Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; that thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God (verses 60-63).
The covenant will be remembered and established as an everlasting covenant. Then Jerusalem will receive the elder and younger sister, Samaria and Sodom, not as sisters, but as daughters. They will be added in the coming days of blessing to Jerusalem. This, however, will not be done "by thy covenant," which means the law covenant but by "His covenant," the covenant of promise and of grace (xvi:8). "And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord." Of this great restoration and blessing in store for Jerusalem we shall hear much in the closing visions of Ezekiel.
THE PARABLE OF THE TWO EAGLES. THE CEDAR
AND THE VINE.
Chapter xvii.
The Prophet is once more commanded to speak in a parable to the house of Israel. In this parable there is again portrayed the sin of Jerusalem, and the treacherous character of corrupt Zedekiah. Like the sixteenth chapter it ends with another restoration promise, which will find its future fulfilment when God in sovereign grace exalts the branch of David. This will take place when Messiah will be King and rules in righteousness.
I. The Parable of the Two Eagles.
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel: And say, Thus saith the Lord God; A great eagle with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants. He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? It shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? It shall wither in the furrows where it grew (verses 1-10).
The great eagle mentioned first is Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon. "For thus saith the Lord: Behold he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab" (Jer. xlviii:40). "Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah" (Jer. xlix:22). When Daniel saw the Babylonian Empire rising out of the sea it was in the form of a lion with eagle's wings (Daniel vii:1-2). Nebuchadnezzar had been constituted by God the first great monarch of the times of the Gentiles after the complete apostasy of Israel. Thus Jeremiah had announced it (Jer. xxvii:5, etc.), and Daniel also told the King, "Thou, O King, art a King of Kings, for the God of heaven hath given thee a Kingdom, power, and strength and glory" (Dan. ii:37). Ezekiel's parable describes him as a great eagle with great wings and long-winged, denoting his great power and the vast dominion which belonged to him. "Full of feathers" pictures the multitude of his subjects and the "divers colors" the different nations of his empire.
This eagle, Nebuchadnezzar, came to Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar. He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants. The cedar of Lebanon is the symbol of the royal house of David, which was conquered by the eagle. The top of his young twigs, whom Nebuchadnezzar cropped off and carried into the city of merchants, Babylon, describes Jehoiakim and his captivity (2 Kings xxiv:1-5) (2 Chron. xxxvi:6-7). Then Nebuchadnezzar made Mattaniah, the youngest son of Josiah, King over Judah, and changed his name to Zedekiah. This action of the King of Babylon is described in verse 5. And Zedekiah might have done well if he had held to the King who had set him into the place of authority. He was placed like a willow tree beside great waters, so that he became a spreading vine of low stature; his roots were under him, which means, he was dependent upon Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings xxiv:17). The other great eagle, whom Ezekiel mentions in his parable, is Hophra, the King of Egypt. To this king Zedekiah turned for help: "This vine bent her roots towards him." Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. Verse 8 describes the opportunity which had been given to Zedekiah and verses 9-10 announces his judgment. The sin and treacherous dealings of Zedekiah is shown in the next verses.
II. The Interpretation and Application of the Parable.