The Parable
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel,
and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“A great eagle with large wings and long pinions,
Full of feathers of various colors,
Came to Lebanon
And took from the cedar the highest branch.
He cropped off its topmost young twig
And carried it to a land of trade;
He set it in a city of merchants.
Then he took some of the seed of the land
And planted it in a fertile field;
He placed it by abundant waters
And set it like a willow tree.
And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature;
Its branches turned toward him,
But its roots were under it.
So it became a vine,
Brought forth branches,
And put forth shoots.
"But there was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers;
And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him,
And stretched its branches toward him,
From the garden terrace where it had been planted,
That he might water it.
It was planted in good soil by many waters,
To bring forth branches, bear fruit,
And become a majestic vine.” ’
“Say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Will it thrive?
Will he not pull up its roots,
Cut off its fruit,
And leave it to wither?
All of its spring leaves will wither,
And no great power or many people
Will be needed to pluck it up by its roots.
Behold, it is planted,
Will it thrive?
Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it?
It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew.”
The Meaning and Application of the Parable
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Say now to the rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ (Ezekiel 17:11-12)
Ezekiel explained the meaning of his riddle/parable, so his listeners could not claim the excuse that they did not understand.
The great eagle represented the king of Babylon. (Ezekiel 17:3)
Lebanon represented Jerusalem. (Ezekiel 17:3)
The highest branch of the cedar represented Judah’s king (Jehoiachin) and princes. (Ezekiel 17:3)
The seeds and the vine represented the king’s offspring (Zedekiah). (Ezekiel 17:5,6)
The first eagle made a covenant with Zedekiah and put him under oath.
The first eagle took away the mighty of the land, not only King Jehoiachin, but also other notable men such as Daniel and his companions. He did this to keep Zedekiah low, and so that Zedekiah would keep his covenant.
The king of Babylon took them with him to Babylon, which was called the city of merchants. (Ezekiel 17:4)
Just as the vine stretched out its roots and branches toward the second eagle, so Zedekiah rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, which represented the second eagle. Zedekiah hoped for horses and many people from Egypt. (Ezekiel 17:7)
But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered? (Ezekiel 17:15)
Fundamentally, Zedekiah was a covenant breaker, who ignored the promises of loyalty and submission he made to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:20). God expected Zedekiah to be loyal to the covenant he made to Nebuchadnezzar and would punish him for breaking the covenant.
I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and try him there for the treason which he committed against Me. (Ezekiel 17:20)
Jeremiah 52:6-9 tells the story of how Zedekiah and some other high ranking men of the government tried to escape when the Babylonians came against Jerusalem. They did not succeed, because God had spread His net over him.
Chapters
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 32
- Chapter 33
- Chapter 34
- Chapter 35
- Chapter 36
- Chapter 37
- Chapter 38
- Chapter 47
- Chapter 48