Bible Lesson: Parables Of The Old
Testament: The Great Eagles And
The Vine.
Spoken By: Isaiah
Location: Babylon
Bible Text:
Ezekiel 17:1-24 NLT (A Story of
Two Eagles)
1 Then this message came to me from
The Lord:
2 “Son of man, give this riddle,
and tell this story to the people of Israel.
3 Give them this message from The
Sovereign Lord:
“A great eagle with broad wings
and long feathers,
covered with many-colored
plumage,
came to Lebanon. He seized the
top of a cedar tree
4 and plucked off its highest
branch.
He carried it away to a city filled
with merchants.
He planted it in a city of
traders.
5 He also took a seedling from the
land
and planted it in fertile soil.
He placed it beside a broad river,
where it could grow like a
willow tree.
6 It took root there and
grew into a low, spreading vine.
Its branches turned up toward the
eagle,
and its roots grew down into the
ground.
It produced strong branches
and put out shoots.
7 But then another great eagle came
with broad wings and full
plumage.
So the vine now sent its
roots and branches
toward him for water,
8 even though it was already planted
in good soil
and had plenty of water
so it could grow into a splendid
vine
and produce rich leaves and
luscious fruit.
9 “So now The Sovereign Lord asks:
Will this vine grow and
prosper?
No! I will pull it up, roots and
all!
I will cut off its fruit
and let its leaves wither and
die.
I will pull it up easily
without a strong arm or a large
army.
10 But when the vine is
transplanted,
will it thrive?
No, it will wither away
when the east wind blows against
it.
It will die in the same good soil
where it had grown so well.”
(The Riddle
Explained)
11 Then this message came to me from
The Lord:
12 “Say to these rebels of Israel:
Don’t you understand the meaning of this riddle of the eagles? The
king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took away her king and princes,
and brought them to Babylon.
13 He made a treaty with a member of
the royal family and forced him to take an oath of loyalty. He also
exiled Israel’s most influent leaders,
14 so Israel would not become strong
again and revolt. Only by keeping her treaty with Babylon could
Israel survive.
15 “Nevertheless, this man of
Israel’s royal family rebelled against Babylon, sending ambassadors
to Egypt to request a great army and many horses. Can Israel break
her sworn treaties like that and get away with it?
16 No! For as surely as I live, says
The Sovereign Lord, the king of Israel will die in Babylon, the land
of the king who put him in power and whose treaty he disregarded and
broke.
17 Pharaoh and all his mighty army
will fail to help Israel when the king of Babylon lays siege to
Jerusalem again and destroys many lives.
18 For the king of Israel
disregarded his treaty and broke it after swearing to obey;
therefore, he will not escape.
19 “So this is what The Sovereign
Lord says: As surely as I live, I will punish him for breaking My
covenant and disregarding the solemn oath he made in My name.
20 I will throw My net over him and
capture him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and put him on
trial for this treason against Me.
21 And all his best warriors will be
killed in battle, and those who survive will be scattered to the four
winds. Then you will know that I, The Lord, have spoken.
22 “This is what The Sovereign
Lord says: I will take a branch from the top of a tall cedar, and I
will plant it on the top of Israel’s highest mountain.
23 It will become a majestic cedar,
sending forth its branches and producing seed. Birds of every sort
will nest in it, finding shelter in the shade of its branches.
24 And all the trees will know that
it is I, The Lord, who cuts the tall tree down and makes the short
tree grow tall. It is I who makes the green tree wither and gives the
dead tree new life. I, The Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I
said!”
The
Players:
Zedekiah: Judah's last king.
Weak in military prowess, and weak in serving The Lord.
Nebuchadnezzar: Great Eagle #1,
Powerful (Head of gold) Babylonian king.
Jechoiachin: Three months and
ten days, king of Judah. Gave up under siege to Nebuchadnezzar, and
so his servants and officers were carried away into captivity.
Jechoiachin spent some 36 years in Babylonian prison. He is the Cedar
Branch spoken of in verse 3.
Lebanon: Jerusalem (verse 3).
Canaan: Godless Canaan, namely
Babylon, city of traders and merchants.
The Seed Of The Land: Verse 5,
Zedekiah and his family. The seed grew and became a spreading vine
vs. 6)
All seemed well. Zedekiah, though under
captivity and obligation of tribute (of those who remained), had
freedom and provision, courtesy of one King Nebuchadnezzar.
King Zedekiah had taken an oath to be
loyal and subservient to Nebuchadnezzar.
