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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Ezekiel XVII].</TITLE>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E Z E K I E L.</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XVII.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
God was, in the foregoing chapter, reckoning with the people of Judah,
and bringing ruin upon them for their treachery in breaking covenant
with him; in this chapter he is reckoning with the king of Judah for
his treachery in breaking covenant with the king of Babylon; for when
God came to contend with them he found many grounds of his controversy.
The thing was now in doing: Zedekiah was practising with the king of
Egypt underhand for assistance in a treacherous project he had formed
to shake off the yoke of the king of Babylon, and violate the homage
and fealty he had sworn to him. For this God by the prophet here,
I. Threatens the ruin of him and his kingdom, by a parable of two
eagles and a vine
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:1-10">ver. 1-10</A>),
and the explanation of that parable,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:11-21">ver. 11-21</A>.
But, in the close,
II. He promises hereafter to raise the royal family of Judah again, the
house of David, in the Messiah and his kingdom,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:22-24">ver. 22-24</A>.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Eze17_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Eze17_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Parable of the Eagles; The Parable Explained; Ruin of Zedekiah Predicted.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD VALIGN=BOTTOM ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B.&nbsp;C.</FONT>&nbsp;593.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
&nbsp; 2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the
house of Israel;
&nbsp; 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; A great eagle with great
wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had divers colours,
came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
&nbsp; 4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it
into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
&nbsp; 5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a
fruitful field; he placed <I>it</I> by great waters, <I>and</I> set it <I>as</I>
a willow tree.
&nbsp; 6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature,
whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were
under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and
shot forth sprigs.
&nbsp; 7 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many
feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him,
and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by
the furrows of her plantation.
&nbsp; 8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might
bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might
be a goodly vine.
&nbsp; 9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; Shall it prosper? shall he
not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof,
that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring,
even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the
roots thereof.
&nbsp; 10 Yea, behold, <I>being</I> planted, shall it prosper? shall it not
utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither
in the furrows where it grew.
&nbsp; 11 Moreover the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
&nbsp; 12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these
<I>things mean?</I> tell <I>them,</I> Behold, the king of Babylon is come
to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes
thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;
&nbsp; 13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with
him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty
of the land:
&nbsp; 14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift
itself up, <I>but</I> that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.
&nbsp; 15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into
Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he
prosper? shall he escape that doeth such <I>things?</I> or shall he
break the covenant, and be delivered?
&nbsp; 16 <I>As</I> I live, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>, surely in the place <I>where</I>
the king <I>dwelleth</I> that made him king, whose oath he despised,
and whose covenant he brake, <I>even</I> with him in the midst of
Babylon he shall die.
&nbsp; 17 Neither shall Pharaoh with <I>his</I> mighty army and great
company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and
building forts, to cut off many persons:
&nbsp; 18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when,
lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these <I>things,</I> he
shall not escape.
&nbsp; 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; <I>As</I> I live, surely mine
oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken,
even it will I recompense upon his own head.
&nbsp; 20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in
my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with
him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
&nbsp; 21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the
sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds:
and ye shall know that I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have spoken <I>it.</I>
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
We must take all these verses together, that we may have the parable
and the explanation of it at one view before us, because they will
illustrate one another.
1. The prophet is appointed to <I>put forth a riddle</I> to the
<I>house of Israel</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
not to puzzle them, as Samson's riddle was put forth to the
Philistines, not to hide the mind of God from them in obscurity, or to
leave them in uncertainty about it, one advancing one conjecture and
another another, as is usual in expounding riddles; no, he is
immediately to tell them the meaning of it. <I>Let him that speaks in
an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+14:13">1 Cor. xiv. 13</A>.
But he must deliver this message in a riddle or parable that they might
take the more notice of it, might be the more affected with it
themselves, and might the better remember it and tell it to others. For
these reasons God often used similitudes by his servants the prophets,
and Christ himself <I>opened his mouth in parables.</I> Riddles and
parables are used for an amusement to ourselves and an entertainment to
our friends. The prophet must make use of these to see if in this dress
the things of God might find acceptance, and insinuate themselves into
the minds of a careless people. Note, Ministers should study to find
out acceptable words, and try various methods to do good; and, as far
as they have reason to think will be for edification, should both bring
that which is familiar into their preaching and their preaching too
into their familiar discourse, that there may not be so vast a
dissimilitude as with some there is between what they say in the pulpit
and what they say out.
