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Day 18 Ezekiel 17 Ezekiel 17:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; 3 And say, Thus says the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, long winged, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: 4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants. 5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. 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. 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. 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. 9 Say thou, Thus says the Lord GOD; 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. 10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind touches it? It shall wither in the furrows where it grew. 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? Tell them, 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; 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: 14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. 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 does such things? Or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? 16 As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwells that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: 18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; As 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. 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. 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 LORD have spoken it. 22 Thus says the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: 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. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD 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 LORD have spoken and have done it. Have things happened in your life, for which you don’t have an explanation? Do you continue to face circumstances that defy logic? God gave Ezekiel a parable of what he did and why he did it, in taking Judah to Babylon. Even as Judah and Israel would not keep the covenant he made with them on Mount Sinai, so Judah did not keep the covenant God made for them with Babylon, but still they rebelled. God brought them up out of Egypt, through the wilderness, into the Promised Land. He took care of them the whole way. Yet, at every turn, they rebelled against him, so that they sojourned in the wilderness for forty years. They failed to destroy all the countries of Canaan, when God brought them into the Promised Land. Instead they took their gods as their own, and worshiped them instead of God who had brought them through. And they continued to rebel, no matter how God took care of them. Therefore, God sent trouble their way. Wars with the nations they were supposed to displace and destroy. He sent prophets to tell them his plan for them if they continued their rebellion, and then he carried it out, exiling both Israel and Judah to Assyria and Babylon, and still they continue to rebel. What will it take for you to understand what is going on in your life? Will you continue to do the same as Israel in rebelling against God? As Christians, you know the truth of God’s love and mercy, yet you too want to do things your way and not God’s way. How long will you live in the fire when you can live in peace and safety? Even the early church faced similar situations because they thought they could be a Christian in name, but live in the world as they had been when they accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. Paul said: 2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believes with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. When you accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, you covenanted with God to obey him and follow him for the rest of your life. It isn’t an easy thing to do with so many temptations Satan puts in your path, but you need to learn to say no to Satan. When you stand on God’s Word and his promises for you, Satan will flee. James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (KJV) Jesus said to take his yoke on you and learn from him. Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (KJV) Why make your life harder than it needs to be? Take hold of Jesus’ hand again, trust him, and he will take care of you, and you will find all those circumstances will disappear. Let’s pray: Father, you know what is best for me. I might not always understand your purpose for me. Help me obey you even when I don’t see the outcome. You do, and I need to trust you to take care of me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 7 January 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay