Ezekiel 19:1-14

Ezekiel: ‘They shall know that I am God’

The *Sin of Judah and the Judgement of God

Ezekiel Chapter s 1 to 24

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 19

• This chapter contains a sad song. It describes events in the lives of some of the last kings who ruled Judah.

A funeral song for the leaders of *Israel – Ezekiel 19:1-14

v1 ‘Sing a funeral song for the leaders of *Israel. v2 Say, “Your mother was like a great female lion. She lay down among the young lions. She had many baby lions. v3 She brought up one of her babies. He grew up to be a strong lion. He learned to tear the animals that he hunted. He killed and ate people. v4 The nations heard about him. They caught him in their trap. They tied him with chains and they brought him to the country called Egypt.

v5 The mother lion waited. But there was no hope for her young lion. So, she took another one of her baby lions. Then she made him a strong lion. v6 This lion went about among the lions. He was now a strong lion. He learned to tear the animals that he hunted. Also, he killed and ate people. v7 He tore down strong places and he destroyed cities. The sound of his roar frightened all those who lived in the country. v8 Then the nations came against him. They came from the regions round about. They spread their net for him, and they caught him in their trap. v9 They put him in a cage. And they tied him with chains. They brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison. So, people on the mountains in *Israel could never again hear his roar.

v10 Your mother was like a *vine that grew near water. The *vine had many branches. It had much fruit, because there was plenty of water. v11 The *vine had strong branches. Those branches became strong sticks that kings could use as signs of their authority. The *vine became tall among the thick branches. It was tall and it had many branches. All the people could see it. v12 But in my anger, I pulled up the *vine’s roots. And I threw it to the ground. The east wind dried up its fruit. The wind broke off and dried up that *vine’s strong branches. A fire burned its dry branches. v13 The *vine is now in the desert, in a dry land where there is no water. v14 Fire spread from the main branch of the *vine. It burned up all the fruit. No sticks remain that kings could use as signs of their authority.”

This is a funeral song. You shall be sad when you sing it.’

Verses 1-4 The mother lion means *Israel. *Israel had taken a place among the nations. The use of the word ‘lions’ shows that the song is about kings. (Lions are strong and powerful animals. So, people considered that they were like kings.) The young lions meant the kings from the family of David. The one here that grew to be a strong lion was Jehoahaz. He became king of Judah after his father Josiah died (see 2 Kings 23:31). Jehoahaz was king in Jerusalem for only three months. He was a bad king. He did not trust in the *Lord. In the year 609 *BC, the king of Egypt took him away. Jehoahaz died in Egypt.

Verses 5-9 After Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, his son, became king for 11 years. He was as bad as his father was. But in this song, the second young lion means Jehoiakim’s son, who was called Jehoiachin. He was just 18 years old when he began to rule Judah. He was no better then his father. So, after three months the king of Babylon took him to Babylon. This was in the year 597 *BC.

Jehoiachin was in prison for 37 years. He came out of prison when he was 55 years old. He lived in Babylon for the rest of his life.

Verses 10-14 The *vine means the nation called *Israel. God had planted the *vine by the waters. In other words, God had placed *Israel in a good country, that is, the country called Canaan. Because of the *vine’s good situation, it had grown large and it had much fruit. And so *Israel had been a successful country. Many kings had ruled there. But the *Israelites had *turned away from God. So, God was angry. His action was the result of his anger. In the song, he destroys the *vine. This means that he would punish Judah. The east wind means the army of Babylon. What remained of Judah was like a dried-up *vine. In other words, it was like a *vine in a dry land where there was no water. Its situation was hopeless.

There would be no more kings. The last king, Zedekiah, did not belong to the direct family of David. King Nebuchadnezzar took him to Babylon in 586 *BC.

*Prophecies of *disaster for Judah – Ezekiel 20:1-24

sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
vine ~ a plant on which grapes grow.
grapes ~ fruit of a vine (a climbing plant). You can make grapes into wine.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
turn ~ to change your behaviour, your friends, or your God; or, to carry out actions in order to oppose someone.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
disaster ~ when something very bad happens.