“A great eagle with large wings and long pinions,
Full of feathers of various colors,
Came to Lebanon
And took from the cedar the highest branch. vv.2-3
Full of feathers of various colors,
Came to Lebanon
And took from the cedar the highest branch. vv.2-3
Read chapter 17
A riddle is a difficult problem put forth for a solution. A parable is a short story designed to illustrate or teach some truth. What Ezekiel is to say to the house of Israel is a riddle and a parable. Just like we see in the gospels with Jesus says a parable, it's followed by the meaning of it. This riddle is to portray the treacherous character of King Zedekiah. There are two great eagles mentioned, the first is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who is often described as an eagle as we see spoken of by Jeremiah and Daniel. The other eagle was Pharaoh, king of Egypt. At the first captivity Zedekiah was taken by Nebuchadnezzar and placed in a position of authority over the Israel captives in Babylon. Zedekiah was king but dependent on Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar made an oath with Zedekiah, but Zedekiah broke that oath by going to Pharaoh for help to overthrow. And now as a result and teaching of this riddle was that Zedekiah would die in the land of Babylon (v.16) for despising the oath and braking the covenant. We may think it's strange that God is mad at Zedekiah for trying to rebel against an evil king who brought God's people into captivity and destroyed Jerusalem, but we have to remember that God appointed Nebuchadnezzar to carry out His wrath and how the Lord was still providing for them during captivity. Now we can't take this teaching for today as it is not the same case. This parable was spoken and has been fulfilled already. Yet what we can learn from it is that the Lord's desire is to make humble even the highest of rulers and exalt the lowest (v.24).
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