Ezekiel
15 reminds me of those times in life when we need to draw strength
from others. We can be physically or emotionally stressed and need
someone stable to lean on, or maybe even cling to for a time. That
is probably not healthy if we do not continue to grow and get
stronger and eventually produce something delightful. In today’s
very short chapter, the Lord gave Ezekiel a picture of the
relationship we are to have with Him. He uses an image very familiar
to people of that day. God asked a series of questions. “How
is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the
trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything
useful?” Most of us today do
not grow vineyards, but we have all seen
grapes growing in rows along a
wire support system. It turns out that the wood of the grape vine is
useful for one purpose, to supply the sap to the branches that grow
the fruit. The wood of the vine is useless for building, and
apparently has little value as firewood. He adds, “If
it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can
it be made
into something useful when the fire has burned it?“
Wood from grape vines is cut
off and burned just to make room for new, more bountiful growth.
Next,
the analogy is completed, “As I
have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel
for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem“.
Remember, Jerusalem rebelled against God and became useless. They
produced no spiritual fruit, so they were cut off. God declared, “I
will set My face against them“.
And He explained, “the fire
will yet consume them“. With
each successive Babylonian invasion more of the city was destroyed.
The chapter ends with an examination of the yield, “you
will know that I am the Lord… I will make the land desolate because
they have been unfaithful“.
Do you see evidence of new growth in your life?
I
wonder if Jesus was thinking of this picture when he taught His
disciples in John chapter 15, “My
Father is the gardener“. He
explained, “He cuts off every
branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear
fruit He prunes so
that it will be even more fruitful“.
Perhaps you have been experiencing a pruning? He continued, “No
branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine“.
Friend, has there been little to harvest lately? He does not leave
us without answers, “Neither
can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
I am the vine; you are the
branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much
fruit“. Jesus even gave a
simple test we can take to predict the harvest, “If
you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish“.
The surest way to bring newness is by reading and applying God’s
Word to your life. “This is to
My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to
be My disciples“.
John concluded with these words
from the Savior to those in need of support, “As
the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My
love“. The root of Salvation
is strong. Is it time to be grafted in?