Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ez 17:11 and following. Indeed, the parable of the two great eagles and the vine, explained in verses 11 to 21, traces in a pictorial form the events that took place then. The king of Babylon, the first great eagle, deported Jojakin, a weak offspring of the royal cedar, and took over the vineyard of Judah. He put Zedekiah at its head by making him take an oath in the name of the Lord. But the king of Judah does not hesitate to betray this oath. So the king of Babylon, instrument in the hand of the Lord, chastises the felon prince and takes him into captivity. For the crime of Zedekiah was particularly serious in that it dishonored the name of jehovah before the nations. He showed in what small esteem this name was held by those on whom it had been placed (Ex 23:20-25). Redeemed from the Lord Jesus, we are responsible to the world for honoring “the beautiful name that has been invoked upon us” (Jac 2:1-7.
The enigma of chp 17 ends in a divine way. In it, Jehovah speaks of the offspring that He himself – and no longer the great eagle this time – will take from the same royal cedar of David and that He will establish on a high and eminent mountain like a powerful tree full of fruit. We understand that this is the Lord Jesus and His future reign (Isa 11:1-5 and Ps 2:6-9). Here we have another illustration, alive and so typical, of our prophet presenting the state of affairs existing among the people of God, the imminent ruin because of the king’s impiety (in the oath in the name of Jehovah with the head of the Gentiles), and finally the kingdom of the Messiah, – this kingdom being so lowered at its first presentation, and when the time comes, so exalted by God above all the kingdoms of the earth.
The great eagle is none other than the king of Babylon whom God in his sovereign wisdom established as the head of the Gentile imperial system, after the demonstration of Israel’s moral ruin and rebellion against Jehovah. Jojakim is the king of Judah described here as the tallest shoot of the summit, which Nebuchadnezzar carried with him to Babylon; it was then the most famous of the cities of antiquity, not only for its grandeur, but also for its trade (Isa 13:19; 63:14). Moreover, the conqueror established another king on Jerusalem, who was not a foreign lord, but was of the seed of the land, from the house of David, Matthania, uncle (“brother”) of the exiled king, under the new name given by his Gentile master.
Zedekiah could have prospered there, as a loyal vassal of the king of the kings of Babylon. But the only condition under which God would have assured peace and some measure of prosperity to the Jews was to remain subject to the Gentile empire, recognizing that this enslavement was God’s discipline to His people because of their incurable disobedience and because of their kings. This vine could have produced not only branches and roots, but also fruit. Alas! it did not happen so, despite many prophetic warnings and supplications.
The second eagle, here, is the king of Egypt who aimed at the empire of the world and fought with Nebuchadnezzar for it. But it is God who commands: He had given it to the king of Babylon. It was still only His providence. The kingdom in the hands of the first Adam had come to nothing. Israel, Judah, the house of David, had completely failed, and had lived only to add dishonor to the name of the Lord who had chosen them. The day had not yet come for the second man, the last Adam, true son of David and son of man. That is why God had temporarily left universal supremacy in the hands of the vilest men, as a lesson to those who had preferred their own ways to the living God; and the place of origin of exaltation against the true God, the place from which the false gods had come out, had become the whip against Israel and the prison of Israel, in the person of the house of David and of the people abandoned to their miserable state. To turn to the Pharaoh in this way was to reject Jehovah, not just Nebuchadnezzar, and it resulted in their own destruction without their Chaldean master having to make much effort to do so. A breath of “this wind of the East” was enough to wilt the fruitless vine, to dry it entirely in the squares where it grew.
“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Say to the rebellious house, ‘Do you not know what these things mean? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and he took his king and princes, and took them with him to Babylon. And he took one from the seed of the kingdom, and made an alliance with him, and made him take an oath of execration, and he took the powerful of the land, that the kingdom might be low and that he would not rise, that he might keep his covenant to subsist. But he rebelled against him, sending his messengers to Egypt, to be given horses and a large people. Will he prosper, will he escape, the one who does such things? Will he break the covenant, and escape? I am alive, says the Lord, the Lord, if, in the very place of the king who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, near him he does not die in the midst of Babylon!
The case is brought to light here, the riddle is solved, and the parable is followed by its interpretation by the Spirit. Jehovah accuses the then reigning son of David of perfidy against Himself and against Nebuchadnezzar. He had violated his covenant with the Chaldeans, even though that covenant had been sealed with the name of Jehovah. Had things really reached such an extent that the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar had more respect for the oath of Jehovah than the son of David, the king of Judah? In view of this conduct of Zedekiah, it became absolutely impossible for God, in every respect, to continue to protect the guilty king and people, especially since they bore His name. “I have known you, alone, of all the families of the earth; therefore, I will visit upon you all your iniquities” (Amos 3:2).
