Two Eagles and a Vine
Ezekiel 17:1-10
"The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell the house of Israel a parable. 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, he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders. He took some of the seed of your land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water, 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.” “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. It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine.’” “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. 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?’”
As I looked over the verses of lectionary readings for this day, and saw the title of this passage, 2 eagles and a vine, I was intrigued and maybe it sparked some curiosity in you as well. So what is the historical context of this parable?
At the time this word of God came to the prophet Ezekiel he was in Babylon where he had been taken into captivity together with the elite of Judah, like Daniel and his friends. The first eagle in this parable, represents the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, who “took the top of a cedar”, the king of Judah, together with other leading citizens of Judah, and brought them to Babylon. He left Zedekiah, the “seed” which became a “vine”, in Judah and made him king. A treaty was established in which Zedekiah promised allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar. But Zedekiah then turned around, broke the treaty and sought help from the king of Egypt, the 2nd eagle, to fight Babylon- he “sent out his roots toward this 2nd eagle” instead of drawing its nourishment from the good soil. Egypt did nothing for Zedekiah and the result of this rebellion was that his sons were killed by the sword and he himself, the last king of Judah, was taken into Babylon in a cruel way and died there.
A little further down in the chapter in verses 18-19 the Lord says about Zedekiah: “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. 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.”
God took it very seriously that Zedekiah made a covenant with the king of Babylon and then broke it. Covenants in that time were often sealed by the name of a deity. Zedekiah swore his oath in the name of the Lord, and therefore it was not just a political action but a spiritual transgression.
This judgement of God against Zedekiah tells us that God is very serious about keeping His Word, His promises and He asks us to do the same. We are to display faithfulness and integrity not only in situations when we are around our brothers and sisters in Christ, but also and maybe even more importantly so, in the world, around unbelievers. It is difficult to accept that God places us or leaves us sometimes in situations & around people where we do not want to be. Like Zedekiah we become anxious when we feel we lose control over our situations. We pray for God to take us out of those difficult places, we pray that by His mighty deliverance from trying situations His Name will be glorified. We pray for an easier life, a life in which we certainly can serve our God a whole lot better in our opinion! But sometimes we are asked to stay in it, to walk through it and to keep our hearts faithful to Him even though it doesn’t make sense, and we do not see a purpose. In our culture we learn to be independent, to take care of ourselves, we are commended by those around us when we can fix things on our own, when we are self-reliant. So when we find ourselves in difficult situations we might try to manipulate our way out of it, and like Zedekiah seek it in ways where God does not call us to go, anxiously trying to take back control over our lives that we never had in the first place. Yet the Bible teaches us that the Christian life is a life of dependence, we were never intended to play the role of the one in control. We are called to be faithful and dependent on the One who IS in control, our Sovereign Lord. We do not always have to have the answers but we have to listen to and be near the One who does! God calls us to be faithful, to seek Him in our confusion & our pain. And when we do, we can trust that He will make our path straight. Not we ourselves, no He, our faithful sovereign and loving Father, will make our path straight.
Dear Lord, it is so hard sometimes to surrender and open our hearts to you when we are overwhelmed with pain & uncertainty, when we think we ought to do something instead of waiting for you. Help us Lord, that we may come to you with all of it, instead of trusting in ourselves, so that you will be able to direct our ways and give us your peace.
Blessings by Laura Story
