A Christmas Riddle
By Rev. Walter Chantry
I n Ezekiel 17, God gives us two riddles. Written nearly 600 years before the event, the second one, found in verses 22 to 24, is about the birth of Christ. To understand it, though, we have to first solve the riddle presented in the first ten verses.Ezekiel 17:1-23 The first riddle begins with a huge eagle with mighty wings and magnificent feathers flying to Lebanon where he plucked off the topmost branch of a great cedar tree. He carried the twig into a busy city and planted it there. The eagle then took the seed of the land and planted it in a fertile field. That seed sprouted and grew into a low, spreading vine. With both its branches and roots growing toward the eagle that planted it, the vine thrived.
Then came a second eagle which also had powerful wings and full plumage. This vine-like growth then began to change its direction, sending its roots and stretching its branches toward the second eagle. In anger, the first eagle came back and plucked up the vine so that it withered and died.
Thank God we don't have to try very hard to solve this riddle, because God Himself gives us the answer in verses 12 to 21.
The first eagle, God explains, was Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. The great cedar tree of Lebanon was the once great nation of Israel, and its topmost branch was its royal family. Six years before this prophecy was given by Ezekiel, you see, Nebuchadnezzar had deposed king Jehoiachin of Judah, carrying him and his people and treasures from the temple to Babylon. Later, Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin's uncle Zedekiah a puppet king of Judah. Zedekiah was the vine that thrived in Israel during the period when he served Nebuchadnezzar.
The second eagle to appear on the scene, verse 15 reveals, is Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Hoping to get enough support from Egypt to overthrow the oppressive yolk of Babylon, Zedekiah sought a political alliance with Pharaoh. It so infuriated Nebuchadnezzar that he went back to Jerusalem, tore down the walls and the temple and ripped up the nation. As a result, the Jews began to suffer terribly under the last and the great oppression of 586 B.C.
The Second Riddle
Having explained the first riddle, God then proceeds to give us the Christmas riddle in verses 22 to 24:22Thus sayeth the Lord God, I will also take the highest branch of the high cedar and I will set it, I will crop off the top of this young twig, a tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and an imminent mountain. 23In 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 the fowls of the wing, and in the shadow of the branches the sparrows shall they dwell. 24And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree and have exalted the low tree.God does not offer any interpretation of this riddle, but its meaning is evident once we understand the first riddle. Remember the great cedar tree was a representation of the glorious ancient Israel; and its topmost branch, king Jehoiachin, who was taken captive to Babylon? Verse 22 then tells us that God Himself will take an offspring of Jehoiachin, and plant that young, tender twig upon a high and imminent mountain, which could only be Mount Zion.Now, Jehoiachin was also called Jeconiah (spelled Jechonias in the King James New Testament). He had a son called Shealtiel (Selathiel), and Shealtiel had a son called Zerubbabel (Zorobabel). Zerubbabel was one of the key princes that led the Jews out of captivity and went back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and its walls in Ezra's and Nehemiah's days. He was a type of the Lord Jesus. All three of these names appear prominently in the genealogy of Christ listed in Matthew 1.
Thus, the Lord Jesus is without question the answer to this second riddle.
The goodly cedar
That Jesus had a humble birth was typified by the young twig, a tender twig taken from the formerly mighty kingdom of David. He would come into the world at a time when Israel was under the crushing oppressive yoke of Rome. So rigid was the decree from Caesar Augustus that Joseph couldn't even wait for his expectant wife to give birth before taking their long walking journey to Bethlehem. When they made the trip, Mary was obviously late in the last days of her pregnancy.And Jesus would be born in a dirty stable. Maybe you've seen some parents nowadays putting on masks and gloves when they come near their first baby thereby keeping the little one from any infection. But here, we have a little helpless child born in an unsanitary barn. He was then put in a feeding trough for animals for His first bed. Later, when Jesus was taken to the temple to be presented to God, all his parents could afford was a pauper's offering, two pigeons.
