Ezekiel Chapter 19

Ezekiel 19

Two Laments

Ezekiel 19 is a chapter of lamentation. The LORD commands Ezekiel to take up a funeral dirge over the princes of Israel, especially the final rulers of Judah before the destruction of Jerusalem. The chapter contains two poetic laments. The first uses the image of a lioness and her young lions, showing the rise and capture of Judah’s later kings. The second uses the image of a fruitful vine, once strong and royal, but later plucked up, withered, burned, and left without a strong branch for ruling. The chapter is mournful because the Davidic throne, which should have represented righteous rule under God, had become corrupt, violent, and judged. Yet even this lament prepares the reader to look beyond Judah’s failed rulers to the future Messiah, the true Son of David, who alone will fulfill the promises of the Davidic covenant. The uploaded notes emphasize that Ezekiel 19 is not a taunt song, but a sorrowful lament over Israel’s failed leadership and the temporary collapse of Judah’s monarchy.

A. The lamentation of the lions.

1. Ezekiel 19:1, A lamentation for the leaders of Israel.

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

Take thou up a lamentation means Ezekiel is commanded to compose and deliver a sorrowful funeral song. This is not mockery. It is grief. The fall of Judah’s final rulers was deserved, but it was still tragic. Judgment may be righteous and still be grievous.

A lamentation was appropriate because the royal leadership of Judah had failed. The kings who should have shepherded the people in righteousness instead led them in violence, rebellion, idolatry, and political folly. Their failure brought disaster on themselves and on the nation.

For the princes of Israel is significant because the rulers in view are kings of Judah, yet the LORD calls them princes of Israel. This preserves the covenant identity of the nation as a whole, even though the northern kingdom had already fallen. It also shows that these men, though royal, are called princes rather than kings. The true King is the LORD, and these rulers had failed as stewards under Him.

This lament also strikes at a false confidence in the Davidic throne. The people may have assumed that as long as a son of David sat in Jerusalem, God would never allow the city and kingdom to fall. But the LORD’s covenant with David did not excuse wicked rulers from judgment. The throne line would not be destroyed forever, but these wicked princes would be removed.

The Davidic covenant remained true, but its fulfillment would ultimately require a righteous Son of David greater than these failed kings.

2 Samuel 7:12, And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy-seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

2 Samuel 7:13, He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for-ever.

2 Samuel 7:14, I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will-chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

2 Samuel 7:15, But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put-away before thee.

2 Samuel 7:16, And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for-ever.

The tension in Ezekiel 19 is important. God does not abandon His Davidic promise, but He does judge corrupt Davidic rulers. The failure of the princes points forward to the necessity of the perfect King, the Messiah.

2. Ezekiel 19:2-4, The lioness, and the mighty lion taken to Egypt.

Ezekiel 19:2, And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her-whelps among young lions.

Ezekiel 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.

Ezekiel 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.

What is thy mother? A lioness pictures Judah, Jerusalem, or the royal house as a lioness. The lion was already associated with Judah from Jacob’s prophecy. The royal house of David belonged to the tribe of Judah, and the imagery of the lion fits the strength, dignity, and danger of kingship.

Genesis 49:9, Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped-down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

The image also reaches forward to the Messiah, who is later called the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Revelation 5:5, And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe-of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

But in Ezekiel 19, the lion image is not used first for glory, but for violent and corrupt leadership. The lioness nourishes her cubs among the lions, meaning Judah’s rulers took their place among the nations and learned the ways of predatory kings.

She brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion most likely refers to Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah. Jehoahaz reigned only three months after Josiah’s death. Though his reign was brief, Scripture states that he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

2 Kings 23:30, And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and-buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah,-and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s stead.

2 Kings 23:31, Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in-Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

2 Kings 23:32, And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his-fathers had done.

It learned to catch the prey; it devoured men means this young king became violent and oppressive. Instead of ruling as a shepherd under God, he ruled like a predator. The king who should have protected the people became dangerous to them.

The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit pictures the surrounding nations acting like hunters capturing a dangerous lion. In history, Pharaoh Necho took Jehoahaz captive.

They brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt was fulfilled when Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt, where he died. His brief reign ended in humiliation and captivity.

