John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 19:10-12

"Thy mother was like a vine, in thy blood, planted by the waters: it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. And it had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches. But it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit: its strong rods were broken off and withered; the fire consumed them." — Ezekiel 19:10-12 (ASV)

Here Ezekiel places before our eyes the twofold state of the Jews, so that they might acknowledge they had fallen into extreme misery because they had provoked God. For they did not sufficiently consider their present state, unless their former dignity and happiness, with which they were adorned, was recalled to them.

Now, in a way, they had grown callous to all evils: although scarcely anything remained safe except Jerusalem, they did not reflect, but were just as reckless as when their affairs were prosperous. Since they had not yet been humbled by so many slaughters, the Prophet, therefore, on the one hand, reminds them of their former condition, and on the other hand, shows them how they had fallen. This comparison, then, was intended to prick their consciences sharply, so that they might at last feel that God was hostile to them.

We now understand the Prophet’s intention in saying that the people’s mother was at first like a flourishing and fruit-bearing vine. It is not surprising that he says, the vine was planted near the waters; for in that region, vines do not require high and dry locations, as in cold climates, but rather seek their nourishment from water, as we gather from many passages of Scripture. The Prophet, therefore, states that the people, at the beginning, were like a vine planted in a mild and choice situation. He says that the vine was flourishing, or branching, and fruitful, since it drew its juices from the waters.

Regarding the word 'blood,' I think those who interpret it as vigor are mistaken; it rather refers to birth. He says, the mother of the people in her blood, that is, in their birth as a people. Thus Ezekiel recalls the Jews to their original state, as we previously saw the word used in this sense.

When you were in your blood, meaning, when you were born, as we know this to be the state of young offspring, as the metaphor was explained in the sixteenth chapter. Live in your blood, said God (Ezekiel 16:6), since the Jews were still defiled because they had not been cleansed from pollution.

In short, blood is understood as birth, as if it had been said that the Jews, when first brought to light, were planted so as to take root, because God led them into the land of Canaan. Here he says they were brought to light when God restored them. He omits the intervening period of time, which we saw elsewhere, because he moves directly from the end to the beginning.

On the whole, he means that the Jews at their birth were placed in the land of Canaan, which was very fruitful, so that they would bring forth their own fruit—that is, spend their time happily and enjoy an abundance of all things. Now we understand the meaning of the phrase, the mother of the people was planted near the waters, as a flourishing and fruitful vine.

He adds, she had branches (that is, vine twigs) for the scepters of those who bear rule. Those who translate this as 'with' or 'above' the scepters of rulers do not seem to me to comprehend the Prophet’s meaning. I have no doubt he intends that scepters were gathered from these vine branches, or rather that these branches were so formed as to be like royal scepters.

Although this translation seems rather rough, the sense is not doubtful, because the Prophet means that kings were taken from the people just as branches from the vine, as God chose kings from David to Zedekiah. In this sense he says that the vine branches became scepters of the rulers.

He afterwards adds, her stature was conspicuous, that she was remarkable for her loftiness even in the multitude of the vine branches. This extends to the whole body of the people. Since the king is mentioned, there is no doubt that God commends His grace towards the whole people, whose safety and happiness were placed in the king, as we saw elsewhere. But he asserts more clearly that the people had increased, so that they excelled in population, power, and wealth.

On the whole, the Prophet teaches that the Jews were adorned from the beginning with all kinds of advantages, as God’s best gifts shone forth there. Their dignity was conspicuous and their opulence great, as he unites the multitude of the boughs (or vine branches) with their height.

Let us come now to the second clause. He says that the vine was torn away in wrath, thrown on the ground, and dried by the east wind, and that its boughs were broken off and withered, and consumed by fire. I have now briefly explained the Prophet’s meaning. As the Jews had grown dull in their calamity and were not humbled enough to fly suppliantly to God’s mercy, the Prophet corrects their apathy by showing them their origin.

He now says that they were reduced to extreme wretchedness by a sudden assault; for a change that took place in a short period ought to affect them to the core. But if they had been slowly diminished, the change would not have been so remarkable. But when the vine was struck by lightning, torn up, withered, and burned, that instantaneous destruction, as I have said, showed that it was not by chance, but by the evident wrath of God.

For this reason he says that the vine was violently torn up and cast upon the ground. If the vine had been dried up by degrees, it would not have been so striking; but its sudden tearing up ought to have made them aware of the wrath of God, towards which they had grown callous. This is why the Prophet adds one simile to another.

The plucking up would have been sufficient, but he adds, it was cast upon the ground, so that it would wither away completely. He adds, the east wind, which destroys both fruits and trees, as is sufficiently evident from many passages. And not only so, but he says that the boughs were broken or plucked off, and withered; lastly, they were consumed with fire. In short, the hand of God appeared visibly in that horrible destruction of the people, when they were torn up, cut off, withered, and burned.