Truly one of the more awful things in the world would be to know that you have become useless. So corrupted that your have nothing to contribute. Just a bunch of dead branches ready for the fire.

Jerusalem in Judah had become useless.

God paints a word picture for them that they would know well. He tells them to think on the usefulness of a vine compared to the usefulness of wood on a tree. The vine can’t be built into anything or even carved into a useful peg to hang things. It’s good only to be burned in the fire. And even then it doesn’t accomplish much.

The Lord says Israel has become like the vine. Their continued unfaithfulness has made them useless. They will be thrown into the fire and even then not able to contribute much.

It’s disturbing to think about really. We can be so corrupt with sin and deceived into thinking that we are doing things right and that we are good people, to the point we become like a dead vine. It’s usefulness as wood is minimal.

Why is that? Because when we give ourselves to sin, we put our time, energy and money into that sin. Because even as Scripture says, sin is pleasurable. It’s not the only pleasure of this life but “stolen fruit tastes sweet” as the proverb says.

On the other hand when we are living in righteousness, we are living in love towards our neighbors and towards our enemies. Righteousness looks to serve where there is need. Our lives take on deeper meaning as we care for one another.

Unfortunately Israel had not chosen that path. They chose themselves and self-indulgence in their sin, the shedding of innocent blood, the worship of idols. And with years of warnings, they just would not repent. So the LORD says it is time for the fire. If only Israel could have opened their eyes to see.