Latest / Teachings On This Day On FerventWord / On Jul 14, 2010: Ezekiel 17 Two Eagles And A Vine
Transcript
- You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010. Ezekiel chapter 17 this evening, as we continue our study in the book of Ezekiel, God continues to give Ezekiel words to share with his fellow captives. Ezekiel is part of the Jewish nation, he's an Israelite, but Jerusalem had been conquered by Babylon, and so... many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were taken captive and Ezekiel was one of them. And so there's a bunch of them who are Jews but they're in Babylon that are there in captivity. They're allowed to live and they're not in a dungeon but they're there and they're not allowed to leave but they're allowed to live their lives. And so they have homes, they have farms, they're providing for themselves but they're restricted there to the area of Babylon. While at the same time back in Jerusalem there's been a new king that's been established by the king of Babylon and so there is people there back in Jerusalem, the Jewish people continue on in Jerusalem but the problem is that they're rebelling against Babylon although Babylon has conquered them already, he allowed them to continue to exist. with the provision that they would be submitted to him and pay tributes and things like that. And so they continued to exist as a nation, but they decided we don't want to serve Babylon. And so they rebelled once again against King Nebuchadnezzar. And so there's some great rebellion that's going on. First of all, they're rebelling against God. but also they're rebelling against King Nebuchadnezzar, whom God has placed over the nation as an authority. And he's using Babylon to really bring discipline into the life of his people, into the nation of Judah, or the nation of Israel. And so as we continue on here in chapter 17, God gives Ezekiel a message to share. And it's a parable or a riddle. As we see in verse 1, it says, And the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, pose a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel. And so what we're going to be looking at tonight is a riddle or a parable that God gives to Ezekiel. He gives him this parable, which is really just a story with some kind of meaning attached to it. And God will give us the meaning, and so we don't have to guess and speculate on what he might have meant. He gives us the meaning, but first he tells the story. And this is something that God does often. In fact, in the ministry of Jesus, we know that very well. He used parables to teach lessons. We have the parable of the sower. Jesus talks about the sower who went out to sow the seed. And we have the parable of the wheat and the tares. And and the different parables that Jesus told them, they were to teach a lesson, but they're using common things that we could understand, stories that we could know, to have some insight and understanding to the lesson that God wants to teach us. And so as God gives Ezekiel this riddle and this parable, it's not to keep from them the message that they needed to hear, but it's to give them further understanding, to make it more accessible to them, that they could know what God is speaking to their hearts. And so God uses these things to give insights and understandings. If he didn't want them to know the meaning, if he didn't want them to know and to learn the lesson, then he wouldn't have spoken at all. He would have just not given Ezekiel something to say. But he gave Ezekiel this parable so that we could understand, so that they could know what God is speaking to them, but also for ourselves this evening, so that we can hear, we can learn, and listen to the lesson that God is seeking to teach. I think it's interesting that God uses riddles and parables and things like that because it makes it accessible to us by giving us something that we can easily relate to. But it also, you know, gives us, well, it makes it necessary for us to really seek God. You know, God shares with us this way many times because He calls us to seek Him and He promises if we seek Him, we will find Him when we seek for Him with all of our hearts. Remember Jesus told us to ask and seek and knock. He desires for us to pursue Him, to seek Him. And so He kind of gives us on the surface this story. And right underneath the surface, you don't have to dig very far or be super smart, but what you do have to do is you have to have a heart that wants to know God and wants to hear from Him. And if you want to know God, if you want to seek the Lord, then you'll dig a little bit below the surface and then you'll find the meaning and the depth of what it is that God wants to speak. And so He gives Ezekiel this riddle, this parable, to give to the people that they would understand His heart and what He is speaking to them. Verses 3-6 go on to say this, He says, Then he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a fertile field. He placed it by abundant waters and set it like a willow tree. And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots were under it. So it became a vine, brought forth branches, and put forth shoots. Here is God begins to give this parable to Ezekiel. He talks about a great eagle. And so he pictures for us or he gives us in our mind this picture of a magnificent eagle. A big bird. And not big bird but a big bird. With large wings, full of feathers of various colors. See, big bird is just all yellow. This one is of various colors. And so there is this giant eagle or this great eagle that God is describing. And you can picture this bird as it comes, He says, it came to Lebanon. Now, Lebanon was a place that was just north of the nation of Israel, and it was known for its cedar trees. It had magnificent cedar forests. And so it goes to the cedar tree and takes the highest branch, so the topmost part of the tree, it takes off, and then it carries it to a land of trade. And so it picks up, you know, this cedar, piece of the tree, the topmost of the tree and carries it off. Maybe, you know, if you were picturing a bird that's gathering for its nest and it goes and it grabs some twigs and then it takes it back to its home, that's similar to what is being described here. It says that he said it in a city of merchants. Now, of course, he's not talking about a literal eagle because he tells us it's a parable. And so there's meaning to this, but he doesn't tell us the meaning yet. So let's just get a good grasp of the story and the parable that God is telling. And then as we go forward in the chapter, we'll look at what it means and how it applies to us. So this eagle takes and grabs this high branch. from the cedar of Lebanon, takes it back and plants it within a city of merchants. Somewhere where there's commerce going on. Somewhere where there's activity. Somewhere where life is busy. Then it tells us in verse 5 that he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in a fertile field. And so then, after he's taken this branch back to the busy city, the merchant city, now he comes back to the land where he took from the tree. He takes some seed from that area, from that land, and now he plants that seed there in a field. And he places it, it says, by abundant waters. And so this seed that is planted is going to have the nourishment that it needs. It's not going to be, you know, in a drought. It's not going to be lacking water. He placed it by abundant waters and set it like a willow tree. They would often plant willow trees next to the water to prevent the soil from eroding. And so the idea here is he's placing it there right next to the river, right next to abundant waters, somewhere where it can be fed and nourished and grow. He tells us in verse 6 that it became, instead of a tree, it became a spreading vine of low stature. And so it didn't rise up to be very tall, but it spread wide. It spread out. It became like a vine that spread outward instead of upward. It tells us there in verse 6 that the branches turned towards the eagle, turned towards him. Its roots were underneath it and so it was like a vine and it grew, it produced branches, it put forth shoots. And this is the vine that was produced by the eagle planting seed in the field next to the abundant water. And so you get the picture, you get the idea, you get the understanding. The eagle that comes, it takes away a piece of the tree, but then it plants something new there in the field and it begins to grow outward like a vine instead of upward like a tree. Going on in verse 7, he continues, he says, But there was another great eagle with large wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and stretched its branches toward him. Verse 9. Verse 10. As he goes on giving us the parable, now enters onto the scene another great eagle. And so there's the first great eagle that comes, that takes away a piece of the tree, that plants seed, that becomes a vine. And then now on the scene comes this other great eagle. And this great eagle comes and the vine... favors this new great eagle, this other eagle that comes on the scene. The vine begins to grow in the direction of that eagle and it bends its roots, it says, towards him. You know, the roots would go towards the water source, right? And so, this other eagle comes on the scene and it's like the vine is saying, hey, you'll provide my nourishment. You'll take care of me. You're going to supply what I need. And so, the roots grow towards this other eagle and the branches grow towards this other eagle. If you can think about those trees that are kind of in awkward positions, right? And they might be coming out of the ground crooked, but then they grow straight up towards the sun. Or they grow straight up, but they're in the shadow. And so then they kind of shoot off at an angle in order to reach the sun there. They're reaching for the sunlight. They're reaching for that nourishment. And so similar to that, the vine here begins to grow towards the great eagle. It's going in that direction of this other eagle that comes on the scene. And so it stretches its branches towards him. It bends its roots towards him. And he says in verse 8 that it was planted, the first eagle planted it by good waters and good soil, by many waters, in order to bring forth branches that it would become a majestic vine. The purpose of planting it where it was planted was so that it would be able to produce and it would be fruitful. But Instead what happens is this other eagle comes on the scene and it reaches out and begins to grow in the wrong direction. And so God now asks the question within the parable, He says, will that vine thrive? Won't the eagle be upset as it's moving away from it, as it took care to plant this and provide for it that it would be able to produce fruit? Won't the eagle pull it up by its roots and cut off its fruits and leave it to wither since it's turned against the one who planted it? He says it won't take a lot of people to pluck it up by its roots. Now normally, when things