I’m not a farmer nor am I a carpenter, so I learned something about the wood from grapevines when reading this passage: It’s absolutely useless for anything except for bearing fruit.
Now that I think about it, I’ve never heard of anyone saying, “Can I have some furniture made of grapevine wood?”
If a branch from a grapevine did not bear fruit, the only thing you could do with it back in Ezekiel’s day was to burn it and use it for fuel.
A quick search on the internet shows that people nowadays sometimes use it for “grapevine wreaths” as a kind of art.
But here’s what they say of the branches, and it points out why they are never used for anything else:
As soon as you cut a vine, it immediately starts to dry out and becomes brittle. When that happens, they easily snap or break.
That’s what God was comparing Israel to.
Throughout scripture, he compares the nation of Israel to a vineyard.
They were to be fruitful vines that would show the nations around them who God really was. Not only that, they were to be a blessing to all the nations surrounding them.
But through their sin and idolatry, they had become fruitless vines.
Instead of being a light to the nations around them, the Israelites had become just like them. And now, cut off from their source of life, they had become dried out, brittle, and completely useless.
As a result, Babylon was coming and would literally burn down the city, destroying the temple, the royal palace, the major buildings, and many of the people’s houses.
The same thing can happen to us as Christians. Jesus told the disciples,
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned…
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:4-6,8)
God calls us to be connected to Jesus who is the vine. And if we are living in relationship with him, we will bear much fruit for him. We will be a light to the people around us, showing them who God really is.
But if we don’t remain in him, we wither and become brittle branches. In that state, it’s impossible for God to use us. And eventually, God will do something about it.
This doesn’t mean we’ll lose our salvation. As God’s promises to Israel have never changed despite their unfaithfulness, his promises to us never change. But he will bring discipline into our lives.
What kind of branch are you? Are you bearing much fruit? Or are you dry and withered?
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 