Incidentally, this imagery of Christ is also used by the prophet Isaiah. He writes, "He shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of the dry ground" (53:2).
The Messiah should grow like a little stub coming up out of arid soil. Israel was described as dry ground then because there was hardly any water of the gospel available. The Word of God had been altogether perverted by the spiritual leaders.
But Isaiah also prophesied, "In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious" (11:10). Though stuck in the dry ground in the most adverse circumstances, this fragile slip from the root of Jesse would nevertheless grow up and become a mighty cedar so that He will stand as a banner for the people of all nations.
Provision. This is a truth echoed in Ezekiel 17:23 here. The first half of the verse reads, "This little twig shall bring forth boughs and bear fruit."
Boughs are main branches that grow out of big trees and fruit comes from mature trees. So, this little twig will mature into a substantial treethe only tree where salvation can be found. It is the only tree from which people can pluck such eternal fruits as redemption from hell, forgiveness
of sin, and everlasting life. It is, in short, the tree of life.Think of the day of Pentecost. When the cedar that had been lifted up to the holy heavens of God's right hand had boughs reaching down to the earth, 3,000 people found sufficient spiritual food to give them everlasting life. And there was much more left to be offered to all the world thereafter. Jesus Christ spreads a rich table of provision for His people.
Protection. We find another truth in the second half of verse 23, "under it shall dwell all the fowls of the wing, and in the shadow of the branches the sparrows shall they dwell."
Why do birds like to dwell in a mighty cedar tree? Answer: To have safety from predators and protection from heavy rains and gusty winds as well as from the scorching sun on a hot day.
Well, Christ was born to protect all those who make Him their dwelling place. Not only the Jews of whom He was born, but men of every color and nationality and of every language. And no matter where they come from, as long as they come with a sincere heart, He will protect them from all disasters.
If you know anything about the Bible, you know that it has been issuing an urgent warning of a rapidly approaching stormthe hurricane of God's wrath. The chances of this hurricane hitting every part of this world is fully 100%. And so powerful is its destructive force that no man-made shelter can possibly stand a chance of surviving it.
Nevertheless, Christ did endure those savage winds of God's wrath some 2000 years ago and because He is God Himself, He survived. He is the goodly cedar tree planted on mount Zion by the hand of God Himself. So now, only those who are nestled in the branches of His mighty tree will be able to withstand the soon-to-hit hurricane. And if Christ can house you safely from the judgment of Almighty God, how much more can He protect you from all other threats in your daily life.
Propulsion. Christ is a tree of provision, He's a tree of protection, and He is also a tree of propulsion. He is the driving force behind a unique divine principle, the principle stated in verse 24. "All the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord bring down the high tree and exalt the low tree. I dry up the green tree and I make the dry tree to flourish. I the Lord have spoken it. I have done it and I will continue to do it."
The principle that comes from the Christmas storythat Jesus Christ, who came into the world as a little tender twig, ultimately being exalted to the King of kings and Lord of lordsis a principle that is proclaimed throughout the Scriptures. And that principle is: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. He has the propelling power to drive down the mightiest of men; and He has the sustained strength to lift the meekest to the utmost height.
Listen to what the Scripture says in this regard about Christ? We read in Philippians 2:5-9:
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man,Christ humbled Himself. God exalted Him.
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.
All the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord bring down the high tree and exalt the low tree. May I implore you to submit to the Holy God until you're humbled with a sense of guilt and shame and hopelessness. Acknowledge that your spirit is dry, that it is withered by the conviction of sin. Then, you'll find that God will lift you up. He will cover you with His righteousness, He will let His Holy Spirit live in you, and He can exalt you by making you His child. Yes, God will lift up the humble.
But if you stand proud, if you think you don't need a Savior, then God will bring you down. The Pharisees of Jesus' day were proud people. They thought they knew all there was to know about God. And I can think of no better way for me to end this message by quoting what God Himself said to them in Luke 18:9-14:
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. oRev. Walter Chantry is pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Carlisle, PA 17013.