are planted in the ground, it takes some effort to pull it out. And you have to work and to dig and to work very hard in order to get roots and a stump out of the ground. But what he's saying here is this eagle that planted it is going to leave it in such a condition that it won't be difficult for it to be plucked up. It's going to be easy to be removed. He says it's planted, but will it thrive? He says, won't it utterly wither when the east wind touches it? When this harsh wind comes, it won't be able to withstand. It's going to wither. where it once grew, where it once was fruitful, now it is going to die. And so this is the parable that God gives to Ezekiel to share with the people. Now, you can imagine Ezekiel, you know, he goes and he shares this parable. And we have the luxury of, you know, the next few verses, and so we can quickly read ahead. But it it gives the impression here that there's some time that lapses. And so Ezekiel is sharing this, but God doesn't give the meaning right away. And so the people are trying to figure out, what does this mean? What is the significance of this great eagle and then the other great eagle and the topmost part of the tree and the seed that's planted and the vine that gets produced? What is the meaning here? What is the significance? And that's why God calls it a parable and a riddle because it's something that they were kind of chewing on and trying to figure out and trying to obtain the meaning of. Now the good thing is we don't have to calculate and work real hard to figure out what it means because God goes on to tell us there in verse 11. He says, Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying, Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, Indeed, the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem, and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon. And he took the king's offspring, made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, that the kingdom might be brought low, and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand." Here in verses 11 through 14, God gives us the beginning of the meaning of this parable and this riddle. Now as we look at the meaning of this parable, it's important for us to understand that Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon three times. The first time that Babylon came and conquered Jerusalem was King Jehoiakim was on the throne. And Babylon conquered the nation of Assyria. Assyria tried many times to conquer Jerusalem, but never could. And so now Babylon is kind of the new big dog on the scene. And Babylon comes against Jerusalem and is effective and does conquer Jerusalem. And so Jehoiakim is taken captive. There's others who are taken captive as well. Daniel is among those captives. And they're taken back to Babylon. But Babylon does not wipe out the city of Jerusalem at that time. Instead, what King Nebuchadnezzar does is he puts a new king in his place and he says, hey listen, I already conquered you once. You know I can do it again. So be faithful. be loyal and you know I'll let you live and so he takes away the mighty warriors he you know takes away those who can fight he takes some captives but leaves many of the people there in the land and so that's the first time that Babylon conquered Jerusalem The second time was not very much long later. It was a little bit later. In fact, Jehoiachin is the one who Babylon replaced Jehoiachin with. And so he's only on the throne for three months. So Babylon conquers Jerusalem. The new king is set up and he says, "Okay, I promise, you know, I'll be faithful to you, I'll be loyal to you." But he rebels right away and so three months later Babylon comes back and conquers Jerusalem again. They take more captives. Ezekiel is probably part of that group, the more captives that are taken the second time and they're taken back to Babylon. But again, he doesn't level the city at that time. He sets up a new king. That's King Zedekiah. And he says, okay, you be faithful to me and I'll let you live. I'll let you guys continue to exist. But you got to be faithful to me and pay tribute and all of that. And so, now Zedekiah is king, and he rules on the throne of Israel for 11 years altogether, but about his 9th year, he rebels against Babylon. And he says, no, that's it, we're not going to follow you anymore, we're not going to pay tribute, we're not going to be faithful. And so, this is the third time that Zedekiah Jerusalem has rebelled against Babylon. And so it's this third and final time that Babylon comes, conquers the city, levels it, leaves nobody left and takes everybody captive except for a very tiny remnant who soon after flee to the land of Egypt. And so these three... conquerings of Jerusalem or three times that Babylon defeated Jerusalem are important because as God is giving this parable and this riddle to Ezekiel he's there captive in Babylon and Jehoiachin has already been conquered Zedekiah is on the throne but he's not rebelled against Babylon yet The idea here is God is giving insight into what is taking place back home as He's been throughout the time giving insight into what's been happening in the hearts of the people. Here He's giving insight into what's happening politically. He's describing here how the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem, took its king and its princes... and set up a new king and that's what this parable is about. There in verse 12 he says, "Say now to the rebellious house, do you not know what these