2 `Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel,
`The trees have diligently gone to anoint over them a king, and they say to the olive, Reign thou over us. And the olive saith to them, Have I ceased from my fatness, by which they honour gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees? And the trees say to the fig, Come thou, reign over us. And the fig saith to them, Have I ceased from my sweetness, and my good increase, that I have gone to stagger over the trees? `And the trees say to the vine, Come thou, reign over us. And the vine saith to them, Have I ceased from my new wine, which is rejoicing gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees? And all the trees say unto the bramble, Come thou, reign over us. And the bramble saith unto the trees, If in truth ye are anointing me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow; and if not -- fire cometh out from the bramble, and devoureth the cedars of Lebanon.
And Samson saith to them, `Let me, I pray you, put forth to you a riddle; if ye certainly declare it to me `in' the seven days of the banquet, and have found `it' out, then I have given to you thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments; and if ye are not able to declare `it' to me, then ye have given to me thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments.' And they say to him, `Put forth thy riddle, and we hear it!' And he saith to them: `Out of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness;' and they were not able to declare the riddle `in' three days. And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they say to Samson's wife, `Entice thy husband, that he declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and the house of thy father with fire; to possess us have ye called for us? is it not?' And Samson's wife weepeth for it, and saith, `Thou hast only hated me, and hast not loved me; the riddle thou hast put forth to the sons of my people -- and to me thou hast not declared it;' and he saith to her, `Lo, to my father and to my mother I have not declared `it' -- and to thee I declare `it'!' And she weepeth for it the seven days `in' which their banquet hath been, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day that he declareth `it' to her, for she hath distressed him; and she declareth the riddle to the sons of her people. And the men of the city say to him on the seventh day, before the sun goeth in: -- `What `is' sweeter than honey? And what stronger than a lion?' And he saith to them: `Unless ye had ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.' And the Spirit of Jehovah prospereth over him, and he goeth down to Ashkelon, and smiteth of them thirty men, and taketh their armour, and giveth the changes to those declaring the riddle; and his anger burneth, and he goeth up to the house of his father;
And Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: `Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor; The rich hath flocks and herds very many; And the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to him as a daughter; And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'
`Because of this, in similes do I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand, and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah, that saith, With hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not perceive,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 17
Commentary on Ezekiel 17 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 17
God was, in the foregoing chapter, reckoning with the people of Judah, and bringing ruin upon them for their treachery in breaking covenant with him; in this chapter he is reckoning with the king of Judah for his treachery in breaking covenant with the king of Babylon; for when God came to contend with them he found many grounds of his controversy. The thing was now in doing: Zedekiah was practising with the king of Egypt underhand for assistance in a treacherous project he had formed to shake off the yoke of the king of Babylon, and violate the homage and fealty he had sworn to him. For this God by the prophet here,
Eze 17:1-21
We must take all these verses together, that we may have the parable and the explanation of it at one view before us, because they will illustrate one another.
Let us now see what the matter of this message is.
Eze 17:22-24
When the royal family of Judah was brought to desolation by the captivity of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah it might be asked, "What has now become of the covenant of royalty made with David, that his children should sit upon his throne for evermore? Do the sure mercies of David prove thus unsure?' To this it is sufficient for the silencing of the objectors to answer that the promise was conditional. If they will keep my covenant, then they shall continue, Ps. 132:12. But David's posterity broke the condition, and so forfeited the promise. But the unbelief of man shall not invalidate the promise of God. He will find out another seed of David in which it shall be accomplished; and that is promised in these verses.