20151110 Tuesday, November 10 2015
Ezekiel 17: The Two Eagles Parable

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Put forth a riddle, and speak a parable ... A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon ... There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers"

The English-language word "eagle" originated from a Latin word, aquila, that meant dark colored. There are about 75 varieties of eagles around the world, with most of them, over 60, native to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa (see also Amazing Bible Facts About Animals). As such, they were very familiar to the people of Bible history.

Two words of the Holy Bible have been translated into English as "eagle" - the Hebrew word, pronounced nay-sher, that means to lacerate (an apparent reference to birds that have powerful beaks and talons), and the Hebrew word, pronounced raw-caw-maw, which is variously translated as either eagle or vulture because both eagles and vultures will feed on carrion - the reason that the LORD classified eagles as unclean (see the Fact Finder question below). It was the carrion-eating behavior of eagles that the Messiah used in a prophecy of His return:

"24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:27-30 KJV)

Abstract eagles are also found in other earlier prophecies. The riddle of the two eagles in the book of Ezekiel describes two kings of Judah and the kings of Babylon and Egypt.

The first eagle was the king of Babylon ("Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon" Ezekiel 17:12 KJV) when he took King Jehoiachin (see Kings of Israel and Judah) into exile in the earlier deportation of Judah (most of those people survived to form the "seed" for the return 70 years later; see also How The Messianic Line Survived In Babylon).

The other eagle was the king of Egypt that King Zedekiah (see Zedekiah's Twilight Prophecy) looked to for protection from the king of Babylon. The "tender twig" represented the restored monarchy of Judah from which the Messiah would come.

"17:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; 17:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: 17:4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

17:5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. 17:6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

17:7 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. 17:8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.

17:9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. 17:10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.

17:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 17:12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; 17:13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: 17:14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. 17:15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?

17:16 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17:17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: 17:18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.

17:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. 17:20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. 17:21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.

17:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: 17:23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. 17:24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish:

I the LORD have spoken and have done it." (Ezekiel 17:1-24 KJV)

Fact Finder: Why did the LORD create "unclean" creatures?
See What Makes Creatures Clean or Unclean?