Ezekiel 17

The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

“Son of man, tell a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers which had various colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.

He cropped off the topmost of its young twigs, and carried it to a land of traffic. He planted it in a city of merchants.

“‘“He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in fruitful soil. He placed it beside many waters. He set it as a willow tree.

It grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him. So it became a vine, produced branches, and shot out sprigs.

“‘“There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. Behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot out its branches toward him, from the ground where it was planted, that he might water it.

It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might produce branches and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a good vine.”’

“Say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Will it prosper? Won’t he pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, that it may wither, that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? It can’t be raised from its roots by a strong arm or many people.

Yes, behold, being planted, will it prosper? Won’t it utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the ground where it grew.”’”

Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

“Say now to the rebellious house, ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon.

He took one of the royal offspring, and made a covenant with him. He also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land,

that the kingdom might be brought low, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.

But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the covenant, and still escape?

“‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the middle of Babylon he will die.

Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company won’t help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts to cut off many persons.

For he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things. He won’t escape.

“Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘As I live, I will surely bring on his own head my oath that he has despised and my covenant that he has broken.

I will spread my net on him, and he will be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me.

All his fugitives in all his bands will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered toward every wind. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken it.’

“The Lord GOD says: ‘I will also take some of the lofty top of the cedar, and will plant it. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

I will plant it in the mountain of the height of Israel; and it will produce boughs, and bear fruit, and be a good cedar. Birds of every kind will dwell in the shade of its branches.

All the trees of the field will 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 flourish. “‘I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.’”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter presents a prophetic riddle and parable concerning the political and spiritual unfaithfulness of Judah’s leadership, particularly King Zedekiah, using the imagery of two eagles and a vine to depict alliances with Babylon and Egypt. It explains why Judah’s rebellion will result in divine judgment and concludes with a promise of future restoration under a Davidic ruler, ultimately fulfilled in Christ.

Flow.

The Lord commands Ezekiel to deliver a riddle involving a great eagle (Babylon) plucking the top of a cedar (Judah) and planting a vine (Zedekiah’s puppet kingdom).
A second eagle (Egypt) appears, and the vine turns toward it for support, symbolizing Zedekiah’s alliance with Pharaoh against Babylon.
God declares that this treachery will fail: the vine will be uprooted because the king broke his covenant and oath under divine witness.
The chapter ends with a promise that God himself will plant a new, noble shoot from the cedar, establishing an everlasting kingdom that brings life to all.

Connections.
Following chapter 16, which detailed Jerusalem’s spiritual adultery and covenant unfaithfulness from her origins to exile, chapter 17 continues the theme of divine judgment for broken covenants but shifts focus to the political consequences of idolatrous alliances. It grounds the coming fall of Jerusalem not merely in moral failure but in Judah’s defiance of God’s sovereign arrangement through Babylon. This prepares for chapter 18, which addresses individual responsibility before God, further clarifying how judgment and mercy operate under God’s righteous rule.

What it teaches.
God sovereignly establishes rulers and covenants, and rebellion against them—especially when sworn with an oath before the Lord—is rebellion against God himself (WCF 23.1). Zedekiah’s breach of covenant, though politically motivated, is treated as a violation of divine order (), showing that oaths made under God’s authority are binding and cannot be lightly broken (WLC Q. 124). Yet God retains the right to judge and restore: He alone brings down the proud and raises the lowly (), foreshadowing His ultimate act of redemption in the Messiah, the tender sprig planted on the mountain of Israel (; cf. WCF 8.8, HC LD 19). This final promise points beyond return from exile to the coming of Christ, the true heir of David’s throne.

Apply.
When human strategies fail and alliances collapse, God’s sovereign purpose endures, establishing His kingdom not by political maneuvering but by His own hand.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.