A Mother's Lament

Read Ezekiel 19-22
 
Ezekiel 19:10-15 “Your mother was like a vine planted by the water’s edge. It had lush, green foliage because of the abundant water. 11 Its branches became strong, strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter. It grew very tall, towering above all others. It stood out because of its height and its many lush branches. 12 But the vine was uprooted in fury and thrown down to the ground. The desert wind dried up its fruit and tore off its strong branches, so that it withered and was destroyed by fire. 13 Now the vine is transplanted to the wilderness, where the ground is hard and dry. 14 A fire has burst out from its branches and devoured its fruit. Its remaining limbs are not strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter. “This is a funeral song, and it will be used in a funeral.”
 
GOD has spoken to Judah as a husband to a bride. Here he uses both the image of a mother and a vine to describe Jerusalem’s and Israel’s roles for his wayward people. As we recall, God created Israel and then Jerusalem to be a strong, nurturing home for his people. The kingships of David and Solomon were like no other. As a mother, Jerusalem protected the Jews. It was a stronghold, a mountain fortress where the king and his power dwelled. Israel was a strong vine rooted in Jerusalem and in God’s covenant. It grew in the LORD’s power.
   But then Jerusalem became weak, inhabited by idolatrous kings. Israel was uprooted, dried and dead. (The vine’s) remaining limbs are not strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter.
   Was it too late for this message to go to the Jews in Babylon? No, it was delivered in God’s time for God’s future plans. They needed to know their strength was only in God’s nurturing care. They needed to be taught God’s reasons for the exile, so they would not be a weak vine again. This was their only hope for a future. 
   The LORD began to replant the vine after the exile. He nurtured it through more trouble and conflict until he established and resurrected his True Vine in Jerusalem. Preparing for the cross, Jesus told his disciples in John 15:1-2 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.”
   God resurrected the vine out of the exile. Jerusalem becomes the source of our eternal protection through Jesus, our Eternal Vine. Be rooted in the Savior.