Ezekiel 17
From Ezekiel's Journal
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| Photo Courtesy |
This time, God asked me to tell His message using a allegory. An allegory is story with a meaning.
"A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of different colors came to Lebanon.
"Taking hold of the top of a cedar, the eagle broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants. He planted it in a city of traders. (This eagle is God)
"The eagle took some of the seed from the land and put it in rich soil. He planted it like a willow by a place where clean water flowed. The cedar sprouted and became a low spreading vine. Its branches turned up toward the eagle, but its roots remained under the soil. So it became a vine and formed branches putting out leafy branches.
"But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full of plumage. (This eagle is the king of Babylon) The vine now set out its roots toward the new eagle from the plot of land where it was planted. It reached out its branches to this new eagle for water, even though it was planted in good soil before and near delicious, clean water. And even though it grew tasty fruit where it was first planted."
God asked, "Will it grow strong in the new place. Won't someone come along and pull the vine up and take away its beautiful fruit so that the plant dies? All the new growth will wither. It won't even take a strong arm or many people to pull the vine up by the roots in the new place. Even if someone transplants it to a good place, will it thrive? No. It will wither completely when the east wind strikes it."
The house of Israel is just like this. The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back to Babylon. Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, forcing him to promise to do what the king said. The king of Babylon also took away the leaders of the land so the people would not be lead. This forced the people in the land to obey the king of Babylon.
"The king of the land rebelled against the king of Babylon. He sent men to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he escape?
"No. He will die in Babylon in the land of the king who put this man on the throne in Jerusalem. Because this man wanted to serve other gods and please other men instead of enjoying the wonderful things I gave, he will not escape."
This is what God asked me to tell the prisoners in Babylon.
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1. Who was the first eagle?
2. Who was the second eagle?
3. Who did the king of Israel decide to follow, the first eagle or the second?
4. What will happen to the king of Israel?
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