Vine: Degeneracy of
Jump to: Nave'sLibrarySubtopicsTerms
Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical literature, the vine is often used as a symbol for the people of Israel, representing their relationship with God. The imagery of a vine is employed to convey both the potential for fruitfulness and the consequences of spiritual decline or degeneracy. The degeneracy of the vine is a recurring theme in the Scriptures, illustrating Israel's failure to live up to its covenantal calling and the resulting divine judgment.

Isaiah's Vineyard Song

One of the most poignant depictions of the vine's degeneracy is found in the "Song of the Vineyard" in Isaiah 5:1-7. Here, the prophet Isaiah describes a vineyard that has been lovingly tended by its owner, yet it yields only wild grapes. The vineyard represents the house of Israel and the people of Judah, whom God expected to produce justice and righteousness. Instead, He finds bloodshed and cries of distress. Isaiah 5:4 laments, "What more could have been done for My vineyard that I have not already done for it? When I expected it to bring forth good grapes, why did it yield only bad?"

Jeremiah's Lament

The prophet Jeremiah also uses the imagery of a degenerate vine to describe Israel's unfaithfulness. In Jeremiah 2:21 , God declares, "I had planted you as a choice vine from the very best seed. How then could you turn yourself before Me into a corrupt, wild vine?" This verse underscores the transformation from a noble vine into one that is wild and corrupt, highlighting the nation's spiritual apostasy and moral decay.

Ezekiel's Parable

Ezekiel further elaborates on this theme in his parable of the vine in Ezekiel 15. The prophet compares the wood of the vine to that of other trees, noting its lack of utility when it fails to produce fruit. In Ezekiel 15:6 , God says, "As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give up the people of Jerusalem." The vine's degeneracy renders it fit only for burning, symbolizing the impending judgment on Jerusalem due to its unfaithfulness.

Hosea's Warning

Hosea also addresses the issue of Israel's degeneracy using vine imagery. In Hosea 10:1 , the prophet states, "Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; the more his land prospered, the more he adorned his sacred stones." Here, the vine's fruitfulness leads to idolatry rather than devotion to God, illustrating how prosperity can result in spiritual decline when it fosters self-reliance and false worship.

New Testament Reflection

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ presents Himself as the true vine in John 15:1-8, contrasting with the degenerate vine of Israel. He emphasizes the necessity of abiding in Him to bear fruit, thus restoring the intended relationship between God and His people. This passage serves as a redemptive counterpoint to the Old Testament depictions of the vine's degeneracy, offering hope for spiritual renewal through Christ.

The theme of the vine's degeneracy serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of turning away from God and the importance of faithfulness and righteousness in the life of His people.
Nave's Topical Index
Jeremiah 2:21
Yet I had planted you a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then are you turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine to me?
Nave's Topical Index

Library

2 Cor. vii. 8
... For this cause also the Scripture likeneth rulers to vine-dressers. ... by laws, so truly
here also by this art both badness of soil and degeneracy and wildness in ...
/.../homilies on the epistles of paul to the corinthians/homily xv 2 cor vii.htm

The Stage as it was Once.
... The ivy's dark-green boughs among, Or sheltered 'neath the clustering vine Which,
high ... and divine, which awe and shame the artificiality and degeneracy of our ...
/.../kingsley/lectures delivered in america in 1874/lecture ii the stage as.htm

An Earnest Warning About Lukewarmness
... where apparently there is the greatest devotedness to him, are sad signs of fearful
degeneracy. ... If a vine wants the knife, it is not the branch that bears very ...
/.../spurgeons sermons volume 20 1874/an earnest warning about lukewarmness.htm

Man's Chief End
... great estates, not to lay up treasures upon earth; which is the degeneracy of mankind ...
time lived, but time lost; who are like the wood of the vine, Ezekiel 15:5 ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/1 mans chief end.htm

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
... as a scroll, 'all the host thereof,' unto which I compare the ordinances of Antichrist,
'shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/of antichrist and his ruin .htm

An Exposition on the First Ten Chapters of Genesis, and Part of ...
The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3. <. ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/an exposition on the first.htm

Resources
What does it mean that good works are the result of salvation? | GotQuestions.org