2. He is appointed to expound this riddle to <I>the rebellious
house,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
Though being <I>rebellious</I> they might justly have been left in
ignorance, to see and hear and not perceive, yet the thing shall be
explained to them: <I>Know you not what these things mean?</I> Those
that knew the story, and what was now in agitation, might make a shrewd
guess at the meaning of this riddle, but, that they might be left
without excuse, he is to give it to them in plain terms, stripped of
the metaphor. But the enigma was first propounded for them to study on
awhile, and to send to their friends at Jerusalem, that they might
enquire after and expect the solution of it some time after.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Let us now see what the matter of this message is.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. Nebuchadnezzar had some time ago carried off Jehoiachin, the same
that was called <I>Jeconiah,</I> when he was but eighteen years of age
and had reigned in Jerusalem but <I>three months,</I> him and his
princes and great men, and had brought them captives to Babylon,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+24:12">2 Kings xxiv. 12</A>.
This in the parable is represented by an eagle's cropping the top and
tender branch of <I>a cedar,</I> and carrying it into <I>a land of
traffic,</I> a <I>city of merchants</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>),
which is explained
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
The <I>king of Babylon</I> took the <I>king of Jerusalem,</I> who was
no more able to resist him than a young twig of a tree is to contend
with the strongest bird of prey, that easily crops it off, perhaps
towards the making of <I>her nest.</I> Nebuchadnezzar, in Daniel's
vision, is <I>a lion,</I> the king of beasts
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+7:4">Dan. vii. 4</A>);
there he has <I>eagle's wings,</I> so swift were his motions, so speedy
were his conquests. Here, in this parable, he is <I>an eagle,</I> the
king of birds, a <I>great eagle,</I> that lives upon spoil and rapine,
whose young ones <I>suck up blood,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+39:30">Job xxxix. 30</A>.
His dominion extends itself far and wide, like the great and long wings
of an eagle; the people are numerous, for it is <I>full of
feathers;</I> the court is splendid, for it has <I>divers colours,</I>
which look like <I>embroidering,</I> as the word is. Jerusalem is
Lebanon, a forest of houses, and very pleasant. The royal family is
<I>the cedar;</I> Jehoiachin is the <I>top branch,</I> the <I>top of
the young twigs,</I> which he crops off. Babylon is the <I>land of
traffic</I> and <I>city of merchants</I> where it is set. And the king
of Judah, being of the house of David, will think himself much degraded
and disgraced to be lodged among tradesmen; but he must make the best
of it.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. When he carried him to Babylon he made his uncle Zedekiah king in
his room,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>.
His name was <I>Mattaniah--the gift of the Lord,</I> which
Nebuchadnezzar changed into <I>Zedekiah--the justice of the Lord,</I>
to remind him to be just like the God he called his, for fear of his
justice. This was <I>one of the seed of the land,</I> a native, not a
foreigner, not one of his Babylonian princes; he was <I>planted in a
fruitful field,</I> for so Jerusalem as yet was; he <I>placed it by
great waters,</I> where it would be likely to grow, like <I>a
willow-tree,</I> which grows quickly, and grows best in moist ground,
but is never designed nor expected to be a stately tree. He <I>set it
with</I> care and <I>circumspection</I> (so some read it); he wisely
provided that it might grow, but that it might not grow too big. <I>He
took of the king's seed</I> (so it is explained,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>)
and <I>made a covenant with him</I> that he should have the kingdom,
and enjoy the regal power and dignity, provided he held it as his
vassal, dependent on him and accountable to him. He <I>took an oath of
him,</I> made him swear allegiance to him, swear by his own God, the
God of Israel, that he would be a faithful tributary to him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+36:13">2 Chron. xxxvi. 13</A>.
