Riddle Me This

Ezekiel 17:16-21

In answer to the questions of the riddle, Zedekiah will not flourish, nor will he escape judgment. Pharaoh will be of no help to Jerusalem’s prince in the time he will need it most. Because of his treacherous actions, Zedekiah will die in Babylon. Believe it or not, neither Nebuchadnezzar nor physical death are Zedekiah’s biggest problem. By utilizing the word “therefore,” Ezekiel informs us God has a point He wants to drive home beyond just telling the parable and its interpretation.

Zedekiah is not just guilty of possessing a poor strategy in foreign policy, but more importantly he has broken the covenant with God. In response Yahweh will use Nebuchadnezzar as His means of judgment in the prince of Jerusalem’s life. The events foretold in 12:1-16 happen just as the Lord said they would (2 Kgs 25:1-7). Zedekiah is caught not just in Nebuchadnezzar’s snare but in Yahweh’s. The prince and his posse will pay the price for acting rebelliously toward God.

In light of Ezekiel 17:16-21, here are a few observations.

Anyone who rejects God’s plans will never flourish. Provision was made in Nebuchadnezzar’s plan for Zedekiah and the people in Jerusalem to endure (v. 14). Zedekiah, however, refused to believe this was the best plan for his life and felt he could make better arrangements. He paid the price for his foolishness and so did those who followed him.

Seeking refuge in anyone or anything besides God can be a fatal mistake. In the text Pharaoh was not the initiator; rather, it was Zedekiah who first sent ambassadors to Egypt (19:15). As it turns out, Pharaoh did not help Jerusalem’s prince, but it would not have mattered if he had. His resources were no match for Nebuchadnezzar’s army, especially since the king of Babylon was appointed as God’s instrument of justice against Zedekiah. We are always in trouble if we look to our peers for help more than we look to God.

Zedekiah did not “escape” Divine judgment, and neither will we without Christ’s aid. There is no place we can run from God. Ask Jonah. Like Zedekiah we have all gone astray from God and turned to our own way (Isa 53:6). For some reason we feel we make better rulers of our lives than God. Our strongest inclinations, however, do not change the fact there is only one King of the universe. He deserves our absolute loyalty. What Zedekiah did in breaking his oath to Nebuchadnezzar, we have all done to God on a grand scale. God did not ignore the prince of Jerusalem’s sin, and He will not ignore ours. Zedekiah is actually a great example of what will be seen next in Ezekiel 18—we will be held personally responsible for our sin. Our only hope for escaping the wrath our treason against God deserves is to flee to Christ who has borne our sins for us. Yes, we turned away, but “the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6).

What is seen has more to do with what is unseen than we may be aware. For many the capture and punishment of Zedekiah was primarily because he broke his oath with Nebuchadnezzar. Yahweh informs us, however, something deeper is occurring (vv. 19-21). The events carried out in the siege of Jerusalem are primarily God’s judgments against His own people for all of their idolatry and insubordination. We should be mindful, then, no matter what we see on the news, God is writing a bigger story that will be revealed when time is done.

The worst thing man can do to you when you break a covenant is put you to death; God, however, can put you to second death. Jesus said, “Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10:28). The worst Nebuchadnezzar can do is kill Zedekiah’s sons, blind Zedekiah, and then put Zedekiah to death. Admittedly this sounds pretty bad until one understands the punishment from Nebuchadnezzar is now complete. He can do nothing more to harm Zedekiah. For those who reject God’s ways, being put to death by men pales in comparison to experiencing eternal death and the wrath of God.

God’s Promise of a Planting

Ezekiel 17:22-25

Every promise of God is a grace not a right. God does not owe a single word of hope to sinners. The fact He gives one should always amaze us. Ezekiel 17 could stop at verse 21 and be similar to the lament in Ezekiel 19. God, however, wants His people to know that He is not finished with them or with David’s line. He will plant a sprig from the cedar on top of Israel’s high mountain once again (17:22). He will also cause it to flourish (v. 23).

A counsel often provided in a hermeneutics class is to be careful in searching for Christ under every rock and tree in the Old Testament. Greidanus contends, however,

since the literary context of the Old Testament in the Christian canon is the New Testament, this means that the Old Testament must be understood in the context of the New Testament. And since the heart of the New Testament is Jesus Christ, this means that every message from the Old Testament must be seen in the light of Jesus Christ. (Greidanus, Preaching Christ, 51)

In the case of Ezekiel 17, you don’t have to look under every rock and tree when Jesus is the tree that is referenced. The ultimate fulfillment of the cedar sprig is Christ. What God says vaguely in Ezekiel 17 about the planting, He says clearly in Ezekiel 34. God will provide the greatest ruler for His people. Jesus is who Helm calls “God’s forever King” in the book we repeatedly read to all of our children (Helm, Big Picture Story Bible, 411). Though we do not deserve such a wonderful leader, God graciously gives Him to us for our good and His glory.

As Ezekiel 17 closes, Israel’s greatest hope for enduring does not lie in Nebuchadnezzar’s kindness but in the Lord’s. While Nebuchadnezzar had a provision that would allow those in Jerusalem to endure (v. 14), God has a plan that will cause His people to flourish forever (v. 23). He alone is capable of making the “low tree tall” and making the “withered tree thrive” (v. 24). He will do it. He has spoken (v. 24).

Reflect and Discuss