Ezekiel 19
We Three Kings in
Trouble We Are!
Pray
Intro
√ We three kings in trouble we are
By way of review chapters 12-19
were given by God to dismantle the false
hope and optimism of the Jews concerning the coming judgment of
God communicated through Ezekiel through a wide range of
tools so that the Jewish captives in
We’ve studied how God spoke through…
Signs
Sermons
Parables
…now we find the Lord using a new tool, a lamentation!
√ Lamentation
Is a song, or funeral dirge, that is sung or recited to honor the good deeds of the departed or to express sorrow over the tragedy of their death.
While we might think that a lament, or a lamentation are songs limited to the Bible and Middle Eastern culture…
…the reality is that we have many popular songs in our own culture that are lamentations.
Ex. Modern lamentations
Elton John’s song “Candle in the wind” was written as a lamentation over the tragic life and death of Marilyn Monroe.
Later rewritten and sung at Princess Diana’s funeral to lament her untimely death.
So, understanding then what a lamentation is we can jump into our study of Ezekiel where we find a number of lamentations that God gave to him.
Chapter 19 records the 1st of 5 lamentations that God spoke through Ezekiel.
3 are about
1 about
The lamentation recorded in chapter 19 is about
…they rebelled against God and were carried off as captives to foreign lands.
Thus the title I’ve selected for this “song”…
We Three Kings in
Trouble we are!
Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch!
Ap. What do you want people to say about you?
That is, if the Lord tarries and you are called to heaven by means of your death…
…what do you want people to say or sing about you?
You’re writing that song with your life and every choice you make.
What if the story of our lives are being recorded even now to be sung in eternity for the Lord?
Will your song be short, or a ballad recounting a life time of service to the King?
Will you be remembered as a servant of God, or as a person with great potential who never used their gifts for anyone but themselves?
Lamentation (vs. 1)
Ezek. 19:1 “Moreover
take up a lamentation for the princes
of
√ Lamentation
First note that God identifies who this lamentation is written about…
“Moreover take up a lamentation for the princes of
Throughout the book of Ezekiel he speaks of the kings in
The lamentation speaks of the death, or end, of the Davidic
line of kings who ruled in
A horrific thought to the people of
What they forgot was that God’s promise was conditional upon the obedience of David’s descendants.
What’s interesting is that Ezekiel sang this lamentation
about 5 years before the fall
of
…one more exhortation from the Lord that His judgment on
√ We three kings
In the following verses the lamentation is going to focus on
3 of
Jehoahaz
Jehoiachin
Zedekiah
As I mentioned in the introduction they have been selected because they all shared a similar fate…
…the first two serving as examples of what God has predicted would be Zedekiah’s fate!
Jehoahaz (vs. 2-5)
Ezek. 19:2 and say:
“What is your mother? A lioness:
She lay down among the lions;
Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.
Ezek. 19:3 She brought up one of her cubs,
And he became a young lion;
He learned to catch prey,
And he devoured men.
Ezek. 19:4 The nations also heard of him;
He was trapped in their pit,
And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.
Ezek. 19:5 “When she saw that she waited, that her hope was lost,
She took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
√ Lioness
Obviously the lamentation is using symbolic language to describe the line of kings who ruled in
The lioness represents
More specifically she probably represents the family of Judah from whom David descended and all the kings after him.
The final future king of
“The lion of the tribe of
So, symbolically the lioness is the “mother” from whom the
kings of
…from David forward all from the line of
√ Jehoahaz
None of the 3 kings are named in the lamentation so we have to pay attention to the clues that God gives in order that we might identify who they are.
The king spoken of in vs. 2-5 is Jehoahaz
How can we be sure? Look at vs. 4…
“The nations also heard of him; He was trapped in their pit, and
they brought him with chains to the
That only describes one king, Jehoahaz!
He was put on the throne after the tragic death of his godly father Josiah (ref. 2 Chr. 35).
Jehoahaz ruled only 3 months ~ did “evil” in the sight of the Lord.
Pharaoh Neco II then took him captive to
Remember, he wasn’t the only bad king of
Jehoiachin (vs. 6-9)
Ezek. 19:6 He roved among the lions,
And became a young lion;
He learned to catch prey;
He devoured men.
Ezek. 19:7 He knew their desolate places,
And laid waste their cities;
The land with its fullness was desolated
By the noise of his roaring.
Ezek. 19:8 Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side,
And spread their net over him;
He was trapped in their pit.
Ezek. 19:9 They put him in a cage with chains,
And
brought him to the king of
They brought him in nets,
That
his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of
√ Jehoiachin
After Jehoahaz was taken captive to
Pharaoh changed his name to Jehoiakim…
…but God doesn’t mention him here in Ezekiel’s lamentation!
Because he died in
Note: there’s some confusion about whether or not Jehoiakim was in fact taken to Babylon as the account in 2 Kings indicates he died in Jerusalem, while the account in 2 Chr. 36 indicates that Nebuchadnezzar took him captive.
It may be that he was taken captive and later released, then
died in
So, verses 6-9 skip over Jehoiakim to his son Jehoiachin who shared a similar fate with Jehoahaz!
Jehoiachin installed as king after his father’s death.
Ruled only 3 months ~ doing great damage to the people.
Nebuchadnezzar captured him and carried him to
We know the lion described in these verses is Jehoiachin because he was the 1st
of
Zedekiah (vs. 10-14)
Ezek. 19:10 “Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline,
Planted by the waters,
Fruitful and full of branches
Because of many waters.
Ezek. 19:11 She had strong branches for scepters of rulers.
She towered in stature above the thick branches,
And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.
Ezek. 19:12 But she was plucked up in fury,
She was cast down to the ground,
And the east wind dried her fruit.
Her strong branches were broken and withered;
The fire consumed them.
Ezek. 19:13 And now she is planted in the wilderness,
In a dry and thirsty land.
Ezek. 19:14 Fire has come out from a rod of her branches
And devoured her fruit,
So that she has no strong branch— a scepter for ruling.’ ” This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.
√ Vine
In the closing verses of this lamentation the Lord changes
the symbol for
Chapter 15 ~ the parable of the fruitless vine
Chapter 17 ~ the parable of the fierce eagles (who
carried away the vine.)
In verses 10-11 God laments about the past glory of the
mighty kings of
“She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches…” ~ vs. 11
God is speaking about kings like David, Solomon, Josiah, Uzziah and others who loved God and were therefore blessed by Him so that they became…
…strong and prosperous.
But, verses 12-15 tell of a different future in which the vine, her branches, and fruit will be destroyed!
Plucked out of the ground and left to wither from the heat of an east wind!
These verses are predictive of God’s plan for Zedekiah!
√ An East wind
Double meaning…
The prevailing winds in
The east wind that blew off the desert was called a “Sirocco” and would dry up the vegetation.
God predicts that
So, the east wind is used figuratively to represent the
oppression of
√ Zedekiah
Remember, Zedekiah is the king currently sitting on the
throne in
God had warned him through Jeremiah and Ezekiel that if he didn’t obey the word of God…
…then he would be carted off to
But, it hasn’t happened yet ~ still about 5 years away.
So, just as God has been speaking since chapter 12 He tells the Jewish captives once more that Zedekiah is doomed…
…to suffer a fate just like Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin!
Note what God says in vs. 12-15…
Vine ~
wilderness.
Branches ~ Zedekiah will be broken & consumed.
So that when God is finished…
“Fire has come out from a rod of her branches and devoured her fruit, so that she has no strong branch— a scepter for ruling.’ ” This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.” ~ vs. 14
That is, God predicts that once Zedekiah is taken captive to
…there will be no
more kings of David’s lineage ruling in
Historically that has been
None of the kings who ruled in
Herod and his family weren’t even Jewish!
The one exception will be the final and eternal King of
…Jesus the Messiah!
Close
√ We three kings in trouble we are!
So, chapter 19 records the sad song of three kings who chose to rebel against God and suffered for it.
Each taken captive and carried off to a foreign land where they died and were buried…
…a sign of God’s judgment as they were not buried in the Promised Land.
A good reminder by way of application that we are each writing our own song with the life we live.
What kind of song are you writing with your life?
You’re the one who gets to chose the lyrics ~ chose well!