He also <I>took away the mighty of the land,</I> the chief of the men
of war, partly as hostages for the performance of the covenant, and
partly that, the land being thereby weakened, the king might be the
less able, and therefore the less in temptation, to break his league.
What he designed we are told
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
<I>That the kingdom might be base,</I> in respect both of honour and
strength, might neither be a rival with its powerful neighbours, nor a
terror to its feeble ones, as it had been, that <I>it might not left up
itself</I> to vie with the kingdom of Babylon, or to bear down any of
the petty states that were in subjection to it. But yet he designed
that by <I>the keeping of this covenant it might stand,</I> and
continue a kingdom. Hereby the pride and ambition of that haughty
potentate would be gratified, who aimed to be <I>like the Most High</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+14:14">Isa. xiv. 14</A>),
to have all about him subject to him. Now see here,
1. How sad a change sin made with the royal family of Judah. Time was
when all the nations about were tributaries to that; now that has not
only lost its dominion over other nations, but has itself become a
tributary. <I>How has the gold become dim!</I> Nations by sin sell
their liberty, and princes their dignity, and <I>profane their crowns
by casting them to the ground.</I>
2. How wisely Zedekiah did for himself in accepting these terms, though
they were dishonourable, when necessity brought him to it. A man may
live very comfortably and contentedly, though he cannot bear a part,
and make a figure, as formerly. A kingdom may stand firmly and safely,
though it do not stand so high as it has sometimes done; and so may a
family.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
III. Zedekiah, while he continued faithful to the king of Babylon, did
very well, and, if he would but have reformed his kingdom, and returned
to God and his duty, he would have done better, and by that means might
soon have recovered his former dignity,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
This plant grew, and though it was <I>set as a willow-tree,</I> and
little account was made of it, yet it became <I>a spreading vine of low
stature,</I> a great blessing to his own country, and his fruits
<I>made glad their hearts;</I> and it is better to be a spreading vine
of low stature than a lofty cedar of no use. Nebuchadnezzar was
pleased, for <I>the branches turned towards him,</I> and rested on him
as the vine on the wall, and he had his share of the fruits of this
vine; <I>the roots thereof</I> too were <I>under him,</I> and at his
disposal. The Jews had reason to be pleased, for they sat under their
own vine, which <I>brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs,</I>
and looked pleasant and promising. See how gradually the judgments of
God came upon this provoking people, how God gave them respite and so
gave them space to repent. He made <I>their kingdom base,</I> to try if
that would humble them, before he made it no kingdom; yet left it easy
for them, to try if that would win upon them to return to him, that the
troubles threatened might be prevented.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
IV. Zedekiah knew not when he was well off, but grew impatient of the
disgrace of being a tributary to the king of Babylon, and, to get clear
of it, entered into a private league with the king of Egypt. He had no
reason to complain that the king of Babylon put any new hardships upon
him or improved his advantages against him, that he oppressed or
impoverished his country, for, as the prophet had said before
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
to aggravate his treachery, he shows again
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>)
what a fair way he was in to be considerable: <I>He was planted in a
good soil by great waters;</I> his family was likely enough to be built
up, and his exchequer to be filled, in a little time, so that, if he
had dealt faithfully, he might have been <I>a goodly vine.</I> But
there was <I>another great eagle</I> that he had an affection for, and
put a confidence in, and that was the <I>king of Egypt,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
Those two great potentates, the kings of Babylon and Egypt, were but
two great eagles, <I>birds of prey.</I> This great eagle of Egypt is
said to have <I>great wings,</I> but not to be <I>long-winged</I> as
the king of Babylon, because, though the kingdom of Egypt was strong,
yet it was not of such a vast extent as that of Babylon was. The great
eagle is said to have <I>many feathers,</I> much wealth and many
soldiers, which he depended upon as a substantial defence, but which
really were no more than so <I>may feathers.</I> Zedekiah, promising
himself liberty, made himself a vassal to the king of Egypt, foolishly
expecting ease by changing his master. Now <I>this vine</I> did
secretly and under-hand <I>bend her roots towards</I> the king of
Egypt, that great eagle, and after awhile did openly <I>shoot forth her
branches towards him,</I> give him an intimation how much she coveted
an alliance with him, <I>that he might water it by the furrows of her
plantation,</I> whereas it was <I>planted by great waters,</I> and did
not need any assistance from him. This is expounded,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon in <I>sending his
ambassadors into Egypt,</I> that they might <I>give him horses and much
people,</I> to enable him to contend with the king of Babylon. See what
a change sin had made with the people of God! God promised that they
should be a numerous people, as the sand of the sea; yet now, if their
king had occasion for <I>much people,</I> he must send to Egypt for
them, they being for sin <I>diminished and brought low,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+107:39">Ps. cvii. 39</A>.
