God uses many agricultural images to explain the concepts He want us to understand. He frequently refers to the people of Israel being like a vine. In Numbers 13:23, the vine appears as a sign of the richness of Canaan; in Judges 9:12–13 Jotham’s fable tells of the noble vine. In Genesis 49:11, the vine represents the blessing of the tribe of Judah bringing the Messiah and the Messianic Age, and the parable of the vineyard in Isaiah 5:1–7 discusses God’s description of the apostate Israel. In Psalm 80:8–19 there is a lengthy comparison of Israel with a vine stock. Israel is the luxuriant vine in Hosea 10:1, and also in the imagery of the nation Israel in Ezekiel 17:5–10 and 19:10–14. This verse starts out with a sort of riddle or rhetorical question. God is essentially asking, “How is the vine branch better than any other tree’s branch?” Since God frequently uses the vine branch to refer to the Nation Israel and its people it is obvious that He is making reference to them here too. Why is the wood of the vine tree better than any other tree? The simple answer is only because of the fruit it can produce. This chapter will tell us of all the other reasons that the vine is useless. Its only value is the fruit it produces. Our Lord Jesus made a similar comparison to the Church as the branches of the vine tree and He being the true vine. He provides the nourishment for us to produce fruit in the form of bringing others to Jesus, teaching His morality and message to the world regarding His Kingdom. It is only through trust in God that He provides the blessings to His chosen. We must recognize how feeble we are apart from Him as he says, “without me ye can do nothing.”
Featuring a sermon puts it on the front page of the site and is the most effective way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands including all mobile platforms + newsletter.
Text-Featuring a sermon is a less expensive way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands on the right bar with optional newsletter inclusion. As low as $30/day.
