Ezekiel 19

Responsibility is one of the major themes of these four chapters. The Jewish exiles in Babylon were blaming their ancestors for the terrible judgment that had befallen them, so Ezekiel explained that God judges people individually for their own sins and not for somebody else’s sins (chap. 18). He then pointed out that the Jewish leaders were responsible for the foolish decisions they had made (chap. 19), and that the nation itself had a long history of irresponsibility (chap. 20). Finally, the prophet reminded his listeners that the Lord Jehovah also had a responsibility to be faithful to Himself and His covenant with the Jews, and this was why He had chastened them (chap. 21). By dealing with the subject of personal and national responsibility, Ezekiel was able to answer the frequent complaints of the people that the Lord was treating them unfairly.

Responsibility and accountability are needed themes in our own day. Irresponsibility is rampant, and very few people are willing to take the blame for wrongs committed or mistakes made. In his Devil’s Dictionary, the cynical Ambrose Bierce defined responsibility as “a detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, luck, or one’s neighbor.” After our first parents sinned, Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent, but God still held Adam and Eve responsible for their disobedience and punished them accordingly. The Jews in Ezekiel’s day were sure that God would deliver them and spare Jerusalem because Israel was God’s chosen people, but they forgot that privilege always brings responsibility. They had the greatest law ever given to a nation, but they disobeyed it. The Lord gave them a wonderful land for their home, and they defiled it with idolatry. They violated the terms of the divine covenant and then were shocked when the Lord obeyed the covenant and chastened them.

Ezekiel had made it clear that individual Jews were responsible for their own sins, but it was also true that their leaders had led them astray because they had rebelled against God. Jeremiah had told the kings of Judah to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar because he was God’s chosen servant to chasten Israel, but they had refused to obey. Zedekiah, Judah’s last king, had agreed to a treaty with Nebuchadnezzar but then had broken it and sought help from Egypt. It was this foolish act that moved Nebuchadnezzar to send his army to Jerusalem and destroy the city and the temple.

Whether you read secular or sacred history, you soon discover that people become like their leaders. The same people who applauded Solomon when he built the temple also applauded Jeroboam when he set up the golden calves and instituted a new religion. One of the hardest tasks of Christian leaders today is to keep our churches true to the Word of God so that people don’t follow every religious celebrity whose ideas run contrary to Scripture. It appears that being popular and being “successful” are more important today than being faithful.

In discussing the sins of the leaders, Ezekiel used two familiar images—the lion (vv. 1–9) and the vine (vv. 10–14)—and he couched his message in the form of a funeral dirge for “the princes of Israel.” David’s exalted dynasty had come to an end, but the men holding the scepter were nothing like David. Ezekiel wouldn’t even call them “kings” but instead referred to them as “princes” (v. 1; see 7:27; 12:10, 12). Instead of lamenting their demise, the “funeral dirge” actually ridiculed the rulers of Israel; but later (21:27) Ezekiel would announce the coming of Messiah, the Son of David, who would be a worthy king.

Israel is like a lioness (vv. 1–9). The lioness represents the nation of Israel, or at least the royal tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:9; Num. 23:23; 24:9; 1 Kings 10:18–20; Mic. 5:8). The first royal “whelp” was Jehoahaz, who reigned over Judah for only three months (Ezek. 19:2–4; 2 Kings 23:31–35). He was also known as “Shallum” (Jer. 22:10–12). Pharaoh Neco took him captive to Egypt, where he died. The second royal “whelp” was Jehoiachin, who reigned three months and ten days (Ezek. 19:5–9; 2 Kings 24:8–16; 2 Chron. 36:9–10). Ezekiel describes him “strutting” and “roaring” (Ezek. 19:6–7) among the princes and the nations. Nebuchadnezzar took him to Babylon along with ten thousand captives and the temple treasures, and there he died. Jehoiachin turned a deaf ear to the preaching of Jeremiah, and the prophet didn’t have anything good to say about him (Jer. 22:18–19). In this brief parable, the Lord made it clear that these two kings of Judah thought themselves to be great leaders, but they ignored the Word of God, and He cut them down after their brief reigns.

Israel is like a vine (vv. 10–14). This is a familiar image in Scripture (Gen. 49:9–12; Isa. 5; Ps. 80:8–13; Jer. 2:21) and in Ezekiel’s prophecy (chap. 15; 17:1–10). The fruitful vine produced many kings who rebelled against God and was punished by being transplanted to Babylon, from “many waters” to a “desert” (Jer. 31:27–28). The last king of Judah, Zedekiah, broke his treaty with Babylon, rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and lost the scepter and the throne (2 Kings 24:17—25:7). With Zedekiah the Davidic dynasty ended, and he too died in captivity in Babylon (Jer. 52:11).

Had the nation of Israel obeyed the Lord, it would have become and remained a mighty lion and a fruitful vine that would have brought glory to the name of the Lord. Israel would have been a “light unto the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:6; 49:6), and many would have trusted in the true and living God. Israel didn’t keep the terms of the covenant, but the Lord did; and that’s why He chastened them and scattered them. God’s chosen people have no temple, priesthood, sacrifice, or king (Hos. 3:4–5). Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah, came as the lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5) and the true vine (John 15:1), “a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32), and the rightful heir to the throne of David (Luke 1:68–69), and His own people rejected Him. One day they shall see Him and receive Him, and God’s gracious covenant with David will be completely fulfilled (2 Sam. 7) when Jesus reigns in His kingdom (Ezek. 34:23–24; 37:24–25; Matt. 1:1).