Study notes

Ezekiel 19

Introducing EzekielWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

12:1–24:27 Section

Ezekiel continued sharing God’s messages of judgement among the Jews in Babylon. His actions of prophecy included packing bags for a trip and trembling while eating. He groaned and beat his chest and also drew a map for the king of Babylon. He didn’t cry when his wife died even though he loved her.

Some messages he spoke clearly to the people. He gave a short account of the entire history of Israel. He spoke against men and women who were false prophets. He spoke against elders who asked God for advice even while they worshipped false gods. Some people accused God of being unfair. They said that God punished them for sins they hadn’t committed. Those sins had been committed by their parents and their people from long ago. Ezekiel explained that God always and only ever does what is fair. God holds each person responsible for their own choices.

Ezekiel sang a sad song about Israel’s princes. Then he spoke clearly about King Zedekiah as an unholy and evil prince. Some Jews said that the judgement Ezekiel announced wouldn’t come for a very long time. They didn’t believe that God would allow Jerusalem to be destroyed. They didn’t believe that they deserved to be judged in this way. They didn’t think that they had lived in evil ways that had to be stopped. And they trusted that other nations would save Jerusalem from the Babylonian armies. God said that the time had come for him to act. This made it clear that no one could stop his judgement from coming.

Ezekiel shared some of God’s messages as poems and others as stories. In these stories God compared his people to different things. He compared them to a useless vine that was burnt in a fire. He compared them to a vine that grew the wrong way. He compared them to the scum left behind when metals are burnt to make silver. They were like meat in a pot that would be cooked over a hot fire. These were ways to describe the sins of the southern kingdom.

God compared his people to a baby girl that God rescued from the desert. But she grew up to be an unfaithful wife to God. God described Jerusalem and Samaria as two sisters who belonged to God. But they acted like prostitutes. These stories don’t mean that God had sex with anyone. God used marriage as a way to talk about being faithful and committed.

God had committed himself to being the Israelites’ God for ever. He had done this in the Mount Sinai covenant. The Israelites had committed to faithfully following the Law of Moses. The most important part of that was to worship and serve God only. But the people of the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom hadn’t done that. They didn’t trust God to give them peace, rest and safety. Instead they trusted the governments of nations like Assyria, Egypt and Babylon to protect them.

They followed the practices of the nations around them. They worshipped the false gods of other nations. This led them to treat needy people badly. It led them to want more and more wealth. It led them to sacrifice children to false gods. All of these things went against God’s laws. These were ways that God’s people had been unfaithful to him.

19:1–14

  • In the ancient Near East, a funeral song had a special rhythm and style. It usually praised the good qualities of the person who had died. It also compared past glory with the present loss.

    In this chapter, however, the people being mourned were not yet dead. The song does not praise them. Instead, it lists their sins and failures. This funeral song clearly shows that their judgment was certain and explains why it would happen.

  • The lion (Ezekiel 19:2–9) and the vine (19:10–14) were common pictures for Israel’s princes and for the royal family of Judah. These images would have been familiar to the people who first heard this message.

19:2–4

  • The first picture shows a lioness and one of her cubs, whom she chose as the leader of her group. This cub represents Jehoahaz, who ruled for only three months before Pharaoh Neco took him to Egypt (2 Kings 23:33–34).

  • tear his prey … devoured men: The prophet describes Jehoahaz’s short reign in completely negative terms. He presents his rule as evil and harmful.

  • In ancient times, hunters often caught lions with a net and a pit. In this passage, that picture is a metaphor for what would happen to Jehoahaz. He would be captured and taken away to Egypt by force.

19:5–7

The second cub acted like the first one, but he was even more violent. He destroyed towns and cities.

This cub may represent Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, or Zedekiah. The text does not clearly say which one.

It is also not clear which towns and cities were destroyed. The prophet may be describing the harmful results of the king’s foolish foreign policy (his decisions about relationships with other nations). These choices brought suffering to the towns and cities of Judah.

19:8–9

The Babylonians captured and killed Jehoiakim in Judah. They exiled Jehoiachin and Ezekiel to Babylon. Zedekiah's rule ended when Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC.

19:10

The vine clearly represents Judah, whom the Lord had planted and cared for in the best possible conditions.

19:11–12

Judah’s pride led to its fall. The Lord removed the nation in his anger (compare Ezekiel 17:1–10). He then placed Judah in exile. Exile is life away from the land God had given them. It was like being planted in a dry desert.

19:13–14

The fire that came from the vine’s own branches probably represents Zedekiah. That fire burned up the fruit. The fruit represents the land and the people.

After this destruction, no strong branch remained. There was no branch able to become a ruler’s scepter (a symbol of kingly authority). Zedekiah would not have an immediate successor.

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources