Year 2, Week 19, Day 1 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 19, Day 1

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Ezekiel 17.

Today’s reading continues the Book of Ezekiel. Today’s reading proceeds further into the first segment of Ezekiel (chapters 1-24), which is a series of prophecies about impending judgment on the people of Judah for their persistent disobedience to the LORD. Today’s reading is a subunit in the first segment of Ezekiel, which runs from chapter 15 to chapter 19 and uses parabolic type statements and stories instead of the sign act dramatizations in order to convey the Word of the LORD: “The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 17:1-2). Ezekiel 17 is a parable involving two eagles: “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…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” (Ezekiel 17:3,7). The first eagle planted a vine but the vine turns from the eagle who planted it and to the second eagle. The matter that Ezekiel puts before the people was whether or not the vine will survive in light of its actions to turn from the first eagle: “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?” (Ezekiel 17:10).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading is Ezekiel’s inquiry as to if they understand what he is telling them: “Then the word of the LORD came to me: “Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean?” (Ezekiel 17:11-12a). This inquiry is framed in the context of an indictment, “Say now to the rebellious house.” This indictment implies that while they should know, they do not know the meaning of the parable. Their rebellion has rendered them unable to discern the meaning and significance of the eagles and the vine. Thus, Ezekiel will have to provide an explanation: “Tell them, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon” (Ezekiel 17:12b).

The significance and meaning of the parable takes a twist. The first eagle in this parable is not the LORD as it might be thought at first, for it is true that the LORD’s rescue of Israel from Egyptian captivity is likened unto the work of an eagle: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself” (Exodus 19:4). In addition, Israel is likened as a vine whom the LORD planted: “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it” (Psalm 80:8). However, in this parable, the first eagle is not the LORD, but Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon who took King Jehoiachin and other key figures from Jerusalem to exile them: “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) that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand” (Ezekiel 17:13-14). Nebuchadnezzar then took another of the royal seed, Mattaniah (Jehoiachin’s uncle), and renamed him Zedekiah, making a covenant with him that involved his swearing an oath of loyalty. Having planted him in an advantageous position, Nebuchadnezzar obviously expected faithfulness from Zedekiah in return.

But Zedekiah rebelled and turned to another eagle: “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?” (Ezekiel 17:15). Interestingly, Zedekiah did explicitly what the Law forbade: “Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, You shall never return that way again” (Deuteronomy 17:16). So actually, Zedekiah’s rebellion was not simply against Nebuchadnezzar but the LORD. So, the earlier question, “will it thrive,” speaking of the vine is actually, “will he thrive,” speaking of Zedekiah. And the answer is clear: “He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 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” (Ezekiel 17:18-19).

And yet, while Zedekiah’s future is not good, nor is the future of all who follow in his suit; nevertheless, the LORD has a future for those who truly belong to Him: “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. 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” (Ezekiel 17:22-23). The LORD will raise up a new sapling, which overlaps with Isaiah’s imagery of a new Davidic King: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe