The very powerful parable of the two eagles. Choose wisely.
We're in the parable section of Ezekiel. The previous parable was the adulterous woman. This one is about two eagle according to my NASB95 headings.
The Lord speaks to Ezekiel and tells them to put forth a riddle and a parable.
According to the Ryrie Study Bible footnote, a riddle is an obscure thought that needs interpretation, while a parable is an illustration.
The first eagle is great—great wings, long pinions, full color plumage. This eagle travels to Lebanon and pulls the top young twigs and brought it to a and of merchants. He sets it in a city of traders. (Which is not to say he planted it. Just set it.) This eagle also took some seeds and planted them in fertile soil with plenty of water. This seed became a low spreading vine with branches that turned toward him. Meanwhile the roots were underground, which produced shoots, which produced more branches.
There is also a second great eagle, also with great wings and much plumage. In this case, the vine bend its roots toward this second eagle and sent out it's branches toward him from the beds where it had been planted in order to get the second eagle to water it. This branch had been planted in good soil beside abundant water so that it could bear good fruit.
Before we go on to God's question about this contrast, here's what I see. The first eagle moved a young twig from Lebanon to a city of traders. He also planted a seed in a way that it could thrive and grow up to bear fruit. The underground root system led to a vine and one of the branches that grew up from that vine decides for itself what it wants to do. It sees a second great eagle and decides to tear it's own roots up to grasp at this second eagle. It also forces its branches toward the second eagle in order to beg for some water, even though it has abundant water available where it's planted.
In short, the new branch has torn up it's roots and forced its branches out of their natural alignment all to attract a second eagle that had nothing to do with it's original origin or care. Now with the roots torn up, it cannot get the water that had been made available to it and for some reason has decided the second eagle will provide for it.
The Lord asks if this new branch in all of its terrible decisions will thrive. Will the second eagle provide everything this branch needs (and already had) or will the eagle tear up the vine, shriveling it with the roots completely torn off?
Before we move on to the parable that follows, I'd like to camp here for a minute. I ran out of time the other day to finish this post and I'm so glad I had time to ponder this passage. It is a truly potent image of the choice we often make in life.
Here's choice 1:
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:3
I love this verse. i think of it often. To be planted by the water. To bear fruit and prosper. What a blessing. Don't we all want that. Water is life and have it readily available at all times! Amazing!
Here's choice 2:
The woman of folly is boisterous,
She is naive and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by the high places of the city,
15 Calling to those who pass by,
Who are making their paths straight:
16 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”
And to him who lacks understanding she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of Sheol. Proverbs 9:13-18
Follow a stupid, slutty girl into an alleyway and get shanked to death.
Streams of living water or death by lusty stupidity? Which way will you turn?
Seems obvious, doesn't it? But in our eagle and branch parable above we see how it happens. You're growing along rooted in rich, watered soil and then a great eagle flies by. You think you're missing out so you throw your energy and strength in the direction of this second eagle so hard that you uproot yourself from your source of life.
I wish I was just warning others not to be stupid. Because I do see it all around me in others. We're watching a documentary about a man who collected hundreds of thousands of comic books while he family languished, emotionally. Now the son has to figure out what to do with this valuable collection. A sub-theme of the documentary is the obsession that grips collectors of anything. When we throw ourselves at that second eagle, something has to give. You cannot stay rooted rooted where you were planted when you tear up your own roots. And as I often point out lately, those destructive choices ALWAYS affect others, even when you don't want to believe that.
But it's not just others. This parable hit me so hard because I can so clearly see how stupid my own behavior is. Fish don't know what water is because it just is. It is everything and everywhere to them. And we don't know that we're thriving because we're planted next to the water. We take it for granted because we're getting what we need, so we just assume that's our baseline. We'll always have that, so we are free to follow the second eagle. But we're not free when our roots are pulled up. We're actually dying.
With that in mind, we turn back to the text in verse 11. Here the Lord spells out the parable as it pertains to the current situation of the captives in Babylon observing what happened back in Judah.
11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and princes and brought them to him in Babylon. 3 He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, Ezekiel 17:11-13
So the Lord lays it more clearly than I ever remember a parable or riddle being explained: Nebuchadnezzar brings Judah's royalty and leaders to Babylon and makes a covenant with them. Nebuchadnezzar agrees to keep them as subjects under him so they can continue. Keep in mind, we know from the book of Daniel that at this same time the Lord is working closely with Nebuchadnezzar in a way we rarely see Him do with foreign leaders. This shows us that He is still providing and protecting Judah even while their are under judgement. Does Judah use this opportunity to reflect and seek the Lord? No, they do not.
We learn that the royalty who made a covenant with Nebuchadnezzar rebels and runs (once again) to Egypt to try and round up horses and troops.
No matter how much the Lord does for Israel, directly or indirectly, they (we) always seem to run to Egypt (the world), assuming that they (we) know best.
God asks the same question about the rebellious Judah leadership as He asked about the stupid branch reaching for the second eagle:
Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? Ezekiel 17:15b
God gave them the Promise Land and they broke their covenant. Under judgement, He provided a soft landing in Babylon, where they broke another covenant with a human leader. What are the odds that they will succeed? What should we expect when we repeatedly choose the world to meet our needs?
In verse 16, the Lord explicitly states that this rebellious leader will die. He also makes it clear that the Egyptian Pharaoh will not be able to help. This king will be brought to Babylon for judgement and punishment. His mighty men will be slaughtered. The rest of his people scattered.
Always remember the audience of this message from Ezekiel. This is not meant as a warning to Judah's royalty, or even the Pharaoh, but to the CAPTIVES in Babylon. "Give up hope for the second eagle! Abandon your fantasies that your obsessions will meet your needs! Before it is too late!"
And now for the good news for you and me. God always makes a way. And this way will come through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. The final Kingdom will come and the madness will pass away:
22 Thus says the Lord God, “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and set it out; I will pluck from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches. 24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.” Ezekiel 17: 22-24
Praise His Holy Name, people. Sing His praises. Look at this beautiful ray of hope that we receive after a thorough review of our wicked and stupid nature. He will make a way for all people to return to His holy mountain and make shade for us to nest. He will make it so.
What an amazing example of the gospel. A clear image of our tireless stupidity and obsession with the world; but redeemed by the One big enough to save us all! Hallelujah!
Amen.