May the mumbling commence!
Read the story of the two eagles from Ezekiel chapter
seventeen and its interpretation:
“Give them this message from
the Sovereign Lord: A great eagle
with broad wings full of many-colored feathers came to Lebanon. He took hold of
the highest branch of a cedar tree and plucked off its topmost shoot. Then he carried
it away to a city filled with merchants, where he planted it.
Then he planted one of its seedlings in
fertile ground beside a broad river, where it would grow as quickly as a willow
tree. It took root there and grew into a
low, spreading vine. Its branches turned up toward the eagle, and its roots
grew down beneath it. It soon produced strong branches and luxuriant leaves. But then another great eagle with
broad wings and full plumage came along. So the vine sent its roots and
branches out toward him for water. The
vine did this even though it was already
planted in good soil and had plenty of water so it could grow into a splendid
vine and produce rich leaves and luscious fruit.
So now the Sovereign Lord asks: Should I let this vine grow and prosper? No! I will pull it out, roots and all!
I will cut off its fruit and let its
leaves wither and die. I will pull it out easily enough – it won't take a
strong arm or a large army to do it. Then
when the vine is transplanted, will it thrive? No, it will wither away completely when the east wind blows against it. It
will die in the same good soil where it had grown so well."
Then this message came to me
from the Lord: "Say to these
rebels of Israel: Don't you understand the meaning of this riddle of the
eagles? I will tell you, says the Sovereign Lord.
The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took away
her king and princes, and brought them to Babylon. He made a treaty with a member of the royal
family and made him take an oath of loyalty. He also exiled Israel's most
influential leaders, so Israel would not become strong again and revolt. Only by keeping her treaty with Babylon
could Israel maintain her national identity.
Nevertheless, this man of Israel's royal family rebelled against Babylon, sending ambassadors to Egypt to request a
great army and many horses. Can Israel break
her sworn treaties like that and get away with it? No!
For as surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord,
the king of Israel will die in Babylon, the land of the king who put him in power and
whose treaty he despised and broke. Pharaoh
and all his mighty army will fail to
help Israel when the king of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem again and destroys
the lives of many. For the
king of Israel broke his treaty after swearing to obey; therefore, he will not
escape.
So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As
surely as I live, I will punish him for
breaking my covenant and despising the solemn oath he made in my name. I will throw my net over him and capture him
in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and deal with him there for this treason against me. And all the best warriors of Israel will be
killed in battle, and those remaining in the city will be scattered to the four
winds. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken these words.
And the Sovereign Lord says: I
will take a tender shoot from the top of a tall cedar, and I will plant it on the top of Israel's highest mountain. It will become a noble cedar, sending forth
its branches and producing seed. Birds of every sort will nest in it, finding
shelter beneath its branches. And
all the trees will know that it is I, the Lord,
who cuts down the tall tree and helps the short tree to grow tall. It is I who
makes the green tree wither and gives new life to the dead tree.
I, the Lord, have spoken! I will
do what I have said." (Verses 3-24)
A fascinating story indeed! It’s not well known, but it has lessons to teach
us. Though we may have our own ideas
about what God should do on our behalf, it’s much better to accept the plans of
the Lord. When we do, we will find
ourselves richly and abundantly blessed.
Jesus did many miracles when he walked the earth. What was the foundation of these
miracles? Belief in Jesus… but there’s
more. The foundation of the miracles is
doing what Jesus tells us to do. It’s
both that simple and that difficult. Read
a verse from John chapter two:
But his mother told the
servants, "Do whatever he (Jesus) tells
you." (Verse 6)
So, as Nike would say, “Just do it.”
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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