Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Ezekiel 17:1 - 17:10

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Ezekiel 17:1 - 17:10


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The Riddle Itself

v. 1. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

v. 2. Son of man, put forth a riddle,
a continued allegory with a hidden deeper meaning, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel, a story of a comparison based upon facts, showing the likeness of the figure to the thing compared,

v. 3. and say, Thus saith the Lord God, A great eagle, with great wings,
pointing to a very extensive dominion, long-winged, symbolical of great energy, full of feathers, with many subjects and a large army, which had divers colors, a reference to the various nationalities combined in one empire, came unto Lebanon, representative of Jerusalem with its palaces and Temple built of cedar-wood from Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar, the topmost of its shoots;

v. 4. he cropped off the top of his young twigs,
the uppermost one, and carried it into a land of traffic, literally, "to the land of Canaan," that is, to a land which, in both its commercial ambitions and in its idolatry, was just like the heathen Canaan of old; he set it in a city of merchants. It is evident at once that the great eagle is Nebuchadnezzar, that the city is Babylon, and the shoot taken from the cedar of Jerusalem is Jehoiachin.

v. 5. He took also of the seed of the land,
one of the native royal family of Judah, in this case undoubtedly Zedekiah, and planted it in a fruitful field, in very productive soil; he placed it by great waters, in a most fertile situation, and set it as a willow-tree, the well-watered location being such as the willow loves.

v. 6. And it grew and became a spreading vine,
though no longer the cedar of David, of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, namely, they were intended to turn toward the eagle in humble submission, and the roots thereof were under him, deriving their strength from Babylon's practically exhaustless store; so it became a vine and brought forth branches and shot forth sprigs, always deriving its existence and vigor from Babylon, upon which it was dependent. If Zedekiah, so the text implies, had maintained his connection with the emperor of Babylon, his dependent position, then his kingdom might have had a steady growth. But here is where he made his mistake.

v. 7. There was also another great eagle with great wings,
namely, the king of Egypt, and many feathers, with 'a large population and a mighty army; and, behold, this vine, although tributary to Babylon, did bend her roots toward him and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation, from the beds of its planting, with the assistance which Zedekiah hoped to get from the land of tine Nile.

v. 8. It was planted in a good soil,
in a well-cultivated and well-watered field, by great waters that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. The thought is the same as that urged so often by Jeremiah when he admonished his countrymen and their ruler to submit to the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. It was not tyrannical oppression on the part of the Babylonian ruler which caused Zedekiah to revolt, but inordinate ambition, pride, and ingratitude.

v. 9. Say thou,
namely, Ezekiel, in rebuking this spirit, Thus saith the Lord God, Shall it prosper? Shall he, the great eagle, Nebuchadnezzar, not pull up the roots thereof and cut off the fruit thereof that it wither? He would certainly punish rebellion in this manner. It shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, with its entire productive energy and vital force, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof, that is, the Chaldean king would not have to employ his whole military forces in bringing about the downfall of Judah.

v. 10. Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper?
Will the southern kingdom be able to maintain itself against the Chaldean power? Shall it not utterly wither when the east wind toucheth it? very appropriately said of the Babylonians, who dwelt to the northeast of Canaan. It shall whither in the furrows where it grew, on the very spot of its ungrateful pride, in spite of the apparent chance which it had to continue its existence. It is usually the pride of the sinner which hastens his downfall, on account of his deliberately setting aside the Lord's will.