Old
Testament Teachings Concerning Oaths, that Zedekiah knew only too
well:
Oaths,
were a confession to The Lord and man, that a thing would be done.
Oaths,
were a type of announcement to one and all, that The Living God saw
all proceedings of man, and that when he swore an oath to God and
man, he must fulfill that oath, or pay a terrible penalty.
Numbers 30:2 KJV
If a man vow a vow unto The Lord, or
swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his
word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
Deuteronomy 6:13 KJV
Thou shalt fear The Lord thy God,
and serve Him, and shalt swear by His name.
Deuteronomy 10:20 KJV
Thou shalt fear The Lord thy God;
Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and swear by His
name.
Deuteronomy 23:21 KJV
When thou shalt vow a vow unto The
Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for The Lord thy God
will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
Ecclesiastes 5:4,5 KJV
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God,
defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which
thou hast vowed.
5 Better is it that thou shouldest
not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
Great Eagle #2:
The King (Pharaoh) of Egypt:
Ezekiel 17:7-10
NLT
7 But then another great eagle came
with broad wings and full
plumage.
So the vine now sent its
roots and branches
toward him for water,
8 even though it was already planted
in good soil
and had plenty of water
so it could grow into a splendid
vine
and produce rich leaves and
luscious fruit.
9 “So now The Sovereign Lord asks:
Will this vine grow and
prosper?
No! I will pull it up, roots and
all!
I will cut off its fruit
and let its leaves wither and
die.
I will pull it up easily
without a strong arm or a large
army.
Though the vine was living and growing
in luxury, under Nebuchadnezzar, and proud King Zedekiah had sworn an
oath to The Lord, to serve him, he was now changing his mind and
going after Egypt's King for its provisions.
II Kings 24:20 KJV
For through the anger of The Lord it
came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until He had cast them out from
His presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
So, what did The Lord think of this
reneging of King Zedekiah's sworn oath to The Lord and King
Nebuchadnezzar?
Ezekiel 17:10 NLT
10 But when the vine is
transplanted,
will it thrive?
No, it will wither away
when the east wind blows against
it.
It will die in the same good soil
where it had grown so well.”
Help from Egypt meant nothing in light
of the great power and might of King Nebuchadnezzar.
Judgment
For Disobedience:
II Kings 24:11 KJV
And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.
Jeremiah 24:1 KJV
The Lord shewed me, and, behold, two
baskets of figs were set before the temple of The Lord, after that
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the
son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the
carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to
Babylon.
Jeremiah 29:2 KJV
(After that Jeconiah the king, and
the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and
the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)
Ezekiel 17:19-21
NLT
19 “So this is what The Sovereign
Lord says: As surely as I live, I will punish him for breaking My
covenant and disregarding the solemn oath he made in My name.
20 I will throw My net over him and
capture him in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon and put him on
trial for this treason against Me.
21 And all his best warriors will be
killed in battle, and those who survive will be scattered to the four
winds. Then you will know that I, The Lord, have spoken.
God
Is Still In Control:
Ezekiel 17:22-24 NLT
22 “This is what The Sovereign
Lord says: I will take a branch from the top of a tall cedar, and I
will plant it on the top of Israel’s highest mountain.
23 It will become a majestic cedar,
sending forth its branches and producing seed. Birds of every sort
will nest in it, finding shelter in the shade of its branches.
24 And all the trees will know that
it is I, The Lord, who cuts the tall tree down and makes the short
tree grow tall. It is I who makes the green tree wither and gives the
dead tree new life. I, The Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I
said!”
Vs. 22 a branch from the top of a
tall cedar, a root from the house of David.
Vs 22 and I
will plant it on the top of Israel’s highest mountain. (A
Kingdom of Grace.)
Vs 23 It will become a majestic
cedar, sending forth its branches and producing seed. Birds of every
sort will nest in it, finding shelter in the shade of its branches.
(Under its branches will dwell all nations.)
Matthew 13:31,32
KJV
31 Another parable put He forth unto
them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard
seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32 Which indeed is the least of all
seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and
becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the
branches thereof.
Vs. 24 The tall
proud tree (King Zedekiah), has been cut down so that a lowly
tree may be tall.
Isaiah 53:1,2
KJV
1 Who hath believed our report? and
to whom is the arm of The Lord revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as
a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground..."
The Messiah, The
Branch, would arise from humble beginnings, of the house of David.
This Messiah, is
none other than the King of kings and Lord of lords, of His church,
and of His kingdom, through all the earth, will have no end.