2 Kings 23:33, And Pharaohnechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not-reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent-of gold.

2 Kings 23:34, And Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father,-and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died-there.

Jeremiah also spoke of Shallum, another name for Jehoahaz, as one who would not return from captivity.

Jeremiah 22:10, Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth-away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

Jeremiah 22:11, For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead-of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:

Jeremiah 22:12, But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land-no more.

This first lion shows the tragedy of failed leadership. A son of Josiah sat on the throne, but he did not walk in Josiah’s ways. Heritage did not save him. His own evil brought judgment.

3. Ezekiel 19:5-7, The second lion’s power.

Ezekiel 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.

Ezekiel 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.

Ezekiel 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.

When she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost means Judah realized that Jehoahaz would not return from Egypt. The hope connected to that first young lion was gone. So the lioness turned to another cub.

Then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion most likely refers to Jehoiachin, though some interpreters have suggested Jehoiakim. The flow of the chapter points strongly to Jehoiachin, who, like Jehoahaz, reigned only three months before being taken captive, this time to Babylon.

2 Kings 24:8, Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.-And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

2 Kings 24:9, And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his-father had done.

He went up and down among the lions means this ruler took his place among the predatory kings of the nations. Instead of being distinct as a ruler under the LORD, he acted like the surrounding powers.

He became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men repeats the charge of violent and oppressive leadership. The second lion learned the same predatory ways as the first. Judah changed rulers, but the moral condition did not improve.

He knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities points to destructive rule. The king did not build up the nation in righteousness. His conduct contributed to desolation. Whether through oppression, instability, foolish policy, or rebellion, his rule brought ruin.

The land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring shows the influence of wicked leadership. The roar of a king can shake a land. When a ruler is violent, proud, and godless, the people suffer under the sound of his power.

This is one of the themes of Ezekiel 19. Leaders are not irrelevant. The character of rulers matters. When those set over a people become predatory, the land itself suffers.

4. Ezekiel 19:8-9, The young lion’s capture.

Ezekiel 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.

Ezekiel 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.

Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces refers to Babylon’s imperial power gathering against Judah. Nebuchadnezzar ruled over many peoples and provinces, and those forces came against Jerusalem.

Spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit continues the hunting imagery. The lion that once roared and devoured is now trapped. The same kind of image was used earlier of Zedekiah, showing that Judah’s rulers could not escape the net of divine judgment.

Ezekiel 12:13, My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I-will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he-shall die there.

They put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon was fulfilled when Jehoiachin surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar and was taken to Babylon.

2 Kings 24:10, At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city-was besieged.

2 Kings 24:11, And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.

2 Kings 24:12, And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother,-and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth-year of his reign.

2 Kings 24:15, And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives,-and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.

That his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel means his reign in Judah was finished. The roar of the young lion was silenced. He would no longer rule, threaten, command, or influence from the mountains of Israel.

The lament is heavy because Jehoiachin’s removal further weakened the Davidic monarchy. A descendant of David was alive, but removed from the throne and carried away captive. The people could no longer take comfort in the visible strength of the royal house. The LORD was dismantling Judah’s false confidence in corrupt leadership.

B. The lamentation of the vine.

1. Ezekiel 19:10-11, The fruitful vine.

Ezekiel 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.

Ezekiel 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.

Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood shifts the imagery from lioness to vine. This is another familiar biblical picture for Israel. The nation had been planted and nourished by God, and at times she was fruitful, strong, and prominent.

Israel is described elsewhere as God’s vine and vineyard.

Psalm 80:8, Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.

Psalm 80:9, Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the-land.

Psalm 80:10, The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly-cedars.

Isaiah 5:1, Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath-a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:

Isaiah 5:2, And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine,-and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that-it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

Isaiah 5:7, For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah-his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

Zechariah 8:12, For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her-increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess-all these things.

Zechariah 8:13, And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of-Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not,-but let your hands be strong.

Planted by the waters shows that Israel had been placed in a position of blessing and provision. God did not plant her in barrenness. He gave her opportunity, nourishment, and covenant privilege.

She was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters looks back to the better days of Israel’s monarchy, especially the reigns of David and Solomon. In those days, the kingdom had strength, fruitfulness, influence, and visible blessing.

