Skip to main content

Ezekiel 19:1-4 The story of two lion cubs - Day 259

Good afternoon friends,

Ever since we started the prophetic books, we have been confronted with some unusual imagery.  We have another example today.  One of the nice things about time lines is you can get a overview of what happened when.  But we loose some of the descriptive imagery.  

Blessings,

Jeff

To me, this is an unusual lament.  Since Ezekiel is a prophet, I tend to think everything he has to say is about future events. But these events took place earlier in his lifetime.  Commentaries say Jehoahaz (the first lion cub) reigned for only three months before he was taken to Egypt as a captive of Pharaoh Neco in 609 B.C. Ezekiel 19:4

Jehoiakim had rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and the wrath of the Babylonian king was directed against his son Jehoiachin (the second lion cub)  Ezekiel describes his deportation to Babylon in 597 B.C. Ezekiel 19:9

Ezekiel, a prophet and priest, was exiled to Babylon in 597 B.C. His ministry extended over at least twenty-three years.

So this is a lamentation over the last kings of Judah after they had been exiled from the land.  But it is the fact that neither is mentioned by name that intrigues me.  Why describe them as lion cubs and their mother as a lioness?

Calvin points out that use of lion analogy is generally good (lion of Judah who rules and reigns).  But it can also be bad as in this case.  Judah was like all the other nations (idolatrous, immoral, etc) instead of set apart and holy.  In other words, instead of saying Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim were bad kings, Ezekiel paints this graphic image of lion cubs being captured by other nations.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2 Chronicles 33:7-9 Thoughts on Davidic covenant - Day 362

Good morning faithful readers, The finish line is in sight!!!  One of the themes of scripture is that God is a covenant keeping God.  There are many between God and man. Adam, Noah, David are examples.  Covenants are more than promises.  They are made between a superior and inferior with conditions for each side and blessing and penalties based on keeping the conditions.  These are covenants of works which fallen man was unable to keep.  Thanks be to God that the Father made a covenant of grace with Christ, the second Adam, which he fully kept. Blessings, Jeff The promise in v8 was made to David when he had planned to build the temple and God promised to build him a house forever. (2 Sam 7:10).  Seems like there are only two possibilities about Manasseh's disobedience.  Either he knew of this covenant that God had made with his 13th great grandfather and chose to disregard it, or he didn't know of it and was unaware of the penalty.  Let's con...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Chronicles 30:16-20 Hearts set to seek the Lord - Day 359

Good morning fellow members of the household of God, After writing the devotional, I am thinking about the Passover as a household event.  In ancient Israel, the physical household of man was covered by the blood of the lamb.  Now, it is the spiritual household of God that is covered by the blood of the Lamb. Blessings, Jeff The account of the greatest celebration of Passover since time of Solomon (v 26).   Observations: One of the things that made this one great is participation of some of the tribes from the northern kingdom.  Israel was a united kingdom and Solomon and now toward the end of the northern kingdom, there is at least a semblance of being united. God allows some exemptions: Who offers the sacrifice:  The original Passover was a family by family sacrifice of a lamb.  However in  Deuteronomy 16:5-6 this changed to a centralized location once they entered the promised land.  (You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Chronicles 35:23-26 Lament for the last good king - Day 364

Good morning fellow exiles and pilgrims, One more day of devotions.  We are indeed exiles and pilgrims in this world as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  The 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks can serve as a reminder that this world is not our home. Blessings, Jeff The lamentations for Josiah written by Jeremiah.  However, the book of Lamentations does not include any reference to Josiah as they are focused on the fall of Jerusalem.  While these lost lamentations were "made the rule" there are only 4 more kings and none of them were good like Josiah and none died in Jerusalem.  The phrase "to this day" generally refers to the time of the author (post exile).  Taken together, it may be that these laments were for the last good king and during the exile the people were longing for the next good king. Zerubbabel in a way was the next good king as temple and Jerusalem were rebuilt. But Jesus truly was the next king and He...
Post a Comment
Read more