Ezekiel 19:1-14

Ezekiel is given a lament about the history of the nation of Israel.  God had chosen this nation to bless and be a blessing to all of the other nations.  It had everything going for it and could have been a shining example of God’s glory and light.  Unfortunately, that which should have been a song of joy became a lament of sorrow.  Israel is pictured first as a lion and then as a vine, both of which had great potential for productivity.  However, the ending was sad and wasteful.  We too have been given a great opportunity for productivity through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The question is if we trust in His work in our lives and following His leading or if we are trusting in our own strength and following the ways of the world.  It is vital that we trust and obey Him if we are going to fulfill our potential in the kingdom of God.

THE LION WHO LOST ITS ROAR: Israel is pictured as a lioness that produced powerful lion cubs that ruled over the nation and conquered many other nations.  The first cub was strong and brave and represented a king of Israel who ended up being taken to Egypt.  The second cub was another king that ended up being a captive in Babylon.  The reason for this judgment was that the lion did not fulfill the purpose for which it had been born.  God intended for the leaders of Israel to fear Him and reveal His character to the nations that surrounded them.  Instead these kings lived in fear of the other nations so they either tried to appease them by following their idolatrous ways or they tried to destroy then in war.  This was not God’s purpose so they ended up being judged.  We must constantly ask ourselves if we are living in the fear of the Lord and demonstrating His love and holiness to the nations around us or if we are living in fear of the world so we allow ourselves to be contaminated by the world’s standards and end up in war with the world instead of blessing them with the message of the Gospel.  One choice leads to blessing and freedom, the other to sin and judgment.

THE VINE THAT LOST ITS ROOTS: The other image of Israel is of a productive vine by a stream of water.  Despite all of the trials it faced it kept reproducing because it was planted by an abundant water supply.  God’s blessings on the nation of Israel were abundant and rich.  However, despite God’s blessings the nation rebelled against Him and sought to go its own way instead of serving Him.  The nation grew confident in its own health because it took God’s blessing for granted just like the vine took the stream’s water for granted.  What Israel forgot was that God could come along and pluck up the vine from its roots and leave it without the ability to take in water.  Israel found herself stripped from God’s blessings and laying like a vine detached from its roots in the desert.  WE have many blessings from God but we must never take them for granted.  We must always remember they come from Him so that we can live for Him.  God is the source of our strength, must be object of our trust and should be the only recipient of our worship.