Ezekiel 19:1-14  A Lamentation for the Princes of Israel

[Study Aired June 3, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study is directed specifically to the Lord’s elect which is symbolized in this chapter as princes of Israel. It focuses on how we all started our walk with Christ basking in the Lord’s provision for our growth. However, we became marred in the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ as our old man is attracted to the pull of worldliness signified by Egypt and that of serving the created things instead of our creator. As a result, we became entrapped in worldly pursuit and the worshiping of another Jesus and therefore ended up in Babylon. The study also shows us another scenario where we are likened to vines planted by the waters for our growth. However, we were plucked up by the Lord in His fury and became like a vine planted in the wilderness which is Babylon. As shown in the Book of Jeremiah, we must first be marred in the hands of our maker before we are made into vessels fit for the Lord’s purpose.

Jer 18:1  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 
Jer 18:2  Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 
Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 
Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

This chapter therefore shows us our deplorable state in Babylon or the churches of this world after we have been given all that is necessary for our growth in Christ. It shows us how the Lord has shown us mercy in spite of our failures. We must therefore learn to also show mercy in this life to qualify us to be merciful to all humanity in an age to come.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. 

What is Lamentation?

Eze 19:1  Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

A lamentation is a prayer expressing sorrow, pain or confusion and is a request for God’s mercy. In other words, it is a prayer begging the Lord not to ignore the pain or abandon His people. In verse 1, this prayer is specifically for the princes of Israel. The princes of Israel represent the Lord’s elect during the time of their sojourn in Babylon when we were going through pain or sorrow as a result of our sins and needed the Lord’s intervention. The Book of Psalms and that of Job are filled with a lot of laments by the Lord’s people. The whole Book of Lamentations expressed the suffering and confusion the Lord’s elect went through after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. This is what Habakkuk has to say about the pain that he had gone through and his confidence in the fact that the Lord is merciful and will surely show up in his circumstance. 

Lam 3:19  Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. 
Lam 3:20  My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. 
Lam 3:21  This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 
Lam 3:22  It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 
Lam 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 
Lam 3:24  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 

Whatever pain we are going through, let’s not lose hope but trust in the Lord’s mercy which never fails. Since this lamentation was given to Ezekiel by the Lord, it expresses the pain the Lord goes through in this life when we do not measure up to His standard. The good news is that the Lord will show mercy to us His elect, the princes of Israel as He intervenes in our circumstances at the right time. 

Heb 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 
Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Our Mother’s Provision for Our Growth

Eze 19:2  And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
Eze 19:3  And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.

In these verses, the Lord is showing us His providential care for His elect through our mother, who represents the church. The church is therefore the lioness who is surrounded by many young lions as she takes care of our formative years in the Lord. The young lions represent evil men (sons of men) influenced by the devil as shown in the following:

Psa 57:4  My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

Jer 2:14  Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? 
Jer 2:15  The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.

The Lord Himself told us that we are like sheep among wolves. Just like our mother taking care of us among young lions, who represent evil men, the wolves also signify evil men under the influence of the devil.

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

Our formative years in the Lord were spent in the churches of this world, which is Babylon. As we can see, our mother raised many whelps. However, if we are called and chosen, then we are the whelps that became a young lion and were taught how to catch the prey as we devoured men. Catching the prey means being given eyes to begin to appreciate the truth of the word of the Lord which would result in the devouring of men, which represents our old man.

The Attraction of the World

Eze 19:4  The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.

We need to understand what the nations represent if we are to understand verse 4. Remember that the Lord told Rebekah that two nations were within her, representing two different lifestyles. The older nation is our flesh which initially dominates us until the new man, after the image of Christ, comes on the scene when the Lord comes to us with His brightness.

Gen 25:23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. 

The nations in verse 4 therefore refer to our flesh. In the Bible, the flesh is likened to a bottomless pit. Being taken in their pit in verse 4 therefore means being overcome by the pulls of the flesh. The land of Egypt signifies the world or worldliness. The fact that we are brought in chains to the land of Egypt after we are taken in their pit suggests that being dominated by the flesh is bondage to worldliness or the lust that is in the world. 

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 
1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. 

