This is the first in a series of three parables designed to impress on the overly optimistic exiles that there was no possibility that Jerusalem would escape destruction (cf. chs. 16-17).
15:1-2 The Lord asked Ezekiel how the wood of a vine was superior to the wood of other trees.
15:3-5 Vine wood was not good for making much of anything because it was too soft, weak, and crooked. It was not even good for making a peg on which to hang a vessel because it was so soft. It was only good for producing grapes. If vine wood was naturally of so little value, it was of even less value when charred by fire.
15:6-7 The Lord compared the inhabitants of Jerusalem to a piece of vine wood that He had used for fuel.225The vine was one of the most common symbols of Israel (Gen. 49:22; Deut. 32:32; Ps. 80:8-16; Isa. 5:1-7; Jer. 2:21; Hos. 10:1; Matt. 21:33-41; John 15:1-6).226Israel's purpose was to bless the nations with fruitfulness; she was to be a source of blessing to the world (Gen. 12:1-3). If she failed to do that, she was of very little value.
The Lord had set His face against His people in judgment twice already (cf. Ps. 66:12). They had experienced two invasions and deportations in 605 and 597 B.C. Even though some of them had escaped complete destruction, they were still not bearing fruit and would end up completely burned (cf. John 15:6; Heb. 12:28-29). This would happen when the Chaldeans destroyed the city and deported the rest of the Judahites in 586 B.C. (2 Chron. 36:10; cf. Josh. 6:24; 8:19; 11:11).227
15:8 Yahweh would desolate the land of Judah because His people had not been faithful to the Mosaic Covenant. The exiles could still be fruitful, but only if they remained faithful to the Lord.
"It is clear from Matthew 21:33-41 and other passages that God desires fruit. This is spiritual fruit, fruit of the spiritual life. Instead, God finds sour grapes or none at all. Unless men come into vital relationship with the true vine [cf. John 15:1], there can be no fruit. The vital link must be formed by faith."228
"This parable implies that the exiles had asked about God's consistency. They understood that they were his chosen people, his choice vine. How could he destroy them? They had been through the fire of two invasions and deportations by the Babylonians, but each time they had endured and sprouted up again. They did not believe that God's judgments would destroy Judah as Ezekiel had proclaimed."229
