Monday, March 21, 2016
Bible Lesson: Parables Of The Old Testament: The Wasted Vine
Bible Lesson: Parables Of The Old
Testament: The Wasted Vine
Spoken By: Ezekiel
Location: Babylon
Bible Text:
Ezekiel 19:10-14 KJV
10 Thy mother
is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was
fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
11 And she had
strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature
was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height
with the multitude of her branches.
12 But she was
plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east
wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered;
the fire consumed them.
13 And now she
is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.
14 And fire is
gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so
that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a
lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
The Players:
The Mother like
a Vine (Metaphor):
Both Israel and Jerusalem.
The East Wind
and Fire: Babylon.
The Scepter:
God's royal people, who were once safe and strong in their obedience
to The Lord.
Furious East Wind
and fire: Babylon.
When Israel obeyed
the voice of The Lord, she was like a luxuriously strong and healthy
Vine, growing in the land of milk and honey, Canaan (Vs.10 &11).
Psalm 80:7,8 KJV
7 Turn us again, O God Of Hosts, and
cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
8 Thou hast brought a vine out
of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
But something
happened, “and her stature was
exalted among the thick branches,
and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.”
Vs 11.
She
became exalted among all other nations.
Judah's
King Zedekiah, formed alliances with Egypt and others, breaking any
commitment to Babylon, meaning complete destruction by the Chaldeans.
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.
What was the result
of her sinful rebelion and pride?
Ezekiel 17:18-21
KJV
18 Seeing he despised the oath by
breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done
all these things, he shall not escape.
19 Therefore thus saith The Lord
God; As I live, surely Mine oath that he hath despised, and My
covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own
head.
20 And 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 hath
trespassed against Me.
21 And all his fugitives with all
his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be
scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I The Lord have
spoken it.
Ezekiel 19:12-14 KJV
12
But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and
the east wind dried up her fruit: her
strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.
13 And now she
is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground
(Babylon).
14 And fire
is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit,
so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule.
II KIngs
24:14-16 KJV
14 And he (Nebuchadnezzar) carried
away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of
valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths:
none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to
Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his
officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity
from Jerusalem to Babylon.
16 And all the men of might, even
seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were
strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive
to Babylon.
Judah was in
captivity, and all her royal leaders, there would be no more noble
kings to lead her.
Psalm 110:1,2
AMP
1 The Lord (Father) says to my Lord
(The Messiah, His Son),
“Sit at My right hand Until I make
Your enemies a footstool for Your feet [subjugating them into
complete submission].”
2 The Lord will send the scepter of
Your strength from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of Your
enemies.”
This elegy shows
the sorrow of the prophet Ezekiel.
Pride and self-will
has not only been the downfall of men, but of nations, as history
shows.
Pride:
Psalm 59:12 KJV
For the sin of their mouth and the
words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for
cursing and lying which they speak.
Psalm 138:6 NLT
Though The Lord is great, He cares
for the humble, but He keeps His distance from the proud.
Proverbs 8:13
KJV
The fear of The Lord is to hate
evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth,
do I hate.
Proverbs 11:2
KJV
When pride cometh, then cometh
shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Proverbs
16:18,19 KJV
18 Pride goeth before destruction,
and an haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better it is to be of an humble
spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Proverbs 22:4
KJV
By humility and the fear of the Lord
are riches, and honor, and life.
Proverbs 29:23
KJV
A man's pride shall bring him low:
but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Isaiah 2:11,12
KJV
11 The lofty looks of man shall be
humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and
The Lord alone shall be exalted in
that day.
12 For the day of The Lord Of Hosts
shall be upon every one that is proud and
Isaiah 57:15 KJV
For thus saith The High And Lofty
One That Inhabiteth Eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high
and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble
spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart
of the contrite ones.
Micah 6:8 KJV
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is
good; and what doth The Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Zechariah 9:9
NLT
Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in
triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious, yet
He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.
Malachi 4:1 KJV
For, behold, the day cometh, that
shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do
wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them
up, saith The Lord Of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root
nor branch.
Matthew 11:29,30
KJV
29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn
of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy, and My
burden is light.
Matthew 16:24
KJV
Then said Jesus unto His disciples,
If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me.
Matthew 18:4 KJV
Whosoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.
Luke 1:51,52 NLT
51 His mighty arm has done
tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from
their thrones and exalted the humble.
Luke 14:10 KJV
But when thou art bidden, go and sit
down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may
say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in
the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
Luke 18:9-14 KJV
9 And He spake this parable unto
certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and
despised others:
10 Two men went up into the temple
to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote
upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to
his house justified rather than the other: for every one that
exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall
be exalted.
Luke 22:24-27
NLT
24 Then they began to argue among
themselves about who would be the greatest among them.
25 Jesus told them, “In this world
the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are
called ‘friends of the people.’
26 But among you it will be
different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the
lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
27 Who is more important, the one
who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the
table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
John 13:5,15 KJV
5 After that He poureth water into a
bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with
the towel wherewith He was girded.
15 For I have given you an example,
that ye should do as I have done to you.
Romans 12:3,16
KJV
3 For I say, through the grace given
unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God
hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
16 Be of the same mind one toward
another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.
Be not wise in your own conceits.
Philippians 2:8
KJV
And being found in fashion as A Man,
He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross.
James 4:6,10 KJV
6 But He giveth more grace.
Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto
the humble.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of
The Lord, and He shall lift you up.
I Peter 2:21 KJV
For even hereunto were ye called:
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye
should follow His steps:
I Peter 5:5 KJV
Likewise, ye younger, submit
yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another,
and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth
grace to the humble.
I John 2:16 KJV
For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Lucifer's Pride:
Isaiah 14:12-14
KJV
12 How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the
stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in
the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the
heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to
hell, to the sides of the pit.
Ezekiel 28:12-19
KJV
12 "...Thou sealest up the sum,
full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden
of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz,
and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire,
the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy
tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou
wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that
covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of
God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways
from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy
merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and
thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the
mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the
midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up
because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of
thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee
before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries
by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy
traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee,
it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth
in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the
people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never
shalt thou be any more."...