Sunday Evening

1. A Riddle and a Prayer
Ezekiel 17
Maud church of Christ
by Jim Bradshaw
Sunday Evening, Jan. 19, 2014

2. A Great Eagle
Eze 17:1-6 NKJV And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, (2)
"Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel,
(3) and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "A great eagle with large wings
and long pinions, Full of feathers of various colors, Came to Lebanon
And took from the cedar the highest branch. (4) He cropped off its
topmost young twig And carried it to a land of trade; He set it in a city of
merchants. (5) Then he took some of the seed of the land And planted it
in a fertile field; He placed it by abundant waters And set it like a willow
tree. (6) And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature; Its
branches turned toward him, But its roots were under it. So it became a
vine, Brought forth branches, And put forth shoots.

3. A Great Eagle
Lebanon refers to Israel:
Jos 1:3-4 NKJV Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I
have given you, as I said to Moses. (4) From the wilderness and this
Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the
Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be
your territory.
2Ki 14:9 NKJV And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of
Judah, saying, "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was
in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as wife'; and a wild
beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.

4. A Great Eagle
The Great Eagle is King Nebuchadnezzar:
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Jehoiachin is taken into captivity to the city of Merchants,
Babylon (2 Kings 24:12-16)
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Nebuchadnezzar places another king (2 Kings 24:16-20)
Zedekiah given opportunity to become great, “like a will tree.”
Zedekial becomes no more prominent than a vine.

5. Another Great Eagle
Eze 17:7-10 NKJV "But there was another great eagle with large wings
and many feathers; And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, And
stretched its branches toward him, From the garden terrace where it had
been planted, That he might water it. (8) It was planted in good soil by
many waters, To bring forth branches, bear fruit, And become a majestic
vine." ' (9) "Say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Will it thrive? Will he not
pull up its roots, Cut off its fruit, And leave it to wither? All of its spring
leaves will wither, And no great power or many people Will be needed to
pluck it up by its roots. (10) Behold, it is planted, Will it thrive? Will it
not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the
garden terrace where it grew." ' "

6. Another Great Eagle
Another eagle not quite as impressive as the first, represents:
Pharaoh Hophra
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Zedekiah would make a covenant with Hophra.
Betrays Nebuchadnezzar and thinks Egypt will protect Judah.
Zedekiah was warned, and yet still did not listen.
Read Jeremiah 37:1-10

7. Broken Covenant
Nebuchadnezzar would have left Judah alone.
 Read Ezekiel 17:11-21
 Read 2 Kings 25:1-7
 Zedekiah should have relied in God
 Judah did not need a covenant with Egypt
Exo 34:10-12 NKJV And He said: "Behold, I make a covenant. Before
all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the
earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall
see the work of the LORD. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with
you. (11) Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving
out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and
the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. (12) Take heed to yourself,
lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are
going, lest it be a snare in your midst.

8. A New Covenant & Kingdom
Eze 17:22-24 NKJV Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will take also one
of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off
from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on
a high and prominent mountain. (23) On the mountain height of
Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and
be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the
shadow of its branches they will dwell. (24) And all the trees of the
field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree
and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry
tree flourish; I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it."

9. A New Covenant & Kingdom
1.
2.
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5.
6.
7.
Who does this speak? Zerubbabel
Does not fit; Israel never regain earthly power
In verse 24, “All the trees suggests something more universal.
Better interpreted as a Messianic prophecy.
Take of the highest branch – Jesus Christ
Tender one – Jesus lowly beginning on earth
When job was finished, Jesus is reigning with the Father.
Gen 12:2-3 NKJV I will make you a great nation; I will bless you
And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will
bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And
in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

10. A New Covenant & Kingdom
Isa 11:1 NKJV There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
Zec 6:12 NKJV Then speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of
hosts, saying: "Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His
place He shall branch out, And He shall build the temple of the LORD;
Jer 23:5 NKJV "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I
will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and
prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
Isa 53:2 NKJV For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And
as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we
see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

11. A New Covenant & Kingdom
Isa 2:2-3 NKJV Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the
mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the
mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall
flow to it. (3) Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up
to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will
teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall
go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Isa 11:1 NKJV There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

12. A New Covenant & Kingdom
Dan 2:44 NKJV And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will
set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall
not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
Mar 9:1 NKJV And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there
are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom
of God present with power."
Act 1:8 NKJV But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."