God, the perfect vinedresser, gives perfect and lasting fruit
By Dean Collins
I like gardens, and what I mean is I like other people’s gardens. I enjoy looking at them and eating the fresh vegetables. But I am a pitiful gardener. It might be because gardening takes time, and I seem to never have enough time to manage other aspects of life. Or it might be I don’t have enough knowledge about growing things and need to take a class or read a book or find a gardening mentor. It is probably that I have trouble with patience! So gardening doesn’t work for me.
But God is a good gardener. In Ezekiel 17 we read a parable to help us recall that God is the true vinedresser. And John’s Gospel records the word of Jesus: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”
The eagle and the cedar tree
As the prophet continued to speak to the Jewish exiles in Babylon and prepare them for the long days of exile, he told a parable about a large eagle that plucked the top of a cedar tree and carried it off to another city. Then another eagle came and did this again. The prophet then asks the question of whether the new planting will survive.
At the end of the chapter there is a twist in the story. Ezekiel declared that God himself with take a sprig from the cedar and set a planting on a high and lofty mountain that will bear branches, provide shade, and provide all sorts of birds a place to nest. And the tree will flourish.
Scholars suggest the two eagles and their plantings connect to the judgment of God on Babylon who brought King Jehoiachin to Babylon and then turned King Zedekiah into a weak king directed by Babylon. Zedekiah had mixed loyalties as he worshipped both God and idols.
Finally, we see God directly taking the sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and planting it so that it would flourish in future generations and even for eternity.
Season of exile
There is a reminder for us in this odd yet interesting chapter in Ezekiel. Our season of exile on earth ahead of our future eternal home will sometimes tempt us to turn to other sources of strength, help, and power instead of remaining dependent and attached to our true vine, Jesus. The end of chapter 17 reminds us that God, the master gardener, has executed a perfect plan that bears fruit and a harvest that brings flourishing. Our job is to grow where we are planted and find our strength and vitality only in Jesus.
Lord, today we confess that we often drift to other places thinking we will find help, strength, and resources for life. Forgive us. Today we turn to Jesus as our only source of life. Fill us with new hope by the presence of your Holy Spirit and strengthen our trust in you as our provider. Deepen our roots in Jesus so we might produce good fruit today and extend the shade of your kingdom to those around us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your time with God’s Word
Ezekiel 17:2-24 ESV
Photo by David Köhler on Unsplash
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