Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ez 19:1 and following. Indeed, the parable of the lioness and her lion cubs depicts the last kings of Judah and their tragic story as it is told to us at the end of Kings and Chronicles. Son of the faithful Josiah, Joakhaz and Jehoakim fully confirmed what Jehovah had said in the previous chapter: It was for their own sins that these wicked princes suffered punishment, and their father’s righteousness could not deliver them (Ez 18:1-13). “And you, raise a lament about the princes of Israel, and say, ‘Your mother, what was it? A lioness lying among the lions, raising her young in the middle of the lion cubs. And she raised one of her cubs; he became a young lion and learned to tear the prey; he devoured men. And the nations heard of him; he was taken into their pit, and he was led with a ring to his nostrils into the land of Egypt.” Such was the end of Joakhaz or Shallum, son of Josiah, unjust son of a righteous father, who died in Egypt where Pharaoh Neco had taken him prisoner.
It did not go better with others in other conditions; for God was forgotten, and the evil ways ended with an equally evil end. “And when she saw that she had waited and that her hope had perished, she took another of her cubs, and made him a young lion; he walked among the lions, became a young lion, and learned to tear the prey; he devoured men. He knew their desolate palaces, and devastated their cities, and the country and all that it contained was desolate by the voice of his roar. Then, of all the provinces, the surrounding nations lined up against him, and laid down their net upon him: he was caught in their pit. And they put him in a cage, with a ring on his nostrils, and led him to the king of Babylon; they led him into a fortress, so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.” Jehoakim felt the chains of Nebuchadnezzar as also Zedekiah, but with more suffering and ignominy for the latter, for his guilt towards the Lord was great and brazen. So the prophet could only lament.
“Your mother was like a vine, planted near the waters in your rest; it was fertile and laden with branches because of the great waters. And it had sturdy branches for dominator scepters, and it rose high in the midst of bushy branches, and it was apparent by its height, by the multitude of its branches. But it was torn off with fury, thrown to the ground, and the wind of the East dried its fruit; its sturdy branches were broken and dried out, fire consumed them. And now it is planted in the desert, in dry and arid land. And a fire has come out of a branch of its branches and consumed its fruit, and there is no robust branch in it, no scepter to dominate. This is a lament, and it will be a lament.” It was not because of their weakness that the chosen people and their princes fell; it was not because of their strength that Egypt or Babylon had the upper hand. For Israel had turned away from Jehovah to sin, and had to serve, as is still the case today, in the vilest pain of the Gentiles. Then the dominion belongs to Shilo, who will return to power, as surely as He was crucified in weakness (Gen 49.10).
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Lions’ Lament:
- Lamentation for Israel’s woes
Jer 4:8 Therefore cover yourself with bags, cry and groan; For the burning wrath of the Lord does not turn away from us. Jer 6:26 Daughter of my people, cover yourself with a bag and roll in the ashes, Mourn as if for an only begotten son, Shed tears, bitter tears! Because the devastating comes upon us unexpectedly. Jer 7:29 Cut off your hair, and throw it away; Climb to the heights, and pronounce a lament! For Jehovah rejects and repels the generation that caused his fury. Ez 19:1 And you utter a lament about the princes of Israel, Jl 1:8 Lament, like the virgin who puts on a bag To mourn the friend of her youth! Am 5:1 Listen to this word, this lament that I pronounce upon you, House of Israel! Mi 2.4 On that day, we will make you a subject of sarcasm, We will make lamentable cries, We will say: We are totally devastated! He gives others the share of my people! Well, what! he takes it away from me! He distributes our fields to the enemy!…
- Villains trapped in their own actions
Jb 18:8 For He sets foot on a net, He walks in the meshes, Ps 9:16 The nations fall into the pit they have made, Their foot is caught in the net they have hidden. Pr 22:5 Thorns, traps are on the way of the evil man; He who keeps his soul moves away from it. Pr 26:27 He who digs a pit falls into it, and the stone returns to him who rolls it. Pr 28:10 He who leads righteous men astray in the wrong way falls into the pit he has dug; But men of integrity inherit happiness. Pr 29:6 There is a trap in the sin of the wicked man, but the righteous triumph and rejoice. Ec 10:8 He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who knocks down a wall will be bitten by a serpent. Esa 8.15 Several will stumble; They will fall and break, They will be embraced and taken.
- Royal Scepters
Gen 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the sovereign staff between his feet, until the Schilo comes, and the people obey him. Nb 24:17 I see it, but not now, I contemplate it, but not up close. A star comes out of Jacob, A scepter rises from Israel. He pierces the flanks of Moab, and he slaughters all the children of Seth. Is 4.11 All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is a law imposing the death penalty against anyone, man or woman, enters the king’s house, in the inner courtyard, without having been called; only he has his life saved, to whom the king hands the golden scepter. And I have not been called to the king for thirty days. Isaiah 14:5 The Lord broke the staff of the wicked, the rod of the dominators. Hb 1:8 But he said to the Son, Your throne, O God is eternal; The scepter of your reign is a scepter of fairness;
- Desolation of Israel
Isa 1:8 And the daughter of Zion remained as a hut in a vineyard, as a hut in a field of cucumbers, as a city spared. Jer 2:15 Against him the lion cubs roar, cry out, and they ravage his country; Its cities are burned, there are no more inhabitants. Jer 19:8 I will make this city an object of desolation and mockery; All those who pass by her will be in astonishment and whistle on all her wounds. Lm 1:4 The paths of Zion are in mourning, for one no longer goes to the feasts; All her doors are deserted, Her priests groan, Her virgins are afflicted, and she is filled with bitterness. Lm 5:18 It is that the mountain of Zion is ravaged, It is that the foxes walk there. Ez 20:26 I defiled them with their offerings, when they made all their firstborn pass through fire; I thus wanted to punish them, and to make them know that I am the Lord. Mt 23:38 Behold, your house will be left deserted;
From all of the above, we note that it is about the captivity of the last king of Judah and the destruction by fire of the vine of Israel. Some may wonder why these events occupy such a place in the Divine Book, when they hold virtually none in history textbooks. It is that in the eyes of God, this is indeed one of the great turning points in the history of humanity. For the seat of His government was leaving Israel for many centuries. And Jerusalem ceased to be the place where Jehovah had placed His dwelling on earth. The time of nations began; it continues even now and will only end with the reign of Christ and the restoration of Israel. May the Lord Jesus watch over our hearts for the glory of his name.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the siege of Jerusalem. »
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.