Are we supposed to let go and let God? | GotQuestions.org

Why is it important to spend time alone with God? | GotQuestions.org

Vine: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Subtopics

The Vine of Christ

The Vine of Israel

The Vine of Sodom Bad and Unfit for Use

The Vine: (Its Fruitful Branches) of Saints

The Vine: (Its Quick Growth) of the Growth of Saints in Grace

The Vine: (Its Rich Clusters) of the Graces of the Church

The Vine: (Of Unfruitful Branches) Mere Professors

The Vine: (Pruning of) God's Purifying his People by Afflictions

The Vine: (Sitting Under One's Own) Peace and Prosperity

The Vine: (Unfruitful) the Wicked

The Vine: (Worthlessness of Its Wood) the Unprofitableness, of

The Vine: Canaan Abounded In

The Vine: Cultivated by the Walls of Houses

The Vine: Cultivated in the Valleys

The Vine: Cultivated in Vineyards from the Time of Noah

The Vine: Cultivated: On the Sides of Hills

The Vine: Foxes Destructive To

The Vine: Frequently Injured by Hail and Frost

The Vine: Frequently Made Unfruitful As a Punishment

The Vine: God Made, Fruitful for his People when Obedient

The Vine: Nazarites Prohibited Eating Any Part of

The Vine: Often Degenerated

The Vine: Often Found Wild

The Vine: Perfumed the Air With the Fragrance of Its Flowers

The Vine: Places Celebrated For: Egypt

The Vine: Places Celebrated For: Eshcol

The Vine: Places Celebrated For: Lebanon

The Vine: Places Celebrated For: Sibmah

The Vine: Probably Produced Two Crops of Fruit in the Year

The Vine: Proverbial Allusion to Fathers Eating the Unripe Fruit of

The Vine: Required to be Dressed and Pruned to Increase Its

The Vine: Sometimes Cast Its Fruit Before It Came to Perfection

The Vine: The Dwarf and Spreading Vine Particularly Esteemed

The Vine: The Fruit of Called Grapes

The Vine: The Fruit of Eaten Dried

The Vine: The Fruit of Eaten Fresh from the Tree

The Vine: The Fruit of Made Into Wine

The Vine: The Fruit of Peculiarly Sour when Unripe

The Vine: The Fruit of Sold in the Markets

The Vine: The Wild Boar Destructive To

The Vine: The Wood of, Fit Only for Burning

The Vine: Young Cattle Fed on Its Leaves and Tender Shoots

Vine

Vine of Sodom

Vine: Degeneracy of

Vine: Fable of

Vine: Parables of

Vine: Pruned

Vine: Symbolical

Related Terms

Vine-dressers (18 Occurrences)

Vine-garden (43 Occurrences)

Vine-gardens (41 Occurrences)

Vine-growers (13 Occurrences)

Vine-branch (2 Occurrences)

Vine-tree (3 Occurrences)

Vine-dresser (2 Occurrences)

Vine-knives (2 Occurrences)

Vine-plants (1 Occurrence)

Vine-keepers (1 Occurrence)

Vine-blossom (1 Occurrence)

Vine-branches (1 Occurrence)

Vine-cuttings (1 Occurrence)

Wine-vine (2 Occurrences)

Vine-rows (1 Occurrence)

Grape-vine (1 Occurrence)

Shoots (32 Occurrences)

Vines (39 Occurrences)

Clusters (12 Occurrences)

Grape (20 Occurrences)

Tendrils (4 Occurrences)

Blossoms (16 Occurrences)

Vintage-time (3 Occurrences)

Planting (57 Occurrences)

Olive-gardens (4 Occurrences)

Grapevine (3 Occurrences)

Ripened (8 Occurrences)

Degenerate (1 Occurrence)

Dionysus

Branchbough

Boughs (29 Occurrences)

Branching (12 Occurrences)

Choicest (32 Occurrences)

Bacchus

Vintage (14 Occurrences)

Yielded (28 Occurrences)

Grapes (74 Occurrences)

Blossom (23 Occurrences)

Sodom (49 Occurrences)

Fruit (318 Occurrences)

Shot (25 Occurrences)

Fertile (55 Occurrences)

Fig-tree (33 Occurrences)

Jaazer (12 Occurrences)

Workmen (52 Occurrences)

Wasters (1 Occurrence)

Plough-blades (3 Occurrences)

Bloomed (3 Occurrences)

Berries (3 Occurrences)

Blossomed (5 Occurrences)

Budded (6 Occurrences)

Climb (8 Occurrences)

Cruelly (26 Occurrences)

Apples (11 Occurrences)

Sorek (1 Occurrence)

Sibmah (5 Occurrences)

Roots (31 Occurrences)

Plants (70 Occurrences)

Figs (27 Occurrences)

Branch (60 Occurrences)

Wither (30 Occurrences)

Produced (39 Occurrences)

Fruitful (57 Occurrences)

Jazer (13 Occurrences)

Vinegar (11 Occurrences)

Thin (39 Occurrences)

Olive-tree (17 Occurrences)

Stored (55 Occurrences)

Flowers (42 Occurrences)

Produce (140 Occurrences)

Fig (45 Occurrences)

Stripped (62 Occurrences)

Planted (105 Occurrences)

Branches (103 Occurrences)

Flower (33 Occurrences)

Crop (33 Occurrences)

Withered (46 Occurrences)

Vine out of Egypt
Top of Page
Top of Page