Ezekiel 19:1-9 – God is patient but don’t test Him.

In poetic language, Ezekiel 19 contains two lamentations or dirges. A dirge is a funeral hymn. The first dirge in verses 1-9 speaks of the fate of the kings of Judah. The second in verses 10-14 speaks of the plight of the people of Judah. The first is illustrated with young lions and the second, is by the vine in a vineyard.  

The first lament opens with a question that is immediately followed by the answer. The lioness refers to Judah and the cubs are the princes of Judah. Verse 3-4 tells us that one of the cubs became a young lion meaning one of the princes became a king. But he was captured and brought to Egypt. 

This is referencing King Jehoahaz. And his back story can be found in 2 Kings 23 and 2 Chronicles 36. According to 2 Kings 23:31-33, Jehoahaz succeeded his father King Josiah who died. He was shot by an archer while on the way to Carchemish. The people of Judah made his son Jehoahaz king in his place (2 Chronicles 36:3). But he only ruled in Jerusalem for three months. Second Kings 23:32 said he did evil in the sight of the Lord. Hence, it was not surprising to read that he was deposed by Pharoah Neco, taken and imprisoned in Riblah in the land of Hamath.

Jehoahaz as the first young lion was disappointing. So, another cub was raised and became a ferocious and ruthless lion. Its atrocities are described in verses 6-7. It is said to “tear his prey…devoured men…destroyed their fortified towers…laid waste their cities… the land and its fullness were appalled because of the sound of his roaring (meaning his boasting).”

This second lion refers to Eliakim who was renamed Jehoiakim. We can find details of his reign in 2 Kings 24. He was made Nebuchadnezzar’s vassal king in Jerusalem while his brother Jehoahaz was languishing hopelessly in a prison in Egypt. But he rebelled, against Babylon which then proceeded to attack Judah. In 2 Kings 24:2, we find the words of Ezekiel 19:8 affirmed. “The Lord sent against him bands of Chaldeans, bands of Arameans, bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So, He (God) sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets.”

In Jeremiah 22:13-17, the prophet denounced Jehoiakim’s evil. He was not only an oppressive king but one whose interest was only for himself.  Jeremiah 22:18-19 described his death this way, saying, ‘He will be buried with a donkey's burial, dragged off and thrown beyond the gates of Jerusalem.’” His son Jehoiachin who succeeded him was deported to Babylon after a brief of three months.

Here is an adaption from a quote by Friedrich Von Logau: “Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly small; Though with patience He stands waiting with exactness grinds He all.” When the kings were committing their evil, they did not think that everything would come to such an end. But when judgment fell, it was sure, swift, and thorough. God is patient and don’t take it for His nonchalance. Justice may seem slow in coming but it will come. Therefore, it behooves us to walk sagaciously and perceptively.