The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 say, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig, 6 and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.
7 “And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.
9 “Say, Thus says the Lord God: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 And he took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (the chief men of the land he had taken away), 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. 15 But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?
16 “As I live, declares the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. 20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has committed against me. 21 And all the pick of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken.”
22 Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” Ezekiel 17 ESV
Ezekiel 17 Two Eagles and a Vine
Propound a riddle - This people took for granted the simple and straight, hearing but not understanding. A riddle is not straightforward in the reading or the hearing, the meaning or intent is not always readily apparent, but it causes the listener to engage. I have to think about this, and not take for granted that I already know or feel the gravity of the point the speaker is making. Sometimes the meaning is withheld, and such is judgment, but sometimes the meaning is given after the picture.
“Riddles exercise the wit, and parables help the memory, and excite both attention and affection.” (Trapp)
10Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.… Matthew 13: 10-12
1-8 - A great eagle - The king of Babylon in all his finery.
“It is interesting to note that often the eagle was used symbolically in the OT to represent God’s punitive power (Deuteronomy 28:49) and the speed with which a conqueror advanced (Isaiah 46:11; Jeremiah 48:40; 49:22).” (Alexander)
Of many colors - Probably as a Tidal king over many nations, an empire.
Lebanon - Known for it's cedars, used in the building of the king's palace in Jerusalem. This signifies royalty.
He broke off the topmost of its young twigs - All the best and brightest, the most promising and strong of the land, he took back to Babylon. Among these imports were Daniel and Ezekiel. This increased the tidal kings knowledge bank at home, and it decreased the strength of the conquered nation to resist. Those rising stars, now placed in another region of the sky, to the east of Jerusalem. Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, was also removed.
Land of trade - This is an aspect always tied to the name Babylon.
…10In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.” 11And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo— 12cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;… Revelation 18: 10-12
He took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil - There were those that were aloud to remain in the land, as one writer call them, "a tributary" kingdom. They are neither the Tigris or the mighty Euphrates, but a branch, not the river but a stream. Nebuchadnezzar set them up to succeed as a part of his empire "beside abundant waters".
A low spreading vine - This would be from a place of humility, allowed to flourish, but within the covenant of peace, under Babylonian rule.
And there was another great eagle - The crutch of Israel, Egypt, an old habit that was very hard to break.
This would be Pharaoh Apries, a.k.a. Hophra (588 to 568 B.C.). Cited from J Mac Study Bible
…15you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers. 16But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ 17He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.… Deuteronomy 17: 15-17
This vine bent it's roots toward him - Zedekiah breaks his treaty with Nebuchadnezzar to court an alliance with Hophra. This vine was doing well in the soil that was provided to it and growing fine on the waters of Babylon. They received not only mercy but benevolence from their conqueror. So, very much reflective of Israel's relationship to God, there is no apparent reason for their sudden departure. They were warned by Jeremiah not to resist or break this covenant, yet here they think the waters of Egypt will be at least sweeter if not cooler.
…12And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD. 13He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. But Zedekiah stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel. 14Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people multiplied their unfaithful deeds, following all the abominations of the nations, and they defiled the house of the LORD, which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.… 2 Chronicles 36: 12-14
…5Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem. 6Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to help you, will go back to its own land of Egypt.… Jeremiah 37: 5-7
9-24 - Will it thrive - Instead of sinking her roots deep, to the wells that would sustain from drought, she turns and runs shallow, so that she may drink from the Nile. So the listeners have this before them, what will the one who planted them do when he realizes he has been betrayed, that Jacob has again played the deceiver? You know exactly what will happen, he will pull it up by the roots.
It will not take a strong arm - It's a shallow root, and all they will need is a force that can put them under siege. The east wind will blow dry, and without water, cut off from nutrition, the vine will wither. Now Pharaoh, like all kings, has probably promised protection but overestimated his own strength. Israel has fed Assyria's ego before and now turns south, but God has warned them not to.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalm 1 KJV
Tell them - Now he explains the parable to them.
As I live - God swears by the highest thing, Himself. Zedekiah was not even a real king, not recognized by the prophet as such, for he was under vassal authority. He was given an opportunity by the king of Babylon to stay in his home land and rule with the support of Nebuchadnezzar. He went into a covenant agreement with the king, but was now breaking it. God sees the covenant, God, Who says thou shalt not lie, and swears to punish Zedekiah for breaking it. God rebukes and punishes His people, and this is yet another instance where they poorly represent Him, Who made them a nation to begin with. This is the way of the world to promise and not deliver, to swear but cross your fingers. It causes them to stink.
The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah. 14 They said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. 15 Only on this condition will we agree with you—that you will become as we are by every male among you being circumcised. 16 Then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. 17 But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter, and we will be gone.”
18 Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor's son Shechem. 19 And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob's daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father's house. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.
25 On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. 26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem's house and went away. 27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28 They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. 29 All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.
30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.” 31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” Genesis 34: 13-31
He despised the oath - They were empty words, and this is a people who had been taught that God hated lying, bearing false witness, and the breaking of covenants. He often uses the institute of marriage, that great covenant which God established, as a lesson to compare with our relationship with God. They sought other gods, preferred the lie over the truth, prostituted themselves to other waters.
Taken in my snare -
…4When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and they went out along the route to the Arabah. 5But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him. 6There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the nobles of Judah.… Jeremiah 39: 4-6
I Myself will take a sprig - This goes back to the branch, the son of David, Messiah. The day will come when God will remove wicked, bumbling rulers, and set up His righteous kingdom.
…2On that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors. 3 Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy— all in Jerusalem who are recorded among the living— 4when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.… Isaiah 4: 2-4
…4I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD. 5Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.… Jeremiah 23: 4-6
