1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 say, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig, 6 and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.
7 “And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.
9 “Say, Thus says the Lord God: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”
REFLECTION:
This chapter uses two eagles as a metaphor. The first eagle represents King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who arranged for Zedekiah to be the puppet king in Jerusalem. Zedekiah rebelled against this arrangement and tried to ally with Egypt to fight against Babylon. The second eagle represents Egypt. Ezekiel described these events in Babylon, far from Jerusalem. Prophet Jeremiah of Judah also warned Zedekiah not to enter into such a covenant in Jerusalem (see Jeremiah 2:36-37). Although people are in different areas, the prophets have the same message, because the two are God’s vessels, and both are sincerely speaking for God. God guides His chosen spokesperson to speak the truth that He wants to speak to the whole world. Zedekiah eventually formed an alliance with Egypt, but even though Pharaoh led a large army and a large crowd, he still could not help Zedekiah. In 588 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem, and Pharaoh Hophra sent troops to relieve the siege, which made King Zedekiah and the people excited. But Pharaoh broke the covenant and quickly retreated. Jerusalem eventually fell in 586 BC. King Zedekiah also abandoned the covenant he made with God, his country was destroyed, his eyes were gouged out, and he died in prison. Reflect whether we are in alliance with God or with the world today. If you turn your back on the faithful God and turn to the embrace of an unreliable world, that would be the most stupid thing! May God give us heavenly wisdom, knowing that the most important thing in life is to keep the covenant with God and do everything under His guidance.
PRAYER:
Pray for God to give you a pair of spiritual eyes that can see the essence of the world’s sins and lies through the superficial prosperity; pray for God to grant you heavenly wisdom, so that you can take Zedekiah as a negative example and seek God in everything in your life, not to be tempted by the world, and not to fall into the trap of the devil.
53 “I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, 54 that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. 55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state. 56 Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you. 58 You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.
59 “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, 60 yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”
REFLECTION:
The message in this chapter is a reminder of the former contempt of Jerusalem among the Canaanite nations. God used the image of a baby girl to grow into a mature woman to remind Jerusalem that it was God who raised her from a humble state and obtained the great glory of being a bride for God. But she betrayed God’s trust, flattering and prostituting herself to foreign nations, imitating their customs. Because the people of Israel did not keep their promises and did not want to repent, they were not worthy of anything but punishment. However, God, who is both righteous and loving, will not withdraw His promises to them. If the people are willing to turn back, God will forgive them again and re-establish the covenant with them. Today, as the people of God, if we also leave God aside and pursue other things, even things like career, family, and education that sound like good reasons to pursue, we are betraying God in the same way. As long as you repent sincerely when you committed a sin, you will be forgiven by God. Although we are not worthy of anything and only worthy of God’s punishment for our sins, God’s merciful hand can touch us. When we repent and fall into the embrace of God, God will forgive and never reject us. May we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and our lack in the world will be given to us by God.
PRAYER:
Come to God and talk to God about your love for Him; review the covenant you made with God at the beginning, express to God your willingness to keep the covenant, and follow Him for the rest of your life; ask God to give you greater faith, entrust your current needs and lacks to Him, so that you are willing to leave the world’s entanglements and run the heavenly journey.
1 And the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? 4 Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? 5 Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! 6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. 8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God.”
REFLECTION:
This chapter uses the metaphor of the vine to convey the message of God’s judgment. Grape vine is a vine, and its main purpose is to produce sweet grapes. Its material is not suitable for making utensils. It can’t even make nails to hang things, so it is “used for nothing.” If the vine does not bear fruit, it is only suitable for firewood, and it will be even more useless after it is burned. The people of Jerusalem seemed to God to be such a useless vine. Because they worshipped idols and did not have the holy life that God’s people should have, they were destroyed, and even their homes were burned down. Isaiah once compared the nation of Israel to a vineyard. If it does not produce good fruits, it will be ruined and trampled. There are thorns and thistles growing in it (cf. Isa. 5: 1-8). The Lord Jesus also said that all grape branches that did not bear fruit must be cut off and thrown into the fire (cf. John 15: 1-8). Reflect whether we have become numb to God’s teaching today and unable to bear fruit. May we listen to and obey the call and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, not just have branches and leaves, but strive to bear abundant spiritual fruits!
PRAYER:
Ask God to have mercy on your weakness. When you are far away from God, use His cord of love to pull you back to His side, so that you are like a branch abides in the true vine – our Lord Jesus Christ, gain faith and strength from Christ, imitate the humility and meekness of Christ, obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit, live an abundant life, and bear a good testimony to the Lord!