See also the folly of fretful discontented spirits, that ruin
themselves by striving to better themselves, whereas they might be easy
and happy enough if they would but <I>make the best of that which
is.</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
V. God here threatens Zedekiah with the utter destruction of him and
his kingdom, and, in displeasure against him, passes that doom upon him
for his treacherous revolt from the king of Babylon. This is
represented in the parable
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:9,19"><I>v.</I> 9, 19</A>)
by the <I>plucking up of this vine by the roots, the cutting off of the
fruit,</I> and <I>the withering of the leaves,</I> the leaves <I>of her
spring,</I> when they are in their greenness
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+8:12">Job viii. 12</A>),
before they begin in autumn to wither of themselves. The project shall
be blasted; it shall <I>utterly wither.</I> The affairs of this
perfidious prince shall be ruined past retrieve; as a vine when the
east wind blasts it, so that it shall be fit for nothing but the fire
(as we had it in that parable,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+15:4"><I>ch.</I> xv. 4</A>),
it shall wither even <I>in the furrows where it grew,</I> though they
were ever so well watered. It shall be destroyed <I>without great power
or many people to pluck it up;</I> for what need is there of raising
the militia to pluck up a vine? Note, God can bring great things to
pass without much ado. He needs not great power and many people to
effect his purposes; a handful will serve if he pleases. He can without
any difficulty ruin a sinful king and kingdom, and make no more of it
than we do of rooting up a tree that cumbers the ground. In the
explanation of the parable the sentence is very largely recorded:
<I>Shall be prosper?</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
Can he expect to do ill and fare well? Nay, shall he that does such
wicked things <I>escape?</I> Shall he <I>break the covenant, and be
delivered</I> from that vengeance which is the just punishment of his
treachery? No; can he expect to do ill and not suffer ill? Let him hear
his doom.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. It is ratified by the oath of God
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>):
<I>As I live, saith the Lord God, he shall die</I> for it. This
intimates how highly God resented the crime, and how sure and severe
the punishment of it would be. God <I>swears in his wrath,</I> as he
did
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+95:11">Ps. xcv. 11</A>.
Note, As God's promises are confirmed with an oath, for comfort to the
saints, so are his threatenings, for terror to the wicked. As sure as
God lives and is happy (I may add, and as long), so sure, so long,
shall impenitent sinners die and be miserable.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. It is justified by the heinousness of the crime he had been guilty
of.
(1.) He had been very ungrateful to his benefactor, who had <I>made him
king,</I> and undertook to protect him, had made him a prince when he
might as easily have made him a prisoner. Note, It is a sin against God
to be unkind to our friends and to lift up the heel against those that
have helped to raise us.
(2.) He had been very false to him whom he had covenanted with. This is
mostly insisted on: He <I>despised the oath.</I> When his conscience or
friends reminded him of it he made a jest of it, put on a daring
resolution, and <I>broke it,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:15,16,18,19"><I>v.</I> 15, 16, 18, 19</A>.
He broke through it, and took a pride in making nothing of it, as a
great tyrant in our own day, whose maxim (they say) it is, <I>That
princes ought not to be slaves to their word any further than it is for
their interest.</I> That which aggravated Zedekiah's perfidiousness was
that the oath by which he had bound himself to the king of Babylon was,
[1.] A solemn oath. An emphasis is laid upon this
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
<I>When, lo, he had given his hand,</I> as a confederate with the king
of Babylon, not only as his subject, but as his friend, the joining of
hands being a token of the joining of hearts.
