord says eleven times in Jeremiah how He has done this!)….yet they refused to hear His warning.
The Lord Jesus Christ has called us to bring forth fruit….to “abide” in Him, and let His Words “abide” in us.
“Abide” here means “to stay”. We are to stay with Him. This is not for salvation…it is not our hold on HIm, but His hold on us that counts for our salvation.
But this is to stay in heart, and action with Him….to follow, and walk along with….to not leave His Will for us….or His Work and Word to us…for another.
And He warns us:
John 15:6-7 “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.
If ye abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
Eight times in this chapter, the Lord speaks of “abiding”….of staying with Him.
And I love this…”…ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done….unto you.”
This is not a promise for someone else….no, it is a promise for us….if we will stay with the Lord, we may ask what we will….and it will be done unto us.
We can be those “vessels unto honor, meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work”.
Prepared! Think of it….prepared by God, the Holy Spirit, for every good work!
2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of power may be of God, and not of us.”
The purpose of the Vine, was to bear grapes for the Husbandman….and we are to bear the fruit of righteousness….of His likeness, and yield the Spirit’s fruit (Gal. 5:22-25), showing that we belong to Jesus Christ.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 