Parable of The Outcast Vine

Ezekiel 15:1-8 

1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 "Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on? 4 Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work? 5 Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?

6 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 7 and I will set My face against them. They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them. 8 Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,' says the Lord GOD."

The parable of a vine was used by the LORD to tell Ezekiel about the coming judgment on Jerusalem and all living there who had rejected Him for idolatry and immortality.  The description of a vine being useless for wood to make carved items such as a peg to hang clothing on was given to see the only use for inferior wood is the fire to consume it to warm oneself or cook with.  It is not suitable for articles for living, let alone for holy use in building the temple or houses for God or man to live inhabit.  It is useless for any good or useful work, unlike the people of God who could repent and be made useful to the Master for good works (2 Timothy 2:21).  When such inferior wood is then burned, what remains is also useless when consumed to ash.  God used this descriptive parable as a picture of the spiritual state of His people who continually rejected Him and His word and now would be given as fuel for a consuming fire in His burning wrath of justice (Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrews 12:28-29) as 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 also describes the final Day of judgment which this is a foreshadowing of.  Yes, God set His face against those who constantly rejected Him and persisted in unfaithfulness against Him by their idolatry and immortality, replacing worship and obedience with pursuit of dead gods of their own making and immortality of living contrary to His word meant for their good and His glory.  We who are redeemed in Christ, bought at such a great price, we now have His word in our heart fueling our thoughts to focus on faithful and righteous living based on the scriptures that we may worship Him in spirit and truth.  We are not the outcast vine, but abide in the true and living vine (John 15:4-5, 8-10) of use to our sovereign Creator by bearing good fruit and not consumed in the fire of His just and due wrath of punishment for having other gods and rejection of obedience to glorify Him as we were created to do (Ephesians 2:10).