2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We continue in a God-directed examination of examples from the Scriptures of the impact of the oneness of the covenant relationship on the people. Today, we will look at the Parable of the Two Eagles and the Vine from EZK 17: 1-20. Remember that Ezekiel was the spiritual leader from 593-560 BC of a group of Jewish captives living in the Chebar River settlement, an offshoot of the Euphrates River in Babylonia. Verses 1-10 are the story of the parable itself, as the Lord told it to Ezekiel. A giant eagle with beautiful feathers and huge wings flew to the Lebanon Mountains and broke off the top twig of a cedar tree. He carried it to the “land of commerce” and placed it in a “city of merchants” (1-4). Then the eagle took a young plant from the land of Israel and planted it in a fertile field, where there was always water to make it grow. The plant spouted and became a low, wide-spreading grapevine. The branches grew upward toward the eagle, and the roots grew deep. The vine was covered with branches and leaves (5-6). There was another giant eagle, and the vine began growing toward it, in the hope that it would give even more water than there was in the garden where the vine was growing (7-8). The Lord then asks: “Will this vine live and grow? Will the first eagle not pull it up by its roots, pull off the grapes, and break off the branches and let them wither? It will not take much strength or a mighty nation to pull it up. Yes, it is planted, but will it live and grow? Will it not wither there where it is growing?” (9-10).
In verses 11-20, the Lord Himself explains the parable. The first eagle represents King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, and the top twig of the cedar tree represents King Jehoiachin of Judah, who was carried off to Babylonia in 605 BC at the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity. I admit to initially being a bit confused about using the word “Lebanon” for Jerusalem here, but we must remember that the modern country of Lebanon was part of Israel in 605 BC. The “land of commerce” in this parable is Babylonia, and the “city of merchants” is Babylon, Babylonia’s capital city. Verse 13 explains that the “king’s offspring” is Judah’s King Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s son who had been set up as a “vassal king” by Nebuchadnezzar to remain back in Judah. Zedekiah is also referred to “a low-spreading vine with branches that grew up toward a second eagle.” This represents the fact that King Zedekiah turned to the Egyptian pharoah, Hophra, for help with delivering the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity. It is the pharaoh, Hophra, who is the second eagle in this parable. Verse 19 is key to this story, as it is a direct reference to 2 CH 36: 13, which relates that King Zedekiah broke his covenant with Pharaoh Hophra by rebelling against King Nebuchadnezzar when the latter tried to get Zedekiah to swear in God’s name that he would be loyal to the Babylonian ruler. This was like breaking a covenant with God, in God’s eyes. Zedekiah’s rebellion here and his refusal to listen to the prophet Jeremiah regarding his sins led God to the decision that He would allow the turning of Zedekiah over to his enemies. As a result, Zedekiah was carried off to Babylon where he would die, and Pharaoh Hophra wouldn’t be able to help Judah bring the Babylonian Captivity to an early end.
Once again in this parable, we can see some over-riding truths. To begin, God was always in charge throughout these historical events. God’s compassion can be seen in the opportunities along the way, prior to Nebuchadnezzar’s taking King Jehoiachin captive with the others for Judah, to repent of the sins that the prophet Jeremiah spoke about. Even after the initial wave of Jews being taken captive, King Zedekiah had an opportunity to repent of his sins and possibly get help from Egypt. But his stiff-necked refusal only mirrored that of the Jewish people, so the Lord knew He would have to demonstrate His righteousness by going on with the planned punishment of the Jews. Once again, we see in this story the demonstration of what happens when the covenant relationship is broken. At this point in their history, the Jews had not only broken their covenant with God leading to this punishment, but they also broke their covenant with the Egyptian pharaoh, who might have been able to help them out of their misery. The bottom line is that those who keep their covenant agreements are blessed and protected. Those who break them suffer many negative consequences.
It would hardly be worthwhile to study a parable like this one without paying attention to the lessons in it for us today. The essence of this story is willingness to obey God. When we consider some of the economic pacts we have made with our sworn enemies today, we can see that mankind has not really learned the lessons from the Scriptures that took place in our past. We must ask ourselves: Are we really obeying God based on the discernment that we can get from studying the Scriptures? While I don’t intend to make political statements here, I do hope that I have raised the questions in our minds as to the wisdom of some of the political and economic agreements we have with countries that don’t share our same values or hold the Bible as sacred. In the final analysis, we must acknowledge that God is our One Supreme and Sovereign Deity, Who has the sacred right to be the Lord of our lives and Who is the ultimate Source of power in the universe. He is our rightful and loving Covenant Partner.
PRAYER: O Lord, the message You have given me to share today raises two questions. Why does mankind still refuse to accept You as their Sovereign Deity, and why do they insist on not learning from the lessons You teach them through history? Certainly the answer involves a persistence in sinful lack of faith. The length of the Babylonian Captivity was seventy years, one decade for each of the times that the Jewish people didn’t observe the Year of Sabbath Rest [LV 25: 1-7; 2 CH 36: 13; JER 25: 11; JER 29: 10]. You were then and always will be exercising Your sovereign rights as Lord in demanding our obedience in the oneness of our covenant relationship with You. Your sovereign power comes along with great love, patience, and compassion for Your children. Yet too often, we don’t recognize this. We approach You today to confess our short-comings, weakness or lack of faith, and refusal at times to acknowledge Your supreme authority over us. We also humbly turn to You, understanding that no command You ever give us is for evil purpose or to bring about our ruination. Today, we dedicate ourselves to a better understanding of Your teachings through study of the word and to improve our prayer lives. We promise to be diligent in the carrying out of our covenant agreements with You and to make You the Lord of our individual lives. Because it is only what You deserve, we humbly offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and heartfelt thanks. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at the story of how the priest, Ezra, came to help the newly-returned Jews (from Babylonian Captivity) renew their covenant agreements with God. These stories give us a better understanding of how important and precious our own covenant relationship with God really is. Throughout all of this study on covenants, God’s profound love should never be lost on us. It is real and dynamic. It is with each of us every day. It extends to wise advice, encouragement, protection, provision, and so much more. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn