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NOTES for Eze 19:1-14

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1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.
4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
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.
6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.
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.
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Today's reading offers us a song written by the prophet in the genre of a funeral lament. One might think that a person who perfectly understands the spiritual causes of what is happening should bear the misfortune that has befallen his people and country more easily than others, especially since Ezekiel, unlike many of his contemporaries, knew that the history of the Jewish people was not yet over, that they had a future and that the Babylonian exiles had hope. But, of course, although such knowledge eases the pain, it does not completely save one from it.

On the human level, the prophet's lament for Jerusalem and the people is quite understandable. Yet this is not merely an outpouring of Ezekiel's own feelings: it is God Himself who prompts him to lament for the people (v. 1). And here a question arises: why does God need Ezekiel's lament? God is not human, and He certainly knows perfectly well everything concerning the historical destiny of His people, especially since that destiny is entirely in His hands. And yet God weeps for His people; He weeps in Ezekiel. The time will come when, having become Man, He will weep for Jerusalem with literally human tears.

But now, while that time has not yet come, He weeps in Ezekiel. No future spiritual heights or achievements, not even the Coming of Christ itself, lessen the pain of those who suffer here and now, just as the future fullness of the Kingdom does not lessen the pain of those who suffer from the evil and sin in which the world lies, a world that has not yet come into contact with the Kingdom. These tears and this pain do not devalue the Kingdom, but they do devalue every theodicy, every assertion that “all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.” The Kingdom becomes possible only because all pain subsides there. But pain in itself has no meaning, and theologians should hardly seek what is not there. Even God sees no meaning in pain itself. But He knows how to comfort everyone and wipe away every tear. And in the Kingdom He will do so. For now, He weeps as He looks upon human pain. For now, through the eyes of His prophet. But the day will come when He will weep through the eyes of His Son.

Other notes

 
For Eze 19:1-14
1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.
4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
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.
6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.
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.
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The figurative parable about the princes and kings of Israel and Judah, like the parable about the vine - Jerusalem, speaks of the ruinous nature...  Read more

The figurative parable about the princes and kings of Israel and Judah, like the parable about the vine - Jerusalem, speaks of the ruinous nature of lawless and unrighteous life, both for a whole people and for an individual person. Death follows sin. But the Evangelist reminds us of the prophet's words that God desires the salvation of sinners and opens for them the path to repentance - the possibility of radically changing one's life, which God gives us by His mercy.

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For Eze 19:1-14
1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.
4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
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.
6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.
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.
Hide
The lament over the chosen people, which the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 19 casts in the form of a kind of parable, is very important, if one may put it this way, in the emotional context of his book. Through almost the entire first half of it, the prophet gives the words...  Read more

The lament over the chosen people, which the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 19 casts in the form of a kind of parable, is very important, if one may put it this way, in the emotional context of his book. Through almost the entire first half of it, the prophet gives the words of the Almighty, who with bitterness and sorrow exposes sin, calls for amendment, and foretells calamities. And if you do not know Him very well, you may hear in these words shades of vengefulness and even of some strange sadism. There is nothing of the kind there; we simply at times do not know how to perceive the essence of prophetic words. And this lament puts everything in its place.

It is hard to say with certainty whether this lament sounds from the person of Jerusalem grieving over its sins, or from the person of God weeping over the same sins. But something else matters: in the previous chapter the Lord says directly that He does not want the death of the sinner, but wants him to live. And the lament is needed here so that we understand: a person's destruction in his own sins is not the triumph of higher justice, but a tragedy. A tragedy for us and, most importantly, for God Himself. For the sake of our salvation He Himself will do what is great and incomprehensible - and will weep over Jerusalem, because "My heart has turned within Me out of pity for you, My people."

At times it appears to us that such "experiences" as grief cannot belong to God. This is hard to imagine. But Ezekiel's lament bears witness: this very pity and grief are the true manifestations of His love.

Hide
 
For Eze 19:1-14
1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.
4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
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.
6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.
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.
Hide
In this parable the vine is called a sturdy tree whose branches are fit for royal scepters. Such a comparison...  Read more

In this parable the vine is called a sturdy tree whose branches are fit for royal scepters. Such a comparison contradicts the recent words about the vine’s fragility and uselessness, but let us not be literalists. This is not only because parables necessarily involve conventions (after all, in this very parable the vine is also a lioness), but even more because the Lord is able to endow the weak with strength. Yet the vine is torn from the fertile soil, and it is torn out because of its children, the lion cubs, who act wickedly.

Does what is said in this parable contradict what was said the day before—that no one should be punished for other people’s sins, but only for one’s own? No, for that passage concerned the deeds each person commits independently. But the lioness, inseparably bound to her cubs and unable to guide them onto the right path, cannot distance herself from her share of responsibility for their sins and lawlessness.

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