For judgment must begin with the house of God (1 P 4:7); they said they saw, which is why their sin remained (John 9:41). God must be sanctified in all who draw near to Him; and if sin is always sin, it is all the less excusable where His word is known, and His name proclaimed before men.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Explanation of the parable:
· Fulfillment of prophecies relating to Captivity
2 Kings 15:29 In the time of Pekach, king of Israel, Tiglath Poundeser, king of Assyria, came and took Ijjon, Abel Beth Maaca, Janoach, Kedesch, Hatsor, Galaad and Galilee, the whole land of Nephthali, and he took captive the inhabitants to Assyria. 2 Kings 18:11 The king of Assyria took Israel captive to Assyria, and he established them at Chalach, and on the Chabor, river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 2 Kings 24:14 He took into captivity all Jerusalem, all the chiefs and all the valiant men, numbering ten thousand exiles, with all the carpenters and locksmiths: only the poor people of the land remained. 2 Ch 28:5 The Lord, his God, delivered him into the hands of the king of Syria; and the Syrians beat him and took him a large number of prisoners, which they took to Damascus. He was also delivered into the hands of the king of Israel, who made him feel a great defeat.
· Rebellion against God, condemned
Dt 9:24 You have been rebellious against Jehovah since I have known you. Ps 68:7 God gives a family to those who were abandoned, Delivers the captives and makes them happy; The rebels alone inhabit arid places. Jer 5:5 I will go to the great ones, and I will speak to them; For they know the way of Jehovah, the law of their God; But they all broke the yoke, broke the ties. Ez 2:3 He said to me: Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to those rebellious peoples, who have revolted against me; they and their fathers have sinned against me, until the very day we are. Ez 12:2 Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a family of rebels, who have eyes to see and who do not see, ears to hear and who do not hear; for it is a family of rebels.
· Oaths of loyalty
2 Kings 11:4 In the seventh year, Jehojada sent for the leaders of hundreds of Kerethians and runners, and he brought them to him in the house of the Lord. He dealt covenant with them and made them swear in the house of the Lord, and he showed them the king’s son. Ec 8:2 I say to you: Keep the king’s orders, and this because of the oath made to God. Ez 17:3 You will say: Thus saith the Lord, the Lord: A great eagle, with long wings, wings spread, covered with feathers of all colors, came upon Lebanon, and removed the crown of a cedar.
· Punishment of sin, inevitable
Pr 11:21 Certainly, the wicked will not go unpunished, but the seed of the righteous will be saved. Jer 11:11 This is why the Lord speaks: Behold, I am going to bring upon them misfortunes from which they cannot be delivered. They will shout at me, and I will not listen to them. 1 Thess 5:3 When men say, “Peace and security!” then a sudden ruin will surprise them, as the pains of childbirth surprise the pregnant woman, and they will not escape. Hb 2:3 how shall we escape by neglecting such a great salvation, which, first announced by the Lord, has been confirmed to us by those who have heard it,
From all the above, we note that Zedekiah was to be caught in the net of divine retribution and die disappointed by the help of the Pharaoh and his great army in which he had entrusted himself on the day of his great distress. For he was in Babylon, a prisoner of the one whose covenant he had broken! He received on his head the bitter reward of the oath made in the name of jehovah, who pleaded against him for his transgression, killed his fugitives, and scattered on all sides those who were left behind, thus proving the reality of the outrage done to His name. All this is not the mystery of the kingdom as we know it today, nor the day of rejection and grace, for Him and for His people, but it is the day of power, judicial no doubt, but beneficial on earth. Nor is it the call out of the world of souls to be brought to a glorified Christ in heaven, but it is the blessing of the land and of the whole earth under the reign of the One who forever establishes the sanctuary of Jehovah in the midst of Israel. Without denying that Zerubbabel can be a fleeting image of the Great King and the powerful reign of peace and blessing foreshadowed here, yet considered a pale fulfillment of such a glorious promise. In fact, they make Israel’s hopes disappear in God’s ways of grace, and they lower the Church to the point of usurping the promises of earthly blessing and glory of the Jewish people, instead of keeping her in communion with Christ’s sufferings for the present time, and in expectation of heavenly joy and glory in His love at His coming. Our prayers are with you all.
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 parable of the two debtors.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.