24 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			993 B
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
			
		
	
	
			24 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			993 B
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
|  | +++ | |||
|  | title = "Ezekiel 15:1–8" | |||
|  | date = "2023-04-06" | |||
|  | +++ | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | ### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel15.1-8)
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|  | 
 | |||
|  | The Lord now compares Jerusalem to a woody vine. In viticulture, grapes are | |||
|  | usually only produced by vines that grew the previous year, so the old wood is | |||
|  | pruned away to maximize yield. It'd be nice to be able to use that wood for | |||
|  | something, but it's kind of thin and twisty so you can't really make anything | |||
|  | out of it. Not even a peg to hang something on a wall. Instead it is just | |||
|  | thrown into a fire for fuel. | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | The Lord intensifies the comparison by noting how the charred middle of the | |||
|  | vine is even more useless after the ends have been burned away. One might | |||
|  | normally expect the whole vine to be consumed by the fire, but it might make | |||
|  | sense that the fire represents the earlier deportation of the upper classes, | |||
|  | but the rest of the city's inhabitants also have their judgement to go through. | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | * * * | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | You can make even the most useless things useful in Your plan. |