things mean? Tell them indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes and led them with him to Babylon." What he's talking about there in verse 12 is when Jehoiachin, the second king, was captured by Babylon and taken back to Babylon as captives. And that is the part of the parable where he says the eagle went to Lebanon, took off the topmost of the tree and carried it back to Babylon. And so that topmost part, the highest branch of the tree represents Jehoiachin. who was that second king, that middle king as far as the conquering of Babylon was concerned. And so Jehoiachin is taken, his princes are taken, and they're taken captive back to Babylon. Just like the eagle went and took the highest branch and brought it back to the city of merchants. And so that represents Jehoiachin. But then in verse 13 it says, And so he takes away the king of Jerusalem. But then he sets up a new king and he makes a new covenant with this new king. It says that he took the king's offspring and made a covenant with him and put him under oath. Now the person that is being referred to here is Zedekiah. And so Zedekiah was the next king after Jehoiachin. And Zedekiah was given authority to reign as king by Babylon. And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made a treaty or made an agreement, made a covenant with Zedekiah. And again said, you know, hey, you're going to be faithful to me, I'll allow you to live, but you've got to pay tribute, you've got to pay your taxes, and so on and so forth. And so there's this agreement that's made. And this is represented in the parable by this seed that is planted. Remember it says he takes some seed of that land and he plants it in a fertile field. And he placed it by abundant waters. He set it like a willow tree and it grew and it became a spreading vine. Not high, but wide. And so, here King Nebuchadnezzar is giving Zedekiah the opportunity to be productive. the opportunity to be fruitful. He's giving him freedom to live and to grow their crops. And of course they have to pay as part of being subject to the king of Babylon. But he's giving them freedom. He's protecting them and so on and so forth. And so the picture here of the seed that's being planted is fulfilled by Zedekiah being set up on the throne. He's made a covenant with the king of Babylon. He's made an oath that he would be loyal to him and faithful to him. And it also says there in verse 14 that the king took away the mighty of the land that it would be brought low and not lift itself up. And so the nation could not lift itself up and rise against Babylon and rebel against Babylon. He took away the mighty of the land. He left the productive people, the farmers, the workers. He left them behind, but the soldiers he either put to death or took captive back to Babylon. And so that results in this low vine, this spreading vine. It doesn't rise up really high, it just spreads wide. But it's still productive, it's still taken care of. Verse 15, But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered? As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke with him, in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Nor will Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company do anything in the war. When they heap up a siege mound and build a wall to cut off many persons. since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact gave his hand, and still did all these things, he shall not escape. Therefore, thus says the Lord. Actually, we'll stop there, there in verse 18. So here as we look at verses 15 through 18, God continues to describe the situation of what has happened. He says, He has rebelled against him. That is, King Zedekiah has rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And how has he rebelled against him? By sending his ambassadors to Egypt. And so now we find the other part of the parable, this other eagle that comes onto the scene, that's mighty and powerful and much like the first eagle. This other eagle is the nation of Egypt. And as in the parable, the vine began to reach out for and spread towards this other eagle that comes on the scene, Zedekiah begins to reach out for and spread to the land of Egypt. And so he begins to break his covenant with King Nebuchadnezzar. He begins to say, hey, Egypt... Wow, you're kind of nice. I want a relationship with you instead of Babylon. How about we make a deal and you come fight for us. You set us free from Babylon. How about you help us out and we'll throw off the rule and the authority of Babylon. And so he's spreading his branches to Egypt. He's bending his roots to Egypt. Sending his ambassadors, God says, that they might give him horses and many people. And so God asks the question, will he prosper? Here's King Zedekiah reaching out to Egypt, wanting to throw off the rule of Babylon. And so he breaks his covenant, he breaks his deal, he breaks his oath, reaching out to Egypt, and God says, will he prosper? He says, can someone who does that kind of thing escape? Can he break a covenant and still be delivered? It's a good question. Can a person break a covenant and still be delivered? Can they break a covenant and not suffer the consequences of breaking that covenant? One of the things that we see very clearly here is this parable is given to us for our own understanding and for God to speak to our hearts. Is that God takes our covenants seriously. He takes our word very seriously. And when we make agreements and when we make deals, we should not do