A Lament for the Princes of Israel

Read: Ezekiel 19 (slight emphasis on vv. 10-14)

Record: At first glance this chapter seems difficult to comprehend, but with a bit of help from the commentators, the chapter comes together nicely.  As the subtitle suggests, this is a lament.  Laments are a type of Hebrew poetry used during funerals.  Those hearing this specific lament would’ve immediately thought a death had taken place or in the case of Ezekiel 19, about to take place.
There are two main images that make up this chapter:

• a lioness with her cubs
• a vine and its branches

Both of these images were associated with the royal tribe of Judah which makes this chapter that much clearer.  Combine the metric verse of a lament with the royal imagery associated with Judah and the message being proclaimed is a death song concerning the princes of Israel (19:1).

Image #1: a lioness with her cubs (vv. 1-9)
She gives birth to cubs and one strong cub arises to become a leader.  He devoured his prey–men.  The nations got wind of him, trapped him, and led him with hooks to Egypt.  The lioness then takes another cub and makes him and even stronger lion.  He is more dreadful than the first cub, but suffers the same fate.  The nations spread their net, trapped him in a pit, and with hooks pulled him into a cage.  He was put in prison in Babylon with his roar silenced.

Image #2: a vine and its branches (vv. 10-14)
A vine is planted by abundant water.  The branches are tall, strong, and numerous, and stand out for that reason.  The east wind uproots the vine and shrivels up its fruit; the branches are then consumed by fire leaving nothing.  Originally, the vine’s strong branch was fit for a ruler’s scepter, but ultimately nothing is left nor useful for a royal scepter.

Reflect:  I want to spend my time reflecting on the vine image.  The text is clear that the vine was not only by a cheap source of water, but by abundant water.  It had plenty of what it needed most.  The branches grew strong worthy of a king’s ruling instrument.  The vine itself become a thing of beauty and strength surpassing all the foliage around it.  But in the end, the vine gets burned, uprooted, and replanted in the desert.  The vine is none other than Judah.

Respond:  The Lord gave Judah everything.  The only way the text allows you to describe her situation was that it was the absolute best.  Yet, Judah’s pride wasn’t in the Lord who provided perfection, Judah’s pride was entirely in her own strength and beauty.  For this, she was punished and exiled to the desert.

This is nothing new in redemptive history.  A quick glance back to the Garden of Eden makes the point.  Adam was created with everything perfect around him.  He had everything he needed in abundance.  But ultimately when the task of obedience was set before him, his response was one in self-trust (aka pride).

Both settings have strong similarities… one man in the covenant of works: Adam and a nation in the reconstitution of the works covenant: Judah.  In both biblical history settings, God’s great goodness is returned with sin.  Notably that sin is pride in creation rather than the Creator.

But there is good news in this sealed fate of Judah, because both images offer a powerful hint to the biblical reader.  There is a lion stronger than all the other cubs.  There is also a vine stronger than the one uprooted in our passage.  And Scripture tells us that Jesus is both:

• the Lion of the Tribe of Judah
• the Root of David

Revelation 5:5 ties our two images together:

5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

The two images in Ezekiel 19 are telling the same story of sin and punishment.  This is the point, because it is also my Savior’s story too.  He bore my sins and took my punishment; only He didn’t sin (I did) and he should not have been punished (I should have been).   The absolute blessing in all of this is that I can already now look to heaven and see Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the Root of David, receiving the praise and honor that is due to Him alone.  So if I’m going to be prideful about anything, it’s to boast in the cross of my Savior and nothing else.

My prayer is that God would allow me to savor the reality of Christ’s work on my behalf as we are lifted up to the heaven during our corporate worship.  May my pride be the kind that exalts in the person and work of Christ and nothing else.  May I not take the perfect blessings that God has given me and then turn them into reasons for finding pride in myself.  Help me to look to Christ.