May 1, Ezekiel 17
"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 17:24
The author of Hebrews in the New Testament began that epistle declaring that God spoke at many times and in many ways to the fathers by the prophets. Sometimes the Lord used flat declarations of facts. Sometimes he chose to dramatize the message by the life and actions of his prophet. In Chapter 17, God gave the same message he had already given his people in other ways in the form of a riddle or a parable.
Sometimes a story can reach a hardened heart that has not listened to direct statements or plain warnings. You probably remember that Nathan convicted David about his sin with Bathsheba by telling the king a story about a man who stole his poor neighbor's pet lamb.
Scholars call the story portion of a parable the protasis. The meaning or explanation of the story is known as the apodosis. In this chapter, the story of the eagles, the trees and the vine is the protasis. It is not hard to understand, thanks to the apodosis (the explanation the Lord gave Ezekiel about its meaning). The first great eagle is Nebuchadnezzar, who came and took King Jehoiachin (the tip of the cedar) and other nobles of Judah away to Babylon (the city of commerce). The king of Babylon set Zedekiah (the seed of the land the eagle planted) as king over the people who remained in the land when Judah became a vassal state. Zedekiah swore allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar. He grew into a vine turned toward Babylon. But when another great eagle (Egypt's king) turned the vine away from the first eagle (Zedekiah's rebellious alliance with Egypt), the first eagle returned and pulled the vine up by its root. (Nebuchadnezzar came back to Jerusalem, destroyed it, blinded Zedekiah and took him away to Babylon, where he died.) It was a word picture to illustrate to the captives in Babylon what was going to happen back in Jerusalem.
God took Zedekiah's rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar as rebellion against himself. It was God's will for them to be servants of Babylon. When Zedekiah rebelled, he broke his oath he took in the name of his God and forfeited the plan that would have let the remainder of the people live in the land. As consequences of his rebellion, thousands would die, many others would go into captivity. Zedekiah would lose his sons, his sight, his freedom and his life. Jerusalem would be desolate.
God promised another "planting" from the lofty tree of David, one that God himself would plant in a high mountain. That tender sprout would grow into a mighty, fruitful noble tree. Every kind of bird would come to nest in its branches. If you're familiar with the prophets' pictures about the coming of Christ, you probably recognized this as one of them. When Jesus came, he would set up his kingdom in Jerusalem, and people from all nations would flow into it. It would be the work of God himself, the long-awaited fulfillment of old promises and prophecies.
Our Lord Jesus, like his Father, also used parables that employed images and objects from everyday life to teach lessons about spiritual and eternal realities. He explained these matters in word pictures that we humans living in this material world could grasp. He illustrated his coming kingdom with parables and riddles. Whether you understand the meaning of every part of the parable or not, understand this: The God who always was, before anything or anyone else came to be, holds his people (and their future) secure in his hands. When he says it, he does it. He's made great and precious promises to us. He is faithful to keep his promises. We are wise to entrust ourselves to him, and foolish if we entrust our souls to anything or anyone else.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—May 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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