[2.] As sacred oath. God says
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
It is <I>my oath</I> that he has despised and <I>my covenant that he
has broken.</I> In every solemn oath God is appealed to as a witness of
the sincerity of him that swears, and invocated as a judge and revenger
of his treachery if he now swear falsely or at any time hereafter break
his oath. But the oath of allegiance to a prince is particularly called
<I>the oath of God</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+8:2">Eccl. viii. 2</A>),
as if that had something in it more sacred than another oath; for
princes are <I>ministers of God to us for good,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+13:4">Rom. xiii. 4</A>.
Now Zedekiah's breaking this oath and covenant is the sin which God
will <I>recompense upon his own head</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>),
the <I>trespass which he has trespassed against God,</I> for which God
will <I>plead with him,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
Note, Perjury is a heinous sin and highly provoking to the God of
heaven. It would not serve for an excuse, <I>First,</I> That he who
took this oath was a king, a king of the house of David, whose liberty
and dignity might surely set him above the obligation of oaths. No;
though kings are gods to us, they are men to God, and not exempt from
his law and judgment. The prince is doubtless as firmly bound before
God to the people by his coronation-oath as the people are to the
princes by the oath of allegiance. <I>Secondly,</I> Nor that this oath
was sworn to the king of Babylon, a heathen prince, worse than a
heretic, with whom the church of Rome says, <I>No faith is to be
kept.</I> No; though Nebuchadnezzar was a worshipper of false gods, yet
the true God will avenge this quarrel when one of his worshippers
breaks his league with him; for truth is a debt due to all men; and, if
the professors of the true religion deal perfidiously with those of a
false religion, their profession will be so far from excusing, much
less justifying them, that it aggravates their sin, and God will the
more surely and severely punish it, because by it they give occasion to
the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme; as that Mahometan prince, who,
when the Christians broke their league with him, cried out, <I>O Jesus!
are these thy Christians? Thirdly,</I> Nor would it justify him that
the oath was extorted from him by a conqueror, for the covenant was
made upon a valuable consideration. He held his life and crown upon
this condition, that he should be faithful and bear true allegiance to
the king of Babylon; and, if he enjoy the benefit of his bargain, it is
very unjust if he do not observe the terms. Let him know then that,
having <I>despised the oath,</I> and <I>broken the covenant,</I> he
<I>shall not escape.</I> And if the contempt and violation of such an
oath, such a covenant as this, would be so punished, of how much sorer
punishment shall those be thought worthy who break covenant with God
(when, <I>lo, they had given their hand</I> upon it that they would be
faithful), who <I>tread under foot the blood</I> of that
<I>covenant</I> as an unholy thing? Between the covenants there is no
comparison.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
3. It is particularized in divers instances, wherein the punishment is
made to answer the sin.
(1.) He had rebelled against the king of Babylon, and the king of
Babylon should be his effectual conqueror. In the place where that king
<I>dwells</I> whose <I>covenant he broke,</I> even <I>with him in the
midst of Babylon he shall die,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
He thinks to get out of his hands, but he shall fall, more than before,
into his hands. God himself will now take part with the king of Babylon
against him: <I>I will spread my net upon him,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
God has a net for those who deal perfidiously and think to escape his
righteous judgments, in which those shall be taken and held who would
not be held by the bond of an oath and covenant. Zedekiah dreaded
Babylon: "Thither I will bring him," says God, "and <I>plead with him
there.</I>" Men will justly be forced upon that calamity which they
endeavour by sin to flee from.
