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Ezekiel 17:1
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The Eagles and the Vine

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a aparable to the house of Israel,  
3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
a“A great eagle with large wings and long pinions,
Full of feathers of various colors,
Came to Lebanon
And btook from the cedar the highest branch. 
4 He cropped off its topmost young twig
And carried it to a land of trade;
He set it in a city of merchants.
5 Then he took some of the seed of the land
And planted it in aa fertile field;
He placed it by abundant waters
And set it blike a willow tree. 
6 And it grew and became a spreading vine aof 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. 
7 “But there was1 another great eagle with large wings and many feathers;
And behold, athis 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. 
8 It was planted in1 good soil by many waters,
To bring forth branches, bear fruit,
And become a majestic vine.” ’  
9 “Say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Will it thrive?
aWill 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. 
10 Behold, it is planted,
Will it thrive?
aWill it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it?
It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew.” ’ ”  
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
12 “Say now to athe rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Indeed bthe king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon.  
13 aAnd he took the king’s offspring, made a covenant with him, band put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land,  
14 that the kingdom might be abrought low and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.  
15 But ahe rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, bthat they might give him horses and many people. cWill he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered?  
16 ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely ain the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke—with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.  
17 aNor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war, bwhen they heap up a siege mound and build a1 wall to cut off many persons.  
18 Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact agave his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape.’ ”  
19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head.
20 I will aspread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and btry him there for the treason which he committed against Me.  
21 aAll his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be bscattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”  

Israel Exalted at Last

22 Thus says the Lord God: “I will take also one of the highest abranches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs ba tender one, and will cplant it on a high and prominent mountain.  
23 aOn the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. bUnder it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell.  
24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, ahave brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; bI, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.” 
Commentaries:
Matthew Henry
<< Ezekiel 16:63   Ezekiel 17:2 >>


Ezekiel 17:1-24

A parable relative to the Jewish nation. (1-10) to which an explanation is added. (11-21) A direct promise of the Messiah. (22-24)

Verses 1-10 Mighty conquerors are aptly likened to birds or beasts of prey, but their destructive passions are overruled to forward God's designs. Those who depart from God, only vary their crimes by changing one carnal confidence for another, and never will prosper.

Verses 11-21 The parable is explained, and the particulars of the history of the Jewish nation at that time may be traced. Zedekiah had been ungrateful to his benefactor, which is a sin against God. In every solemn oath, God is appealed to as a witness of the sincerity of him that swears. Truth is a debt owing to all men. If the professors of the true religion deal treacherously with those of a false religion, their profession makes their sin the worse; and God will the more surely and severely punish it. The Lord will not hold those guiltless who take his name in vain; and no man shall escape the righteous judgment of God who dies under unrepented guilt.

Verses 22-24 The unbelief of man shall not make the promise of God of none effect. The parable of a tree, used in the threatening, is here presented in the promise. It appears only applicable to Jesus, the Son of David, the Messiah of God. The kingdom of Satan, which has borne so long, so large a sway, shall be broken, and the kingdom of Christ, which was looked upon with contempt, shall be established. Blessed be God, our Redeemer is seen even by the ends of the earth. We may find refuge from the wrath to come, and from every enemy and danger, under his shadow; and believers are fruitful in him.


 
<< Ezekiel 16:63   Ezekiel 17:2 >>

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