Comes the Word of Yahweh in Parables
Prophecy for Today

Comes the Word of Yahweh to Jeremiah

Thus comes the Word of Yahweh to Jeremiah as he cries over the plagues that assail his people. “How long?” he cries. “Does Yahweh tarry judgement forever while the nation is plundered by those who call themselves prophets and yet serve other gods who are not God?”

In the midst of Jeremiah’s cry and groaning, comes the Word of Yahweh to him, saying, “Ben-Adam¹, what do you see?”

Then Jeremiah answers Yahweh, saying, “I see a vine climbing a tree in early spring. It has no leaves and bears no fruit. It does not appear to harm the tree, and so the gardener leaves it there.”

Comes again to Jeremiah the Word of Yahweh, saying, “Ben-Adam, open your eyes, look again and tell me what you see.”

So Jeremiah looks, and behold, he sees again the vine and the tree. While the tree grows little and puts out leaves and flowers, the vine sends out strangling hooks that wrap tightly around the tender branches of the tree and cut off its life. The vine begins to put out leaves over the top of the tree, covering all its branches, flowers and leaves, and cutting off its light. The tree is yet alive and receives enough light to give it strength to support the vine and lift it to the sun. Yet, as the tree supports the vine, it cannot bear fruit. Its flowers fall; its leaves are few; it is lost to sight; and those who pass by see only the vine.

Then Jeremiah speaks to Yahweh, saying, “I see the vine and the tree in late spring. The vine is wrapped around the tree to choke off its life. It covers the tree to choke off the sun. It wraps talons around the branches of the tree to shut off its strength. I will go and free the tree, that it might bear fruit. I will cut off the vine and throw it into the fire, that it might consume it and that the tree might have light and life and bear fruit.”

Comes then the Word of Yahweh again to Jeremiah, saying, “Stop! Stay your hand and do touch not the vine! Are you the gardener? You are but a branch on the tree! A branch does not prune the tree. Nor does the branch have authority to uproot the vine. The branch is to bear fruit and remain in the tree. The gardener will yet come to remove the vine.”

Then comes again the Word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying, “Ben-Adam, what do you see?”

Answers Jeremiah, saying, “Lord, I am weary of looking. I cannot bear to see any more. My heart is heavy with seeing the vine that entangles and ensnares, and bleeds life from the branches of the tree. I am weary of seeing and my eyes are grown unaccustomed to the sun. I cannot bear to look anymore, for I am afraid of seeing. I am weary of destruction, of waste, of darkness, of fruitlessness.”

Comes the Word of Yahweh again to Jeremiah, saying, “Ben-Adam, open your eyes that you might see what I AM doing. Fear not, for all is not laid waste. The ax is not placed against the root of the tree, nor is it thrown in the fire. Open your eyes and behold, for the gardener approaches.”

So Jeremiah looks, and behold, the gardener is approaching. Him he cannot see, yet he hears the sound of his footsteps and hears his voice as he speaks to the tree.

The gardener takes the vine and speaks to it, saying, “Your task is accomplished. The tree is pruned. The branches that remain are strong, for they bear your weight. Behold, some even bear fruit in spite of you. The tips of many branches die under your stranglehold, yet they are stronger for bearing your weight. Now I cut you off and free the tree, that it might have light.”

Then Jeremiah speaks, for he cannot contain himself. He cries out, saying, “Cast the vine into the fire with its roots and all its shoots, leaves, and talons! Burn it in the fire along with all of its kind, that it might never again be seen on the face of the earth, nor yet threaten the tree any longer!”

Comes the Word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying, “Ben-Adam! Do I bid you speak? O, mouthpiece of the Lord of Hosts, who gives you command to speak and instruct the gardener? Does the tree teach the gardener how to care for it? Does a nursling teach its mother to sew and to mend and to wash its clothing? Who are you that you would counsel the wise with the words of fools? Are you not but a branch on the tree that the gardener may cut off and throw into the flames at will? Stay your mouth and still your words until you are bidden to speak. A prophet does not speak on personal authority, but merely what the Master bids be spoken. Be still and watch. Look and see, learn from the gardener, and do not cloud understanding with ignorant and rash words!”

So Jeremiah stills his tongue, though rage boils within him and his anger is hot because of the vine and the burden that the tree is forced to bear.

As he looks, Jeremiah sees the vine pulled off the tree. The dead branches are ripped off with it, along with some of the weaker tips of the branches. And behold, there is fruit on the branches, though how it grows none can tell. There are few leaves on the tree and the fruit is not over-plentiful—no more than the tree can bear under the weight of the vine. When the gardener finishes cleaning and pruning the tree, he cuts the vine above the ground and burns the portion with the clippings from the tree.

Then comes again the Word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying, “Ben-Adam, now speak and tell me what you see.”

So Jeremiah answers Yahweh, saying, “I see the tree in summer, covered with the vine and struggling to find light and to support the weight of the vine that entangles it and chokes out its life. Then the gardener comes and praises the vine, though he does not plant it, nor sends it to grow. The gardener allows the vine to test the tree and to prune it. It is the prized tree in all the orchard, and yet he allows the vine to cover its branches and choke off the tender shoots on its branches. Then the gardener comes and strips off the vine along with the branches that are dead, giving up their life to the vine. The gardener takes the prunings from the tree and the uppermost part of the vine and casts them into the flames. The root of the vine, however, he leaves in the ground next to the tree, saying, ‘The vine may yet again be useful, though if it die, another may spring up in its place. The tree now is stronger than before. It now understands the peril of the vine, which desires glory for itself and robs the tree of its light, its life, and its fruit. Yes, the vine serves me well, though I neither send it nor plant it. Now I will tend to the tree, that it might be further strengthened and bear more fruit. I will take some of its choice branches and them I will plant in the garden that my orchard may be full and might produce a bountiful harvest. Indeed the tree was a prize and a beauty to behold, yet so large a tree cannot support its fruit. I will take of its branches and plant more trees. Then will the orchard yield good fruit in abundance, and my joy will be full.’

“Then I look, and, behold, this is not the only tree of the gardener, but one of many in the orchard, and yet the orchard is not full. And as I look, I see that I am but one branch on a tree, my task to bear fruit.”

Then comes the Word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the seer once again, saying, “You see well. Of the branches of this tree, many trees will I plant. I will fill my orchard with tender saplings that will bear much fruit for me. The vine, however, I will not uproot. It will grow again, and it will test my trees—the trees of my orchard. This tree which you see—a prize tree and a beauty to behold—it will live on in the saplings I will plant, and yet its stump will not last forever. It will still bear fruit, but not as in the days of its youth. Other things will grow from its trunk—the mosses and vines and insects will cover it—and yet I would not cast it into the fire, for fruit will yet be found on some of its branches and it will be as a warning sign to the other trees of my orchard.”

Thus is the Word of Yahweh come to Jeremiah, the seer.

¹ Ben-Adam: "Son of Man."

—©Copyright 2005 Christopher B. Harbin