She had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule means the vine produced branches strong enough to serve as royal scepters. The monarchy had once produced powerful rulers. David and Solomon were strong branches, and under them Israel rose in stature among the nations.

Her stature was exalted among the thick branches means Israel was prominent. The nation stood tall in the days of blessing. Other nations saw her height and strength.

This makes the lament more painful. Israel was not always like the broken vine of the next verses. She had been planted, watered, fruitful, and strong. Her fall was not from weakness alone, but from privilege abused and covenant faithfulness abandoned.

2. Ezekiel 19:12-14, Plucked up and planted in the wilderness.

Ezekiel 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.

Ezekiel 19:13, And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.

Ezekiel 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.

But she was plucked up in fury marks the transition from blessing to judgment. The same vine once planted by waters is now uprooted under divine wrath. The fury is the LORD’s righteous anger against persistent rebellion.

She was cast down to the ground pictures humiliation. Israel’s royal height was brought low. The kingdom that had once stood tall among the nations was thrown down.

The east wind dried up her fruit uses the image of a hot, destructive wind. In Ezekiel, this kind of image often points to the withering power of judgment. Whatever fruit remained was dried up.

Her strong rods were broken and withered refers to the collapse of the royal rulers. The strong branches that had served as scepters were broken. The later kings of Judah did not continue the strength of David and Solomon. Their wickedness and folly led to ruin.

The fire consumed them shows that judgment completed the destruction. The monarchy’s visible power was burned away. The royal house remained in promise, but its public throne in Jerusalem was brought to an end for that season.

And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground refers to exile in Babylon. Babylon was not literally barren land, but for the covenant people and their kings, it was a wilderness. They were away from Jerusalem, away from the temple, away from the throne, and away from the visible center of covenant life.

Even in judgment, however, exile was not beyond God’s control. The LORD had planted them there in discipline, and He would later bring a remnant back after the appointed time.

Jeremiah 29:10, For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you,-and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

Fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit means the destruction came from within the royal house itself. One of her own branches became the source of the consuming fire. This points especially to Zedekiah, whose rebellion against Babylon helped bring the final destruction of Jerusalem.

Zedekiah’s rebellion is recorded in Kings.

2 Kings 24:20, For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast-them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

That rebellion led to the final siege and destruction.

2 Kings 25:1, And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the-tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem,-and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.

2 Kings 25:2, And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

2 Kings 25:3, And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no-bread for the people of the land.

2 Kings 25:4, And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the-gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: now the Chaldees were against the city round about:-and the king went the way toward the plain.

2 Kings 25:5, And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho:-and all his army were scattered from him.

2 Kings 25:6, So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they-gave judgment upon him.

2 Kings 25:7, And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah,-and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

2 Kings 25:8, And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year-of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king-of Babylon, unto Jerusalem:

2 Kings 25:9, And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem,-and every great man’s house burnt he with fire.

So that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule means the visible Davidic monarchy came to an end with Zedekiah. From that point forward, Judah had governors and leaders, but no reigning Davidic king on the throne in Jerusalem.

This does not mean the Davidic covenant failed. It means the royal line went into humiliation until the coming of the true King. The promise to David still stood, but no unfaithful son of David could fulfill it. The throne waits for the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Genesis 49:10, The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come;-and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Isaiah 9:6, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be-upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The-Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:7, Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David,-and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even-for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Luke 1:31, And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his-name JESUS.

Luke 1:32, He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall-give unto him the throne of his father David:

Luke 1:33, And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be-no end.

This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation closes the chapter with the proper response. The fall of Judah’s final rulers was not a small political disappointment. It was a covenant tragedy. The lion cubs were captured. The vine was uprooted. The strong rods were broken. The throne was left without a ruling scepter.

Ezekiel 19 therefore mourns failed leadership, corrupt kings, and the temporary collapse of the Davidic monarchy. Yet the lament also drives the reader to hope in the greater Son of David. Jehoahaz failed. Jehoiachin was removed. Zedekiah rebelled and brought fire from within the vine. But the LORD’s covenant promise still points forward to Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the true King, the righteous Branch, and the only ruler who will finally bring glory to God and peace to Israel.