(2.) He had <I>relied upon the king of Egypt,</I> and the king of Egypt
should be his ineffectual helper: <I>Pharaoh with his mighty army shall
not make for him in the war</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
shall to him no service, nor give any check to the progress of the
Chaldean forces; he shall not assist him in the <I>siege</I> by
<I>casting up mounts and building forts,</I> nor in battle by
<I>cutting off many person.</I> Note, Every creature is that to us
which God makes it to be; and he commonly weakens and withers that
<I>arm of flesh</I> which we trust in and stay ourselves upon. Now was
again fulfilled what was spoken on a former similar occasion
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+30:7">Isa. xxx. 7</A>),
<I>The Egyptians shall help in vain.</I> They did so; for though, upon
the approach of the Egyptian army, the Chaldeans withdrew from the
siege of Jerusalem, upon their retreat they returned to it again and
took it. It should seem, the Egyptians were not hearty, had strength
enough, but no good-will, to help Zedekiah. Note, Those who deal
treacherously with those who put a confidence in them will justly be
dealt treacherously with by those they put a confidence in. Yet the
Egyptians were not the only states Zedekiah stayed himself upon; he had
bands of his own to stand by him, but those bands, though we may
suppose they were veteran troops and the best soldiers his kingdom
afforded, shall become <I>fugitives,</I> shall quit their posts, and
make the best of their way, and shall <I>fall by the sword</I> of the
enemy, and the <I>remains of them shall be scattered,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
This was fulfilled <I>when the city was broken up and all the men of
war fled,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+52:7">Jer. lii. 7</A>.
This <I>you shall now that I the Lord have spoken it.</I> Note, Sooner
or later God's word will prove itself; and those who will not believe
shall find by experience the reality and weight of it.</P>
<A NAME="Eze17_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze17_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze17_24"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Promises of Mercy.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 593.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>22 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; I will also take of the highest
branch of the high cedar, and will set <I>it;</I> I will crop off from
the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant <I>it</I> upon
a high mountain and eminent:
&nbsp; 23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and
it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly
cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the
shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
&nbsp; 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have
dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish:
I the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have spoken and have done <I>it.</I>
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
When the royal family of Judah was brought to desolation by the
captivity of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah it might be asked, "What has now
become of the covenant of royalty made with David, that <I>his children
should sit upon his throne for evermore?</I> Do the <I>sure mercies of
David</I> prove thus unsure?" To this it is sufficient for the
silencing of the objectors to answer that the promise was conditional.
If <I>they will keep my covenant,</I> then they shall continue,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+132:12">Ps. cxxxii. 12</A>.
But David's posterity broke the condition, and so forfeited the
promise. But the unbelief of man shall not invalidate the promise of
God. He will find out another <I>seed of David</I> in which it shall be
accomplished; and that is promised in these verses.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. The house of David shall again be magnified, and out of its ashes
another phoenix shall arise. The metaphor of a tree, which was made us
of in the threatening, is here presented in the promise,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:22,23"><I>v.</I> 22, 23</A>.
This promise had its accomplishment in part when Zerubbabel, a branch
of the house of David, was raised up to head the Jews in their return
out of captivity, and to rebuild the city and temple and re-establish
their church and state; but it was to have its full accomplishment in
the kingdom of the Messiah, who was a root out of a dry ground, and to
whom God, according to promise, gave <I>the throne of his father
David,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:32">Luke i. 32</A>.
1. God himself undertakes the reviving and restoring of the house of
David. Nebuchadnezzar was the <I>great eagle</I> that had attempted the
re-establishing of the house of David in a dependence upon him,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
But the attempt miscarried; his plantation withered and was plucked up.
"Well," says God, "the next shall be of my planting: <I>I will also
take of the highest branch of the high cedar and I will set it.</I>"
Note, As men have their designs, God also has his designs; but his will
prosper when theirs are blasted. Nebuchadnezzar prided himself in
setting up kingdoms at his pleasure,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+5:19">Dan. v. 19</A>.
But those kingdoms soon had an end, whereas the <I>God of heaven sets
up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+2:44">Dan. ii. 44</A>.
