A Riddle, A Question, A Promise

A Riddle, A Question, A Promise Ezekiel 17 Emmanuel Christian Church 7.14.24 INTRODUCTION: It’s been quite a while since we last considered the Book of Ezekiel. So as we return to this portion of God’s Word, it would be good for us to review a few important details.

After over 400 years as a nation led by human kings, God is in the process of judging His people for their many sins and failure to keep covenant with Him.
In 607 BC, the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar attacks Jerusalem and takes into exile the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel along with many others.
Daniel is God’s prophet to the Palace of Babylon, Ezekiel is God’s prophet to the people taken into Babylonian exile.
All of these events took place at God’s direction. Their purpose was to gain the attention of His own rebellious people and to turn their hearts back to Himself. PROPOSITION: The account of God’s discipline of His people continues on in Ezekiel 17. It contains three things: A Riddle, A Question and A Promise. A Riddle
Before we get to the riddle, let me make a few observations:
The word translated in our text “allegory” is probably better understood by the term “riddle”. The second word “parable” is a word we’re fairly familiar with.
God’s point is this: He’s about to tell a tricky story to His people! But why does God do that? Three possible reasons:
Sometimes to make a simple but powerful truth VERY CLEAR to EVERYONE listening.
Sometimes to HIDE the truth from those with sin hardened hearts.
Sometimes to REVEAL the truth to His TARGET AUDIENCE- which in this case, it is a message of information and encouragement to the exiled Jews living in Babylon.
Now, remember, 900 miles and a four month journey lay between Babylon and Jerusalem. But God wanted the exiles in Babylon to know that He was actively engaged in the events of their distant homeland, that His plans would come to pass, and that there was coming a day when He would bring them back home. Ezekiel 17:1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set forth an allegory (riddle) and tell the house of Israel a parable. 3 Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar, 4 he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders. Ezekiel 17:5 “‘He took some of the seed of your land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water, 6 and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs. Ezekiel 17:7 “‘But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water. 8 It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine.’ Ezekiel 17:9 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots. 10 Even if it is transplanted, will it thrive? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it — wither away in the plot where it grew?’” A Question Ezekiel 17:11 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 12 “Say to this rebellious house, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Say to them: ‘The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back with him to Babylon. 13 Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men of the land, 14 so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty. 15 But the king rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape? Ezekiel 17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, he shall die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives. 18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.
Time for a quick history lesson. (LOOK closely at verses 11-14)
In March of 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar invaded and captured the city of Jerusalem, ending its independence- making it one of Babylon’s occupied territories.
Nebuchadnezzar did what he always did in such circumstances- he hauled off the “best and brightest” of the land (this is how Daniel, his friends, and Ezekiel ended up in Babylon), and he installed a new king of his choosing to rule over his newly conquered possession.
This toady king was named Mattaniah; whom Nebuchadnezzar renamed “Zedekiah”.
As long as Zedekiah did as he was told by the home office in Babylon, all would be well.
Verse 15 moves from a history lesson to a NEWS HEADLINE back in Jerusalem, taking place at that very moment!
Zedekiah had become dissatisfied as a puppet king for Babylon.
He got the idea in his head that he could, with Egypt’s help, raise an army able to throw off the yoke of Babylon.
But Zedekiah had forgotten some very important things:
The reason that God’s people were in subjection to Nebuchadnezzar was that they had forsaken their pledge of faithfulness to their covenant with God.
Jerusalem was in subjection and the exiles were in Babylon because God was teaching them a lesson about the cost of their unfaithfulness to Him.
That lesson was scheduled to take a full 70 years.
A military alliance with Egypt was doomed to fail.
King Zedekiah himself, would be brutally deposed and taken to Babylon for judgment. APPLICATION: Zedekiah was a godless king leading godless people. His arrogance closed his ears to the words of God’s prophet Jeremiah and led him to make foolish and self-destructive choices. So, what are we to learn from his “good/bad” example? The wisdom of Solomon sums it up very simply: Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man. Proverbs 14:34Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. And this, from the New Testament: 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. A PromiseEzekiel 17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, I will bring down on his head my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke. 20 I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there because he was unfaithful to me. 21 All his fleeing troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken. Ezekiel 17:22 “‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. 24 All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. “‘I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.’”
So what was the Covenant Zedekiah had despised? It was the very one Moses had reminded God’s people of just before they entered the Promised Land= the land that now they were to be torn from! It’s found back in Deuteronomy 28: Deuteronomy 28:1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: Deuteronomy 28:9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity — in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground — in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. ON THE OTHER HAND… Deuteronomy 28:15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:Deuteronomy 28:20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.
The time had finally come- Judgment Day was just around the corner!
Look at verses 20 &21.
Zedekiah’s alliance with Egypt was a complete failure.
Zedekiah’s army was indeed destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.
Zedekiah himself was forced to watch the beheading of his sons, after which they gouged out his eyes and led him in chains to Babylon!
On July 19th, in the year 586 BC the walls of Jerusalem were torn down, the Temple was burned and the city was laid waste. APPLICATION: Terrible! Words cannot begin to describe the final chapter of Zedekiah’s reign and the destruction of Jerusalem. Such are the wages of sin when men and nations turn their hearts from God.
Thankfully, that is NOT where our story ends however!
Look at verses 22-24 again…
This is God’s promise of the RESTORATION of His people.
In the year 537 BC, 59 years later, and exactly 70 years since the first deportation of God’s people to Babylon, God took a tiny cedar shoot from among the exiles in Babylon and returned them to Jerusalem to begin the rebuilding of the city and restoration of His people. CONCLUSION: Here’s the hard truth: mankind is broken, rebellious and sinful. We’re surprised when God’s righteous judgment falls upon our lives or upon our nation. But God is far more than a God of judgment- He is long-suffering and gracious and full of mercy! As David, Israel’s greatest king observed: Psalm 103:8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Zedekiah and the people of Judah failed in only one critical thing: to repent and turn toward God- a choice for which they suffered greatly. As we leave this chapter, only one question remains: Will we as individuals and as a nation choose better?