Growing strong in the Vine

A glance back at chapter 18 helps us understand the Lord speaks these words and Ezekiel simply records them. Every print version (single- or double-column) of Ezekiel 19 I have read formats this chapter in verse instead of prose. The lament contains allegorical imagery to describe Israel’s demise and destruction as part of their punishment from the Lord.

You’ll notice a slightly different format this week, with Scripture verses not included. I wanted to keep the post short enough to read, and dividing it in two parts left us hanging at an awkward place. Let me know which format you prefer.

Read Ezekiel 19:1-4.

• God instructed Ezekiel and his readers to mourn the death of their nation.
• Israel, or Jerusalem, fulfilled the role of a mother lioness that raised a prince to become a strong leader, or king.
• This cub, her offspring, was aggressive.
• The “strong lion’s” actions refer to those “of Jehoahaz against his countrymen as he tore them as a lion would tear its prey.”¹
• The nations heard about this prince, Prince Jehoahaz,² and trapped him.
• They led him away to Egypt as a prisoner of war.³

*How might these events fit Israel’s offenses against the Lord?

Read Ezekiel 19:5-7.

• Israel’s hope and expectation for the first prince was dashed.
• Their hope would be lost in their captivity.
• Ezekiel’s overall prophecy encouraged Israel to “wait with hope” for God’s deliverance.⁴
• She raised up another cub, Jehoiakim, to be strong.⁵
• He not only devoured men, he broke strongholds (NASB fortified towers), and devastated towns.
• He terrified his prey.
• The original wording different light on Jehoiakim’s actions.
• He knew Israel’s strengths and weaknesses.
• He roared like a lion and the land became desolate and destroyed—action words.⁶

*What is significant about Jehoiakim’s actions?

*What do we know about God’s promise of hope for deliverance?

 Read Ezekiel 19:8-9.

• The nations spread a net and captured this prince as well.
• His captors carried him off to Babylon and put him in prison.
• This prison, or cage, may have contained “corpses of God’s people.”⁷

*What effect do you imagine their king’s imprisonment had on the people?

Read Ezekiel 19:10-12.

• God doesn’t want His people to miss His role in their lives.
• At one time, Israel was like a fruitful vine in a vineyard, walking with God.
• “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. … Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. … If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” (John 15:1, 4, 6).
• When following the Lord, Israel stood high above the other nations, exalted as God’s people.
• The people flourished, following the Lord’s command to be fruitful.
• They produced offspring (His people) and fruit (worship and sacrifice to the Sovereign Lord).
• Verses 11 and 12 describe imagery similar to the vine and cedar depicted in chapter 17.
• In case they missed it the first time, these verses include four different words for branches.
• God painted descriptive Word pictures.
• Perhaps the passive voice used here emphasizes God’s role in Israel’s punishment:
• In His fury, the Lord tore the nation out by its roots.
• He cast it to the ground.
• He caused the hot east wind from Babylon to shrivel and wither the once-fruitful vine.
• Included in this word picture is the imagery that branches were violently broken, as Israel was “ripped and torn apart by her enemies.”⁸
• The vine experienced the fire of God’s wrath, which consumed and devoured them.
• Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:23-24).

*What was God’s role in Israel and what had He done for His people in the past?

*Why do you think this Word picture is similar to the allegory in chapter 17?

*How might we respond to God’s message in these verses?

 Read Ezekiel 19:13-14.

• God planted (or transplanted) His vine, Israel, in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land.
• You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1).
• God’s consuming fire devoured whatever Israel might have produced.
• No branch remained that was strong enough to support an earthly king.
• Another definition of “lamentation” in this chapter is strong emotion, or jealousy.
• This fits in with what we know about God and His role as Israel’s only true King and King of all Kings forever.
• God reminded his readers to seriously consider His Words and mourn the loss of their nation.

*With the additional information about what “lamentation” means in this passage, what do we learn about God’s purpose and character?

*How did God use Israel’s captivity to rebuild the nation spiritually?

*What relevance does this chapter have for us today?

Earlier this week in a different Bible study, we spent time considering on what God has done in the past. Such reflections help increase our faith and trust in God. Ezekiel’s message also helps us learn more about God’s character, which strengthens our relationship with Him.

 

1. Warren Baker, D.R.E., Eugene Carpenter, Ph.D. The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: Old Testament. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003) 552
2. Ibid., 1125
3. Ibid., 328
4. Ibid., 444
5. The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order. Narration by F. LaGard Smith. (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1984). 1060; (confirmed Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Isaiah to Malachi. Volume IV. (McLean, VA: Macdonald Publishing Company; preface 1712 Matthew Henry; two other commentaries) (spelling https://biblehub.com/searchstrongs.php?q=Jehoiakim)
6. Baker, 373, 482
7. Ibid., 770
8. Ibid., 923

 

 

enemies.”⁸