Ezekiel 19:1-9

II. BITTER DIRGES 19:1-14

There is a time for a preacher to rebuke his audience; there is also a time for him to weep with them and for them. In chapter 19 Ezekiel becomes a sympathetic mourner. God is grieved over the impending fate of Jerusalem, and Ezekiel is told to give vent to his emotions as a means of illustrating the divine agony. The dirge falls into two sections. Ezekiel 19:1-9 lament the fate of Judah's last kings; Ezekiel 19:10-14 bewail the fall of Jerusalem.

A. Dirge Over Judah's Kings 19:1-9

TRANSLATION

(1) And as for you, take up a lamentation concerning the princes of Israel, (2) and say, How your mother was a lioness; among the lions she crouched, in the midst of the young lions she reared her whelps! (3) And she brought up one of her whelps, he became a young lion; and he learned to tear the prey, he devoured men, (4) Then nations assembled against him, he was taken in their pit; and they brought him by hooks into the land of Egypt. (5) Now when she saw that, she was disappointed, her hope was lost. Then she took one of her whelps, and made him a young lion. (6) And he went to and fro in the midst of the lions, he became a young lion; and he learned to tear prey, he devoured men. (7) And he knew their widows, and he laid waste their cities; and the land and its fullness was desolate because of the noise of his roaring. (8) Then the nations cried out against him, round about from provinces, and they spread their net over him, he was taken in their pit. (9) And they put him in a cage with hooks, and they brought him unto the king of Babylon; they brought him into strongholds so that his voice might not be heard again upon the mountains of Israel.

COMMENTS

Ezekiel is told to take up a lament (qinah) for the princes (i.e., kings) of Israel (Ezekiel 19:1). The fates of the three sons of godly King Josiah Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah are mentioned. The house of David is the mother of these princes. She is compared to a lioness in Ezekiel 19:2 because the tribe of Judah in general (cf. Genesis 49:9) and the family of David in particular were symbolized by a lion. As long as Judah remained faithful to the Lord she dwelt securely and fearlessly among the young lions, i.e., surrounding nations. The period of King Josiah is in view. Tiny Judah was independent and prosperous during the reign of this godly king (Ezekiel 19:2).

The royal lioness (house of David) reared up one of her whelps to become a young lion. The reference here is to Jehoahaz who became king of Judah at the age of 23 when his father was slain by Pharaoh Neco in the battle of Megiddo (cf. 2 Kings 23:31 ff.). As a young lion Jehoahaz learned to catch prey, i.e., to have hostile relations with other nations. He devoured men, i.e., he ventured to war (Ezekiel 19:3). It is implied here that Jehoahaz was hostile to Neco of Egypt.

The nations, i.e., Egypt and her vassal states, listened unto him, i.e., took up the challenge which he hurled at them. The young lion was lured to the pit and captured therein. He was bound in fetters and taken to Egypt (Ezekiel 19:4). The allusion is to the capture of Jehoahaz by Pharaoh Neco in 609 B.C. (2 Kings 23:33).

When the lioness (Davidic dynasty) saw that Jehoahaz had been deported, she was disappointed.[337] She took another of her whelps and trained him to be a young lion (Ezekiel 19:5). He took his place among the other lions (kings), and quickly learned the ruthless conduct which oriental kings manifested (Ezekiel 19:6). Because of his misrule he knew their widows,[338] i.e., he caused many women to lose their husbands and sons. Because of his boisterousness (noise of his roaring) he brought destruction and desolation upon his land (Ezekiel 19:7).

[337] The Hebrew verb vachal in the Niphal stem means to wait expectantly. In certain contexts Hebrew verbs take on the opposite of their usual meaning, and this appears to be the case here.

[338] Some think the Hebrew word is an unusual form of the word meaning castles or citadels.

Some difference of opinion exists as to whether Ezekiel has in view Jehoiakim who ruled Judah from 605-598 B.C. or his son Jehoiachin who ruled but for three months early in 597 B.C. Jewish commentators generally prefer the former; modern commentators the latter. Some details of the allegory seem to fit best the one, and some seem to point to the other. On the whole, however, the Jehoiachin interpretation is superior.
The nations led by Nebuchadnezzar attacked the kingdom of Jehoiachin in 597 B.C. The young king was taken captive (Ezekiel 19:8) and brought before the king of Babylon. Thus did his rule over Judah come to an end. The growl of this young lion was no longer heard in the land (Ezekiel 19:9).