Ezekiel 19, Lament For Israel’s Princes

On November 22, 1963, a lament was taken up for the slain president of the United States, John F. Kennedy. Walter Cronkite, the news voice of the nation, reported the assassination on TV, and despite his control, the emotion was palpable. Ezekiel is told to take up a lament for Israel’s fallen princes, her kings, likened to lions.

1 “Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel 2 and say:

“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions! She lay down among them and reared her cubs. 3 She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater. 4 The nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit. They led him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary identifies this first lion cub as “Jehoahaz,” who “learned, as a young lion, to tear and devour humankind, doing evil in the sight of the Lord (2Ki 23:32). Becoming world renowned for the violence in his reign of three months, he was seized in 609 B.C. like a hunted lion and brought bound to Egypt, where he ultimately died (2Ki 23:33-34; 2Ch 36:1-4; Jer 22:10-12).

5 “‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled, her expectation gone, she took another of her cubs and made him a strong lion. 6 He prowled among the lions, for he was now a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater. 7 He broke down their strongholds and devastated their towns. The land and all who were in it were terrified by his roaring. 8 Then the nations came against him, those from regions round about. They spread their net for him, and he was trapped in their pit. 9 With hooks they pulled him into a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison, so his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.

Expositor’s says, “The second whelp was Jehoiakim’s son, Jehoiachin (cf. 2Ki 24:8-17; 2Ch 36:8-10)—Jehoiakim himself is bypassed. Judah’s hope had perished with the nation’s decline under Jehoiakim’s pro-Egyptian leadership. Hope was renewed as the young eighteen-year-old prince Jehoiachin became king. However, his reign was not substantially different from his father’s, for Jehoiachin too learned to devour humankind. Jehoiachin destroyed cities and desolated the land. He did not escape the snare of the ‘lion-hunting’ nations that trapped him in their ‘pit’ and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar in a ‘cage’ in 597 B.C.”

“Ezekiel’s messages concern the trustworthiness of the contemporary rulers of Judah to lead the nation back to prominence. Ezekiel responds with a funeral dirge for Judah’s princes. The contemporary rulers were not worthy of anyone’s trust. They were examples of the wicked person in ch. 18. These rulers had been responsible for Judah’s present condition. They would die. No true rulers would be left in Judah.”

10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water. 11 Its branches were strong, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage, conspicuous for its height and for its many branches.12 But it was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground. The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped of its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them. 13 Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land. 14 Fire spread from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit. No strong branch is left on it fit for a ruler’s scepter.’

Again, Expositor’s says, 

The imagery changes to that of a “vine.” This figure often typifies the nation of Israel as a whole (15:1-6; 17:1-10; cf. Ps 80:8-16; Isa 5:1-7; 27:2-6). The imagery used by Ezekiel probably changes since Zedekiah was not the legitimate legal king of Judah, as were Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin.

The “fire” that “spread from one of its main branches” was the destruction that Zedekiah, Judah’s current ruler, had brought on Judah. Judah’s current condition was the responsibility, in part, of Zedekiah. Ezekiel had answered the exiles’ earlier question by demonstrating the foolishness of trusting in Zedekiah, for he was partially responsible for the imminent judgment. In fact, there was not a “strong branch” in Judah at all—no one “fit for a ruler’s scepter,” not even Zedekiah, who would be deported in 586 B.C. There was no hope! Judgment was coming!

“This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.” (Ezekiel 19)

If Israel was repentant, they would take up this lament.