CHAPTER 17

(594 B.C.)

PARABLE OF A GREAT EAGLE: NEBUCHADNEZZAR

¹And the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

²Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the House of Israel (Put forth a riddle, speaks of an enigma a dark saying. It was also a parable, that is, the comparison of one thing to another);

³And say, Thus says the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar (A great eagle with great wings, speaks of Nebuchadnezzar. Came unto Lebanon, actually speaks of Jerusalem; the houses therein were built of cedar from Lebanon. The phrase, And took the highest branch of the cedar, speaks of Jehoiachin being taken captive after serving only three months as king of Judah [II Ki. 24:8, 15-16]):

⁴He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants. (This speaks of the more eminent citizens of Jerusalem also being taken captive along with Jehoiachin.)

⁵He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. (He took also of the seed of the land, refers to Nebuchadnezzar making Zedekiah king of Judah. And planted it in a fruitful field, refers to the possibility of Zedekiahs reign being fruitful, with the land of Judah enjoying prosperity, that is, if he had only submitted himself to Nebuchadnezzar, as the Lord had directed. However, this he did not do.)

⁶And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. (And it grew, refers to prosperity under Zedekiah, at least for a short time.)

THE SECOND GREAT EAGLE: PHARAOH

⁷There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. (The one referred to as another great eagle with great wings and many feathers was Pharaoh-Hophra, king of Egypt.)

⁸It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. (The idea of this Verse is that if Zedekiah had obeyed the Prophet of the Lord, placing himself and Judah under the domain of Nebuchadnezzar, then Judah would have had a fair measure of prosperity. The vine might have borne fruit.)

ZEDEKIAHS REBELLION

⁹Say you, Thus says the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. (The question, Thus says the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper?, refers to this alliance between Zedekiah and Pharaoh. The answer is: No. For he, Nebuchadnezzar, would uproot Zedekiah and destroy his kingdom.)

¹⁰Ye s, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind touches it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew. (The phrase, It shall wither in the furrows where it grew, means that this alliance with Egypt will die aborning, and will infuriate Nebuchadnezzar, with awful results.)

JEHOIACHINS CAPTIVITY

¹¹Moreover the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

¹²Say now to the rebellious house, Know you not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and has taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon (this is the same as Verses 3 and 4, which speak of Nebuchadnezzar taking Jehoiachin and the princes to Babylon);

¹³And has taken of the kings seed, and made a covenant with him, and has taken an oath of him: he has also taken the mighty of the land (the kings seed was Zedekiah, whom he made king of Judah. And made a covenant with him, and has taken an oath of him, refers to the fact that Zedekiah did this in the Name of Jehovah, and the Lord expected him to keep it):

¹⁴That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. (It might stand, refers to Gods loving purpose, which was the peace and prosperity of His People in subjection to the Gentiles, at least at this time; and that they should be a witness for Him. So should they have been His recognized People and a Light to lighten the Gentiles. But their rebellion lost this prosperity and that glory.)

ZEDEKIAHS REBELLION AND HIS TRUST IN EGYPT

¹⁵But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape who does such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? (This refers to Zedekiah actively seeking an alliance with the Egyptians, which was totally opposed to the Will of God, and which would bring ruin to Judah.)

¹⁶As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. (Zedekiah was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, blinded, and then sent to Babylon, where he died. So much for the alliance with Egypt. This Prophecy was probably written when the hopes of Zedekiah and his counselors were at their highest point, when the Chaldeans had in fact raised the siege of Jerusalem in anticipation of the arrival of the Egyptian army [Jer. 37:5-11]. Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, declared that the relief would be but temporary. And so it was!)

¹⁷Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons (Pharaoh coming against Nebuchadnezzar proved to be more blow and bluster than anything else. Egypt was quickly neutralized):

¹⁸Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and has done all these things, he shall not escape. (As stated, when Zedekiah broke the covenant with Nebuchadnezzar, it was the same as breaking it with the Lord.)

¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; As I live, surely My Oath that he has despised, and My Covenant that he has broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. (Zedekiah freely agreed by covenant to rule Judah under Nebuchadnezzar. He took an oath to obey him, but rebelled after serving for several years. He turned to Egypt for help. For this, God cursed him.)

²⁰And I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against Me. (The words, And will plead with him there, along with Jer. 32:5 and 34:4-5, suggest that in his Earthly prison and physical blindness, Grace gave Zedekiah inward eyesight and spiritual freedom. In other words, it seems that he finally made his peace with God, even after long years of rebellion.)

²¹And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they who remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and you shall know that I the LORD have spoken it. (This Passage refers to the terrible carnage which developed when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians.)

RESTORATION OF THE DAVIDIC KINGDOM UNDER THE MESSIAH

²²Thus says the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent (the Kingdom predicted in Verses 22 through 24 is that of the Messiah. It will take place in the coming Kingdom Age):

²³In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. (The Kingdom of the Messiah will have no end. At that time, all the nations of the world will look to Christ for all prosperity. They will not be disappointed!)

²⁴And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it. (The phrases, high tree and green tree, both refer to mans proud dominion, which will be brought down and dried up. The low tree and dry tree refer to Israel, which will then be made to flourish, becoming the most powerful nation in the world. As stated, this will be in the coming Kingdom Age.)