These verses also apply to Joseph who was reared among his brothers who hated him. In this case the nations refer to Joseph’s brothers. He was literally taken from a pit in which His brothers put him and was sold in chains to the Midianites who brought him to Egypt as a slave.

Gen 37:3  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4  And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Gen 37:18  And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 
Gen 37:19  And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 
Gen 37:20  Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

Psa 105:17  He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:
Psa 105:18  Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: 
Psa 105:19  Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him.

The good news is that it is out of Egypt the Lord calls us. The mercy of the Lord never fails in spite of our depravity.  Our Lord Jesus Christ was also sent to Egypt because of the threat of the nations, which in this case was King Herod and his cohorts. However, in the fullness of time, he was brought out of Egypt.

Mat 2:13  And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 
Mat 2:14  When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 
Mat 2:15  And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

As we are aware, the world hates us and does not take kindly to our claim that we are the sons of God.

Psa 2:1  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

The Rearing of Another Whelp

Eze 19:5  Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. 
Eze 19:6  And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. 
Eze 19:7  And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. 

This second whelp, which was nourished to become a young lion, also represents the Lord’s elect. As indicated earlier, it is Christ through the church (our mother or the lioness) that we are taken care of in the midst of lions, which represent the sons of men who hate us, just like the brothers of Joseph who hated him.

Psa 57:4  My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. 

As we are aware, the nation of Israel found itself surrounded by many nations which hated her. Israel was surrounded by the Philistines, Canaanites, Ammonites, Edomites, Moabites, etc. These nations represent lions in verse 6. It is in the midst of these lions that the Lord was taking care of the people of Israel to become a strong nation that destroyed its neighbors.  All these nations represent our old man, or the flesh, and we the Lord’s elect are signified by the people of Israel. Learning to catch the prey and devouring men all refers to the gradual destruction of the flesh which comes as a result of the fire of the word of the Lord that we have received. In verse 7, the laying waste of the cities and the desolation of the land all signify the continued destruction of our old man or the flesh within us. 

Verse 7 also shows us how the old man or the flesh is destroyed. It is through the noise of our roaring. This noise of our roaring is the word of the Lord that is likened to fire that destroys the old man or makes the cities and land within us desolate.

Jer 23:29  Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 

Being Brought to Babylon

Eze 19:8  Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. 
Eze 19:9  And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

Physically, the nations that were set against the people of Israel on every side from the provinces were the Canaanites, Ammonites, Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, etc. Spiritually, these nations represent our old man which fights against our spiritual growth in Christ. In verse 8, it is stated that these nations spread their net over the people of Israel. All these nations are characterized by the worship of idols or another Jesus, which is very attractive to our flesh. It is attractive to our flesh because their worship is centered on seeing before believing, which is not based on faith. In other words, the worship of idols or another Jesus relates to man’s wisdom and traditions which do not require walking by faith which is very attractive to the flesh. That is why we put a premium on signs and wonders during our time in Babylon. However, if we are to please the Lord, then we must pay heed to what the Lord told Thomas when He appeared to Him after His resurrection. 

Joh 20:28  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 
Joh 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

In verse 8, the spreading of the net of these nations over us, the Lord’s elect, resulting in us being taken in their pit means we end up embracing another Jesus. In other words, the spreading of the net over us is the serpent beguiling us through his subtlety. As a result, our minds become corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 
2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 
2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

When we read the Bible, one theme that runs through the Old Testament is Israel’s attraction to idolatry. Idolatry is not solely about worshiping statues made of wood, stone or gold. At its core, idolatry is about misplaced worship or devotion. It is about depending on or putting our trust in created things rather than the Creator. We all at a certain point of our lives had been entrapped in a pit of idolatry. First, it starts as an attraction, and then we become involved in idolatry or serving another Jesus. Then we move on to become entrenched in our idolatry or serving another Jesus. At this point, we have exchanged the fair jewels the Lord has given us for the traditions and wisdom of men. 

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 
Eze 16:18  And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. 

