Ezekiel 17:16–24

Read the passage.

Now that we understand that the vine in this chapter refers to the treacherous puppet king of Judah, the Lord tells us what shall happen to him. Because he betrayed Babylon, they will come and take him away to Babylon, and he will die there. Even though he made an appeal to Egypt, they will not help him.

What is more interesting is the Lord’s assertion that King Zedekiah broke his covenant with the Lord, and that is why disaster is falling upon him. The Lord’s net will surround him, as we have read before, and therefore the Babylonians will be able to capture him. I don’t know what specific oath or covenant Zedekiah broke with the Lord, but it might have something to do with allowing himself to be installed as king of Judah even though his nephew Jehoiachin still lived in exile. Or it might be that Zedekiah was trying to reverse the judgement of exile that God had already enacted against Judah through political and military means instead of following the statutes and proper worship of the Lord.

The Lord informs us through Ezekiel that He remembers the cedar, and the promise that He made to David. One day, the Lord will re-establish the throne of the king of Israel by taking the very topmost twig of the cedar and planting it on a very high mountain. From there, it will grow into a “noble cedar” (v. 23) and all nations will find shelter in its branches. Jehoiachin was exiled into Babylon, but he was eventually released from prison by Nebuchadnezzar’s son (2 Kings 25:27–30) and continued the kingly line all the way to Jesus Christ. (Matthew 1:12–16) This assurance that the Lord remembers His promises to His people would have been very important for the exiles to hear, especially in the midst of hearing of such destruction and woe.

All things happen for Your purposes, from the acts of kings to the times and places children are born.