Dusk on a rocky slope above the Jordan thickets: an empty lion’s den under an overhanging rock, flattened grass at its mouth and a few dry branches, no animal there.

Parables and laments

Ezekiel 19

What do you mourn that was lost through pride?

14 verses≈ 3 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

1–3Visions of gloryBy the Kebar, about 593 BC: the throne, the scroll, the watchman
4–7Signs of the siegeA brick, a ration, a razor: the end has come
8–11The glory departsAbout 592 BC: the temple’s abominations, the mark, the glory goes east
12–15False hopesExile acted out, false prophets, a useless vine
16–19Parables and lamentsAn unfaithful bride, two eagles, the one who sinsChapter 19
20–24The sword drawnRebellion retold; the siege begins, about 588 BC
25–32The nations judgedAmmon to Egypt: the LORD is Judge of all the earth
33–36A new heartThe city falls; the Good Shepherd; cleansed and made new
37–39Dry bones liveOne people raised up, and Gog of Magog defeated
40–48The LORD is thereAbout 573 BC: the new temple, the river, the land

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

God

Dusk in a thicket at the edge of a rocky wadi, a lioness crouched low in dry grass, two young lions behind her, alert and still.

“As for you, take up a lament for the princes of Israel and say:

‘What was your mother?

A lioness among the lions!

She lay down among the young lions;

she reared her cubs.

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God

She brought up one of her cubs,

and he became a young lion.

After learning to tear his prey,

he devoured men.

God

God

When the nations heard of him,

he was trapped in their pit.

With hooks they led him away

to the land of Egypt.

God

When she saw that she had waited in vain,

that her hope was lost,

she took another of her cubs

and made him a young lion.

God

Early morning on a high rocky ridge above the Jordan valley: a maned lion stands broadside, head raised, roaring, mist in the valley below.

He prowled among the lions,

and became a young lion.

After learning to tear his prey,

he devoured men.

He broke down their strongholds

and devastated their cities.

The land and everything in it

shuddered at the sound of his roaring.

God

Then the nations set out against him

from the provinces on every side.

They spread their net over him;

he was trapped in their pit.

God

God

With hooks they caged him

and brought him to the king of Babylon.

They brought him into captivity

so that his roar was heard no longer

on the mountains of Israel.

Question

Quick question

Look again at the first young lion.

Where was the first young lion led away to (19:4)?

God

Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,

planted by the water;

it was fruitful and full of branches

because of the abundant waters.

Ezekiel 19:10

God

A great old grapevine by a stream in full summer leaf, its thick trunk rising high above the growth around it, several straight strong branches standing up tall above the dense foliage.

It had strong branches, fit for a ruler’s scepter.

It towered high above the thick branches,

conspicuous for its height

and for its dense foliage.

God

God

But it was uprooted in fury,

cast down to the ground,

and the east wind dried up its fruit.

Its strong branches were stripped off

and they withered;

the fire consumed them.

God

A small, thin vine planted alone in cracked, dry ground on the flat open Babylonian plain, wilting in the heat, no water near, a huge empty sky.

Now it is planted in the wilderness,

in a dry and thirsty land.

God

Dusk on dry ground: a burnt vine stump with one blackened branch broken off beside it, ash on the earth, under a darkening empty sky.

Fire has gone out from its main branch

and devoured its fruit;

on it no strong branch remains

fit for a ruler’s scepter.’

This is a lament and shall be used as a lament.”

0:12

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Pray

Lord, I grieve over what pride destroys. When every branch is gone, You are still faithful to David’s line. Let me rest under the reign of Jesus, the Lion of Judah. Amen.

Two cubs and a vine

Whiteboard

A funeral song for a royal house, sung before it fell.

You’ve experienced

Ezekiel 19

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A verse to carry with you

Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of the abundant waters.

Ezekiel 19:10

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