Ezekiel 15:1-8
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?
3 Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
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?
5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meeta for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?
6 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.
7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.
8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have committedb a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.
This final word on the results of reprobation leads naturally to the part of the prophecy dealing with the reason thereof. This reason is first set forth under two general figures; second, in the form of a riddle; third, as an answer-to a false excuse; and, finally, in a great lament.
The figures were familiar because they had been used by former prophets. The first figure was of the vine. Its uselessness as a tree was declared. It provided no wood which men could work, not even a pin on which a vessel might be hung, the meaning of this most evidently being that the one and only value of a vine is its fruit. How worse than useless then is it when burned.
The application of the figure was made immediately to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who were to be given to the fire because of their trespass. The connection of this prophecy with the song of Isaiah is evident. According to that song the judgment against the men of Judah was due to the fact that when Jehovah looked for grapes they brought forth wild grapes.