Ezekiel 19 Devotional

A Funeral Song for Kings

Ezekiel takes up a funeral song for the princes of Israel (19:1). Their mother is a lioness who raises cubs into young lions. One learns to tear prey, devours people, and is led away with hooks to Egypt. Another prowls and roars until he is caged and brought to the king of Babylon (19:3-9). The mother then becomes a fruitful vine with strong branches worthy of a royal scepter, until she is uprooted in fury, burned, and replanted in a dry wilderness with no strong branch left (19:10-14).

The judgment on these kings was deserved, yet God has his prophet grieve rather than gloat. The song ends with the royal line apparently finished. But God had not finished with it. The angel told Mary that her son would be given David's throne and reign without end (Luke 1:32-33). When every human branch had withered, God still had a King. When the leaders you look to fail, his promise of a righteous ruler still stands.

To think about: When leaders you trusted have failed, how have you responded, and what would it look like to grieve and still hope in Christ's rule?