it lightly because, well, the question is, can you break a covenant and still be delivered and not suffer the consequences of breaking that covenant? You know, if you break a covenant with your mobile carrier, you have to pay an early termination fee, right? Can you break the covenant without paying the fee is really what God is asking here. You've broken your oath. You've broken your promise that you made to the nation of Babylon. Can you break that oath and... Not have any payment required. Not have anything happen. No consequences. No results. Will He thrive? He asks. Will He prosper? Like that vine as As that vine began to grow towards that other eagle, he says, will it thrive? Is that going to be prosperous for it? Is that a good move for it in the long run? No, it's going to be ripped up. It's going to be easily removed. And so it serves to weaken the vine rather than strengthen the vine. And so here's King Zedekiah. He's trying to strengthen himself. He's reaching out, breaking his covenant, but reaching out to Egypt saying, God is saying, look, the results will not be that you strengthen yourself, but that you weaken yourself so that you will be removed, so that you will be conquered. God takes covenants seriously. I think it's something important for us to consider as we give our word, as we make promises, as we make agreements and contracts and covenants. It's something that is serious and that is important. Marriage is a covenant. It's a contract. One application of what we're talking about here. Can you break that covenant? Can you break the bond of marriage and still be delivered? And not suffer the consequences of that? We know there's lasting effects. There's much consequences as a result of divorce, as a result of breaking up the marriage. In the same way, those covenants that we make in our lives, we need to take them seriously. We need to pay attention because there are costs involved. Breaking covenants do not make us stronger. They weaken us so that we'll be easily removed. Well, it says that he breaks this covenant with Babylon. And he says in verse 17, Pharaoh and his mighty army and great company, they won't do anything in the war. When Babylon comes and heats up a siege mound and builds a wall to conquer Jerusalem, he says, Pharaoh's not going to help you. They're not going to do anything in that battle. So you're breaking the covenant, you're reaching out, you're trying, but it's useless. They're not going to help you. Why? Verse 18, Since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and in fact gave his hand and still did all these things, he shall not escape. He gave his hand in pledge. He promised. He made a covenant. But he won't be delivered. Egypt will not deliver them. Because they broke the covenant. They broke the promise. Something to consider. Can you break a covenant and still be delivered? Going on in verse 19, it says, Here as God continues on, He gives us further insight into what is going on there with the nation of Judah, the city of Jerusalem. He says, As I live... Surely my oath which he despised and my covenant which he broke, I will recompense on his own head. You see what God is saying here? That covenant that Zedekiah made with the king of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar, it was a covenant that was made between those two men, but God says, that was my covenant. That was my oath. That was something that I... put in place, that I put into motion, that I established. He says, that's my covenant that he broke. The reason why this covenant is so important, the reason why this is so significant that he rebelled against Babylon is because God had placed Babylon in a position of authority over the nation of Judah. God had used Babylon as an instrument of discipline, as an instrument of judgment. And as part of His discipline, what He required or what He intended was for Judah to be submitted to Babylon. As a part of His work to bring them back to Him, He brought Babylon into their lives. It was discipline, which always is uncomfortable, Never something that we desire. And so, of course, they weren't really excited about Babylon being in the picture. But what God is saying is, this is my doing. And because you rebelled and broke this covenant, what you've really done is you've broken my covenant. You've rebelled against me. It's not just that you're rebelling against this foreign nation, but you're rebelling against me. And he says, I will recompense it on your own head. You're going to reap the results, the consequences of rebelling against me as you have done in breaking this covenant. And so he says in verse 20, I'm going to spread my net over him. He's going to be taken in my snare. I'm going to bring him to Babylon and try him for treason or unfaithfulness which he committed against me. Notice God is taking this very personal. He says, you've done this against me. You've been unfaithful to me. You've rebelled against me in rebelling against Babylon. He says in verse 21, all the fugitives, the troops, they're going to fall by the sword. Whoever remains is going to be scattered to all the winds. This is things that we've looked at and seen over and over again with the nation of Judah here in these final days of their judgment. And he says at the end there, verse 21, "...and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken." We've been seeing over and over God speaking through Ezekiel saying, "...then you'll know that I am the Lord." Here he modifies it a little. He