2. The house of David is revived in a <I>tender one cropped from the
top of his young twigs.</I> Zerubbabel was so; that which was hopeful
in him was but the <I>day of small things</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+4:10">Zech. iv. 10</A>),
yet before him <I>great mountains</I> were <I>made plain.</I> Our Lord
Jesus was <I>the highest branch of the high cedar,</I> the furthest of
all from <I>the root</I> (for soon after he appeared the <I>house of
David</I> was all cut off and extinguished), but the nearest of all to
heaven, for his kingdom was not of this world. He was <I>taken from the
top of the young twigs,</I> for he is <I>the man, the branch, a
tender</I> plant, and a <I>root out of a dry ground</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+53:2">Isa. liii. 2</A>),
but a <I>branch of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may
be glorified.</I>
3. This branch is planted <I>in a high mountain</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
in the <I>mountain of the height of Israel,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
Thither he brought Zerubbabel in triumph; there he raised up his son
Jesus, sent him to gather the <I>lost sheep of the house of Israel</I>
that were <I>scattered upon the mountains,</I> set him <I>his king</I>
upon <I>his holy hill of Zion,</I> sent forth the gospel from <I>Mount
Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem;</I> there, in the <I>height
of Israel,</I> a nation which all its neighbours had an eye upon as
conspicuous and illustrious, was the Christian church first planted.
The churches of Judea were the most primitive churches. The unbelieving
Jews did what they could to prevent its being planted there; but who
can pluck up what God will plant?
4. Thence it spreads far and wide. The Jewish state, though it began
very low in Zerubbabel's time, was set as a tender branch, which might
easily be plucked up, yet took root, spread strangely, and after some
time became very considerable; those of other nations, <I>fowl of every
wing,</I> put themselves under the protection of it. The Christian
church was at first like a grain of mustard-seed, but became, like this
tender branch, a great tree, its beginning small, but its latter end
increasing to admiration. When the Gentiles flocked into the church
then did the <I>fowl of every wing</I> (even the birds of prey, which
those preyed upon, as the <I>wolf and the lamb</I> feeding together,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:6">Isa. xi. 6</A>)
come and <I>dwell under the shadow of this goodly cedar.</I> See
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+4:21">Dan. iv. 21</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. God himself will herein be glorified,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+17:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
The setting up of the Messiah's kingdom in the world shall discover
more clearly than ever to the children of men that <I>God is the King
of all the earth,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+47:7">Ps. xlvii. 7</A>.
Never was there a more full conviction given of this truth, that all
things are governed by an infinitely wise and mighty Providence, than
that which was given by the exaltation of Christ and the establishment
of his kingdom among men; for by that it appeared that God has all
hearts in his hand, and the sovereign disposal of all affairs. <I>All
the trees of the field shall know,</I>
1. That the tree which God will have to be <I>brought down,</I> and
<I>dried up,</I> shall be so, though it be ever so high and stately,
ever so green and flourishing. Neither honour nor wealth, neither
external advancements nor internal endowments, will secure men from
humbling withering providence.
2. That the tree which God will have to be exalted, and to flourish,
shall so be, shall so do, though ever so low, and ever so dry. The
house of Nebuchadnezzar, that now makes so great a figure, shall be
extirpated, and the house of David, that now makes so mean a figure,
shall become famous again; and the Jewish nation, that is now
despicable, shall be considerable. The kingdom of Satan, that has borne
so long, so large, a sway, shall be broken, and the kingdom of Christ,
that was looked upon with contempt, shall be established. The Jews,
who, in respect of church-privileges, had been high and green, shall be
thrown out, and the Gentiles, who had been low and dry trees, shall be
taken in their room,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:1">Isa. liv. 1</A>.
All the enemies of Christ shall be abased and made his footstool, and
his interests shall be confirmed and advanced: <I>I the Lord have
spoken</I> (it is the decree, the declared decree, that Christ must be
exalted, must be the headstone of the corner), and <I>I have done
it,</I> that is, I will do it in due time, but it is as sure to be done
as if it were done already. With men <I>saying and doing are two
things,</I> but they are not so with God. What he has spoken we may be
sure that he will do, nor shall one iota or tittle of his word fall to
the ground, for <I>he is not a man, that he should lie, or the son of
man, that he should repent</I> either of his threatenings or of his
promises.</P>
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