597 BC was a bad year. That was the year the temple of God in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar, and the kingship overthrown. As individualistic Americans it may be difficult to understand the immensity of what this would mean to the Jewish people. Their communal identity was entirely enmeshed with those two institutions, themselves more closely linked than we can truly grasp. Losing both of them in one day would have left the people utterly broken. What hope is there when your world is shattered?
That is the context into which Ezekiel is speaking here, telling the parable of cedar trees – the kings is Judah – and eagles – the kingdoms of Egypt and Babylon. The kings switch their allegiances and are destroyed, a picture of the fickleness of the people themselves, changing their allegiance from the God of their fathers to the idols of the world.
But then Ezekiel speaks to something greater here in verse 22, reminding the people that they are not alone. It’s something greater that calls forward to the coming of the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the God of Abraham who is with us in all that we do and everywhere we go. We are never alone.
But God is not only present, but He is active. He is the active force in these verses, hammered home at the end – “I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.” All this, in the midst of the destruction of everything that made up the identity of His people, He promises to act, to fulfill the promise that he made to David.
Note that this is God acting and no one else. Often we feel or behave like any change or success is on our shoulders. But even when He is gracious enough to pull us into the work He is doing, the work and responsibility and success is still God’s. He may work quietly and slowly at times, but He is always working and when He brings it to fulfillment, it is amazing. “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”
This passage also promises more about the nature of the Christ who would come – “Birds of every kind will nest in it.” More birds than only those of Abrahamic descent, but all kinds, from every land. The kingdom to come will be a global kingdom, fast beyond the boundaries of David and Solomon, fulfilling the promise made to Abraham to bless all nations through his line.
Imagine yourself as a bird in the shade of Jesus Christ. We have been made free through Him, made children of God through Him. Looking back, we have the same hope that Ezekiel had when looking ahead.
How do we practice this hope actively? By seeking joy in the midst of suffering. By persisting in prayer. By seeking the peace of God and resting in him. By patiently enduring trials. Through humility on victory. Hope it’s not merely an attitude or emotion, but it is a discipline, and it is a promise.
As Jeremiah wrote around the time of Ezekiel, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for wholeness and not harm, plans to give you a hope and future.'” That hope came in the form of Jesus Christ and is offered to us if we come and shelter ourselves beneath his branches.
– Sermon Notes, Jeff Sickles, Snohomish Evangelical Free Church, Snohomish, WA, November 28, 2021