says, then you'll know that I the Lord have spoken. This is my doing. This is what I've said. As all these things are fulfilled, then you will know that it's me who has said these things and spoken these things. Babylon was God's instrument. You remember as we were studying back through the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah pronounced to the people, and he got in trouble for it by his fellow citizens, his fellow Jews, but Jeremiah announced to the people, Babylon is being used by God, submit to them. Surrender to them. They're God's instrument. This is God's work. Don't fight against it. In breaking the covenant, King Zedekiah said, broke God's covenant. It was something against God. Interesting. Important for us to consider. We'll come back to that, but let's go on in verse 22. It says, "...thus says the Lord God, I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain." On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, and it will bring forth boughs and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort. In the shadow of its branches they will dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish. I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it. Here as we go on in verses 22 through 24, we go beyond the scope that we've been talking about historically with King Zedekiah, the king of Babylon, that's King Nebuchadnezzar and their relationship and reaching out to Egypt. He now looks well beyond that scope that is going on and looks even future yet for us to what we call the millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ when the Messiah is established. When he establishes his kingdom on the earth for a thousand years. He says he's going to take one of the highest branches of the high cedar and he's going to take it and he's going to plant it on a high and prominent mountain. And so what he's talking about is, they're going to be cut off as a result of their rebellion, but just as God has been doing throughout Ezekiel and throughout Jeremiah, he's also saying, well look, it's not over for my people. I'm not done with them, I'm not cutting them off completely forever, this is for a season, this is as a result of their rebellion, but I'm going to bring them back and I'm going to establish them. And so they'll be planted on a high and prominent mountain. This young twig, this tender one that is taken, is a picture of Jesus. It's a foretelling of the Messiah that God would take. Jesus at first, you know, as He comes in the first coming, He comes in humility. He comes in tenderness. But God's going to bring Him back. He's going to return the second time and He's going to be established there on the mountain height of Israel. He'll be planted. And then He'll bring forth boas and bear fruits and be a majestic cedar. So not a low vine, not something that's just kind of low and weak. He's going to be a majestic cedar. This is the return of Jesus Christ that He's talking about. He says in verse 24, All the trees of the field will know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree. This is what God does. Jesus came in humility the first time. He will return in glory. God brings down those who exalt themselves, like King Zedekiah, who exalted himself and rebelled. God will bring down everything that exalts itself, but He will lift up And He will exalt those that humble themselves. And so as Jesus came in humility the first time, He will return in glory. And so this young twig pictures for us the return of Jesus Christ and His kingdom that will be established. As we consider these things this evening, I want to conclude by turning to Romans chapter 13. Would you turn there with me please? Romans chapter 13. In Romans chapter 13, the Apostle Paul is writing and he is speaking to a similar subject and I think it's very appropriate and it's what God brought to my attention and so that's why I share it with you. He says in Romans chapter 13, verse 1 and 2, it says, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. That was a nice whistle. God tells us, Authority is from Him. And looking at King Zedekiah who rebelled against Babylon, It's kind of easy to understand and relate to him. Understanding, you know, we don't want to be under bondage to this other nation. You know, they were a wicked nation. They were a cruel nation. And so, it's very understandable. We can sympathize that he wanted to be set free from that nation. From Babylon's authority. But here we find the principle that we also saw there in chapter 17 of Ezekiel. He says, there is no authority except from God. And the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Authority is appointed by God. even the nation of Babylon was appointed by God. And that's why it was such a big deal for them to break that covenant that they made with Babylon to say, "We're not going to be submitted to this authority." Because Babylon, for the nation of Judah, was God's representative. And so in rebelling against Babylon and breaking the covenant with Babylon, they were breaking the covenant with God. God wants to speak to our hearts this evening and challenge us in regards to authority in our lives. Just think with your mind. Run through a list of those who have authority in your life. You can look at the governing authorities, state, local, federal, you know, those things. Those are governing authorities. Or we can look in the workplace. There's authorities, those who have authority over us. On the job, in the workplace, in the home, there