The Parable of the Eagles — Chapter 17
WE have here again a most vivid allegorical description of what was transpiring at Jerusalem. There can be little difficulty in seeing to what it all refers, for not only is the parable itself one of the plainest when compared with the history as given in Kings and Chronicles, as well as the other parts of the prophetic scriptures, but the explanation of the parable is appended in the chapter before us.
For the sake of simplicity, we may point out a threefold division of the chapter — (1) the parable (vers. 1-10); (2) the interpretation (vers. 11-21); (3) an allegorical foreshadowing of future restoration (vers. 22-24).
The great eagle of verse 3 refers to the power of Babylon. Other scriptures use the same figure for this first of the great Gentile powers, to whom, for their sins, Israel was subjected (see Deut. 28:4949The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; (Deuteronomy 28:49); Jer. 48:40, 49:22; Dan. 7:44The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. (Daniel 7:4); Hab. 1:88Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat. (Habakkuk 1:8)).
The highest branch of the cedar of Lebanon was Jehoiachin, king of Judah, who was carried away captive to Babylon, the city renowned for its opulence and commercial activity — “a land of traffic... a city of merchants” (see Isa. 13:19, 43:14).
The other great eagle in verse 7 is Egypt, with which Zedekiah, king of Judah, intrigued, in order to free himself from the Babylonian dominion (Jer. 37); but this artifice on his part did not prosper (2 Kings 24; 2 Chron. 36). The vine, we may remember, is the well-known figure of Israel.
The interpretation that follows (vers. 11-21) makes it clear that the above is the true solution to the riddle put forth by the prophet. For a brief moment after the removal of Jehoiachin to Babylon did God put Judah to a final test. Had Zedekiah respected the oath which he had sworn to Nebuchadnezzar, there might still have rained a feeble flickering of David’s lamp at Jerusalem. But all was hopelessly departed from God. On two grounds was Zedekiah doomed to captivity — he had done evil in the sight of the Lord, and had refused to humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of the Lord; but, besides this, he had despised the oath which he had sworn in the name of the Lord (2 Chron. 36:12, 1312And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. 13And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel. (2 Chronicles 36:12‑13); Ezek. 17:1818Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. (Ezekiel 17:18)). There was less conscience found amongst the people of God than even amongst the Gentiles, for Zedekiah, and not Nebuchadnezzar, broke the solemn covenant of God. The net of governmental judgment was spread, and Zedekiah was taken in Jehovah’s snare. But as always in the prophetic word, future restoration is in view (vers. 22-24). A tender twig will yet be planted by Jehovah’s own hand “in the mountain of the height of Israel”; under His fostering care shall it be made to flourish, so that “all the trees of the field (that is, the powers of the earth) shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken, and have done it” (ver. 24).
Blessed are those who believe His word before the day of its accomplishment.
The Soul That Sinneth, It Shall Die — Chapter 18
The moral instruction of this chapter cannot be too earnestly applied, and yet is it of the utmost importance to remember that the government of Israel upon the earth is the subject.
Individual responsibility is here insisted upon. The unrepentant people were murmuring against the fancied injustice of God’s dealings. The proverb was in common use, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” To a certain extent this was the case (see Exod. 34:6, 76And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. (Exodus 34:6‑7)), but now, at the time of the Babylonian captivity, a change in the principle of God’s dealings was to take place. If a man were just, and lived in accordance with God’s holy and righteous claims, “he shall surely live, saith the Lord God” (vers. 5-9). But, on the other hand, if the son of this just father were to trample God’s laws under his feet, “he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him” (vers. 10-13).
Again, the case is supposed of a son who, beholding the evil life of his father, considers the matter seriously, and turns his own feet into the way of righteousness, “he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live” (vers. 14-18).
The principle, then, is plainly established, spite of Israel’s murmurings, that “the soul that sinneth, it shall die,” and it only (vers. 19, 20).
Next, two opposite cases are supposed, that of a wicked man turning from his sin, and that of the righteous turning from his righteousness. The former should live, the latter should die (vers. 21-24).
Could they with any justice complain that Jehovah’s ways were unjust? By no means. “Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?” What patient grace is here shown! Jehovah reasoning with His rebellious and murmuring people! It was a final, but, alas! unheeded appeal on His part to their consciences, each one individually. Judgment was at hand: “Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye” (vers. 25-32).
It is most interesting to compare verse 31 with chapter 36:26. In the passage now before us we find a solemn call to repentance, “make you a new heart,” &c., whereas in chapter 36 it is Jehovah Himself who will give a new heart to His repentant people in a yet future day. Here they were about to be driven from their land, there they should be restored to it.
It is most important to remember that all has to do with God’s governmental dealings with His earthly people Israel. The subject is not that of eternal salvation, forgiveness, and life as presented in the gospel. No one can ever be saved for heaven on the ground of works. The work of Christ alone opens those portals of glory for any; and, thank God! it opens them wide for all who believe.
When it says, “the soul that sinneth it shall die,” we are not to understand the word in its spiritual sense, but rather as it is often used to imply the person, e.g.., we speak of a town containing so many souls, meaning inhabitants. In the spiritual sense the soul never dies.