Ezekiel 19 Commentary
Chapter 18 narrates the sad events of Judah’s last years of self-rule and political independence. In a little more than 20 years, David’s throne changes occupants four times. Jehoahaz is deposed by the Egyptians and Eliakim is installed in his place. Eliakim’s name is changed to Jehoiakim. The Babylonians have their own share of Jerusalem’s glory in a series of attacks. We are yet to see another attack – a brutal attack that will see the final destruction of the city and the temple of the LORD.
This is a lament and it must be used as such.
The scripture invites the reader to ponder the sad events of intense pain and suffering for God’s people. But that is just part of the story.
We are here because men and women rejected the rule of God over their lives. It has been a longstanding problem for Israel. The nation has been in decline from the moment it was established. It was a structure built on sand! They had elected human rulers instead of the LORD God. They wanted to be like other nations.
The first king, Saul, was godless. David was great but not exactly spotless. His reign became an example of what the LORD can do with “faith as little as a mustard seed”. Israel expanded and we have the closest resemblance to “the Promised Land”. But sin happened and kept happening until Israel exhausted the LORD’s patience. And so we are here. By this time, Israel is only a little more than a city-state. Jerusalem, all there is to talk about, is a disaster in waiting. The prophet Ezekiel has seen it all and is saddened.
The New Testament saints must look at these events with their own times in perspective. The world is in rebellion against the Creator God. Today’s rebellion isn’t independent of the rebellion we have seen in Ezekiel. In fact, it is an extension of the rebellion that started with Adam back in the Garden of Peace and Tranquility. Yes, there is a problem that needs fixing.
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