are those who have authority over us. Look again at verse 13. With all of those people in mind, let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. As much as we might not like Some of those who are in authority over us, or we don't like the way that they exercise their authority, or we don't like being in subjection to those who have authority. As much as we dislike and that's uncomfortable and we want to throw it off, we need to understand that authority is from God. It's God who raises up, it's God who casts down. If He wanted someone else to have authority, then He would put that person in authority. He's God, He can do it. He has His purposes and He has His plans. Our role and our responsibility then is to be subject to those authorities, to humble ourselves. God exalts the humble, but those who exalt themselves and resist the authority and rebel against the authority, whatever authority that might be in your life, that's a rebellion against God. That's not just a rebellion against this person or that person and, "Ah, it's no big deal." They're not saved anyways, they're crooked, they're evil, they're scheming, whatever. We justify, you know, why we don't pay attention, why we're not subject to those authorities. But rebellion against that authority is actually rebellion against God. That's what he says in verse 2. Therefore, so understanding the principle, authority is put there by God and it exists because of God. They're appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God. And those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Here this parable of the eagle and the vine is a reminder to us of the importance of submitting to authority. the importance of knowing and understanding that those who have authority in our lives are placed there by God. And it might be as a result of discipline. I mean, they might be in our lives because God has some correction that He needs to administer. And oh, how we hate discipline. We don't like it, man, when those who have authority are not fair, they're harsh, they're cruel, they're mean, they're ugly, you know, whatever issue is with them. As much as we hate authority... We must recognize that authority is put there by God. And if we try to reach out and spread out and go and break our covenant, break away from that authority that God has placed in our life, it does not make us stronger. It makes us weaker. When you, when I, rebel and fight against authority, when we try to escape out from under authority, we're thinking, I'm going to be free. I'll be able to do what I want. I'm going to be able to do things better. I think it's going to make me stronger. It's going to be better if I can get out from under this authority. But the reality is, it makes you weaker. It breaks you down instead of building you up. Because you will bring judgment on yourself for rebelling against that authority. Listen, some of you guys are young. Your parents are real authorities in your life. It's a good reminder to be submitted to your parents. Be subject to your parents. To rebel against them is to rebel against God. That's why, remember in the Old Testament, the law was, hey, if you have a kid that's rebelling, bring him to the city gate, tell the elders, hey, this kid's been rebellious. And we try to tell him, but he won't listen. They won't pay attention. She's just a brat. The ruling of the elders was death by stoning. I'm just rebelling against my parents. No, you're rebelling against God. You're rebelling against God when you rebel against your parents. When you kind of go around behind the scenes and kind of try to cut down the superiors in your workplace, you're cutting down, you're going against, you're fighting against God. He's the one who's placed those authorities there in your life. When you try to get out from under and escape from and wiggle your way out, you're running from the Lord. You're running from God and His work in your life. He uses those things. He uses those authorities. And like I said, it's uncomfortable. We don't like it. It makes us miserable sometimes. But discipline is like that. Very often, God uses those authorities in our life for our own health to bring us to the place that we need to be. We don't agree. We don't think that we need it. We don't think that they should be in authority over us. But God disagrees. And we can tell that He disagrees because they're there. If He wanted to remove them, He would. But He's placed them there. And so we must be subject to those authorities. So this evening, I want to encourage you to consider those authorities in your life. Consider your relationships to them. Consider your heart towards them. Consider, are you rebelling against God? The worship team is going to come up and lead us in a song. And as they do, ask God to show you and to speak to you in regards to those authorities in your life. If there's need for repentance, this is a great time. Take this time to repent. To ask God to change your heart. To ask God to forgive you. To make a new covenant, a new commitment to Him. That you will be obedient and subject to Him. to those authorities that He has placed in your life. If not, if you want to just continue to persist in rebellion, it will end up in your destruction. You're bringing judgment upon yourself by resisting those authorities that God has placed in your life. And so let's worship the Lord together and allow Him to speak to us and to work in our hearts. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.