Ezekiel 17:11-21

B. The Explanation of the Eagle Parable 17:11-21

TRANSLATION

(11) Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me saying, Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Say: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king and its princes and brought them to him in Babylon. (13) And he took of the royal seed and made a covenant with him, and brought him under an oath; and the mighty of the land he took away; (14) that it might be a lowly kingdom, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand. (15) But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors to Egypt that he might give to him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall the one who does these things escape? shall he break the covenant and escape? (16) As I live (oracle of the Lord GOD), surely in the place where the king caused him to reign, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. (17) Neither shall Pharaoh with mighty army and great company assist him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build siege forts, to cut off many lives; (18) seeing that he despised an oath by breaking a covenant, and, behold, he gave his hand, and has done all these things, he shall not escape. (19) Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely My oath which he despised, and My covenant which he broke, I will even bring it upon his head. (20) And I will spread My net over him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and I will plead with him there because of his treachery which he committed against Me. (21) And all his mighty men[327] in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and the rest shall be scattered toward every wind; and you shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.

[327] This reading is supported by many Hebrew manuscripts. The standard (Masoretic) text reads hid fugitives.

COMMENTS

So that the meaning of his parable would be absolutely clear, Ezekiel was commanded to offer an interpretation of it to that rebellious house (the kingdom of Judah). He begins with a rhetorical question which is designed to rebuke the spiritual obtuseness of his hearers: Do you not know what these things mean? Nebuchadnezzar had carried away the princes of Judah (top of the cedar) and King Jehoiachin (the topmost of the twigs) to Babylon (Ezekiel 17:12). After deposing the youthful Jehoiachin, Nebuchadnezzar took the seed royal, i.e.:, Zedekiah the son of Josiah and uncle of Jehoiachin, and placed him upon the throne in Jerusalem. Zedekiah was placed under a solemn oath taken in the name of God to be loyal to Nebuchadnezzar. The mighty of the land, i.e., influential leaders, were carried to Babylon (Ezekiel 17:13) as hostages so as to guarantee Zedekiah's compliance to the terms of his oath. Nebuchadnezzar's purpose was to keep Judah weak and subservient (Ezekiel 17:14).

Disregarding his sacred oath, Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar by making overtures to Egypt (the second eagle) and seeking military aid from Pharaoh. Three rhetorical questions underscore the futility of such a course (Ezekiel 17:15). One could not break a sacred oath taken in the name of God and then expect any divine aid. The king against whom Zedekiah had committed treachery would haul him off to die in the midst of Babylon (Ezekiel 17:16). Aid from Pharaoh would not be forthcoming when the Babylonians built their siege mounds and forts at Jerusalem (Ezekiel 17:17).

Zedekiah had been required to take an oath by a heathen king, and therefore he despised that oath and regarded it as nonbinding. Nevertheless, he had given his hand as a pledge of faithful compliance with the terms of that oath (Ezekiel 17:18). He had taken that oath in the name of God, and it was, therefore, God's oath which he despised and broke. So God takes an oath (as I live is an oath formula) that He would bring down on the head of Zedekiah the punishment for this treachery (Ezekiel 17:19). The rebellious king would be caught in the net of divine retribution and would be carried off to Babylon. There God would plead with him, i.e., make him conscious of the serious crime he had committed against God (Ezekiel 17:20). The royal bodyguard which might try to protect Zedekiah from this fate would be slain or scattered by the Babylonians. When all these specific predictions came to pass all the Jews would realize that it was truly God who had spoken through the mouth of the prophet to oppose the rebellion against Babylon (Ezekiel 17:21).