39 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
39 lines
2 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Ezekiel 17:16–24"
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date = "2023-04-16"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ezekiel17.16-24)
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Now that we understand that the vine in this chapter refers to the treacherous
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puppet king of Judah, the Lord tells us what shall happen to him. Because he
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betrayed Babylon, they will come and take him away to Babylon, and he will die
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there. Even though he made an appeal to Egypt, they will not help him.
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What is more interesting is the Lord's assertion that King Zedekiah broke his
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covenant with the Lord, and that is why disaster is falling upon him. The
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Lord's net will surround him, as we have read before, and therefore the
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Babylonians will be able to capture him. I don't know what specific oath or
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covenant Zedekiah broke with the Lord, but it might have something to do with
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allowing himself to be installed as king of Judah even though his nephew
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Jehoiachin still lived in exile. Or it might be that Zedekiah was trying to
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reverse the judgement of exile that God had already enacted against Judah
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through political and military means instead of following the statutes and
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proper worship of the Lord.
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The Lord informs us through Ezekiel that He remembers the cedar, and the
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promise that He made to David. One day, the Lord will re-establish the throne
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of the king of Israel by taking the very topmost twig of the cedar and planting
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it on a very high mountain. From there, it will grow into a "noble cedar" (_v.
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23_) and all nations will find shelter in its branches. Jehoiachin was exiled
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into Babylon, but he was eventually released from prison by Nebuchadnezzar's
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son (_2 Kings 25:27–30_) and continued the kingly line all the way to Jesus
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Christ. (_Matthew 1:12–16_) This assurance that the Lord remembers His promises
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to His people would have been very important for the exiles to hear, especially
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in the midst of hearing of such destruction and woe.
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* * *
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All things happen for Your purposes, from the acts of kings to the times and
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places children are born.
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