Becoming entrenched in serving another Jesus is what is described in verse 9 as being put in chains and brought to the king of Babylon. Putting us in holds such that our voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel in verse 9 means that our stay in Babylon which is symbolized in verse 9 as mountains of Israel is likened to being put into prison where we are blinded and made deaf such that we cannot see or hear or appreciate the truth of the word of the Lord. This is what it means to be captured and brought to the rivers of Babylon or the physical churches of this world where we wept when we remembered Zion or our sweet fellowship with the Lord.

Psa 137:1  By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and cried as we remembered Zion. 
Psa 137:2  We hung our lyres on willow trees. 
Psa 137:3  It was there that those who had captured us demanded that we sing. Those who guarded us wanted us to entertain them. They said, “Sing a song from Zion for us!” 
Psa 137:4  How could we sing the LORD’S song in a foreign land? (GW)

Not being able to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land means that we are not able to worship the Lord in truth and in spirit during our time in Babylon, the strange land.

In summary, verses 5-9 show us how we end up in Babylon after we start our walk with the Lord. Paul, through the Holy Spirit, also gave us a synopsis of our journey to Babylon after we have started with Christ as follows:

Rom 1:18  God’s anger is revealed from heaven against every ungodly and immoral thing people do as they try to suppress the truth by their immoral living. 
Rom 1:19  What can be known about God is clear to them because he has made it clear to them. 
Rom 1:20  From the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse. 
Rom 1:21  They knew God but did not praise and thank him for being God. Instead, their thoughts were pointless, and their misguided minds were plunged into darkness. 
Rom 1:22  While claiming to be wise, they became fools. 
Rom 1:23  They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for statues that looked like mortal humans, birds, animals, and snakes. 
Rom 1:24  For this reason God allowed their lusts to control them. As a result, they dishonor their bodies by sexual perversion with each other.
Rom 1:25  These people have exchanged God’s truth for a lie. So they have become ungodly and serve what is created rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! (GW)

The Church as a Vine

Eze 19:10  Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. 

Our mother, the church, is likened to a grapevine planted near water, which is the word of the Lord. As a result of the availability of the truth of the word of the Lord, the church is able to bear fruit and produce many children (full of branches). Verse 10 is therefore a rendition of Psalm 1.

Psa 1:1  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 
Psa 1:2  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 
Psa 1:3  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The church being planted by the waters means that every joint of the body of Christ speaks the truth of the word of the Lord in love which makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Eph 4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Eze 19:11  And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. 

Because its branches were strong, they were used to make scepters for kings. As we can remember, our Lord Jesus stated that He is the vine, and we are the branches. As long as we are planted by the rivers of water, we grow as branches in the strength of the Lord as we are given the keys of the kingdom of Heaven which prepares us for rulership as kings with Christ. 

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 

Growing tall with many branches and becoming visible to everyone means that as we continue to grow in Christ, we become like light shining in darkness with our good works becoming visible to men who give glory to our Father in heaven.

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

Eze 19:12  But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.
Eze 19:13  And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. 
Eze 19:14  And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation. 

In spite of our growth in Christ, we are plucked up in fury and cast down to the earth. These verses do not give an indication of who plucked us up in fury. However, we know from the Lord’s words that it is the Lord who sends an east wind, and therefore it is the Lord who plucked us up.

Psa 78:26  He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind. 

Jer 18:17  I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.

Psa 48:7  Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.

These verses therefore show us that we were marred in the hand of our Lord Jesus Christ and as a result, He makes us into another vessel fit for His purpose. 

Jer 18:1  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 
Jer 18:2  Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 
Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 
Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Our marred state reflects our lives in Babylon or the churches of this world where we were planted in the wilderness (verse 13), in a dry and thirsty environment where we experienced famine of the word of the Lord. As a result, we did not bear fruit. In other words, we could not produce the fruits of the spirit.  Our lives also did not reflect our role as future rulers of the world, and therefore we were not the light of this world. 

Amo 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: 
Amo 8:12  And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. 
Amo 8:13  In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. 

As we said in the beginning of this study, lamentation is a prayer begging the Lord not to ignore our pain or abandon us. In His mercy, the Lord heard our prayer of desperation and came to our aid. Although we were marred in His hands, He has made us again into another vessel fit for His purpose. Amen!!