000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

For other allusions to Genesis 3, see 2 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:22;
Colossians 3:18; Hebrews 6:8; 1 Timothy 2:14; Revelation 22:3.
Proper 6 [11]/Year B
1 Samuel 15:34–16:13+ (Semicontinuous)
For comments on this passage, please see the Fourth Sunday in Lent/Year A.
Ezekiel 17:22–24* (Paired)
Proper 6 [11]/Year B 155
As we note on Proper 9/Year B, Ezekiel’s prophecies during the exile had
a dual focus of helping the community understand why the exile took
place (as divine discipline for violating the covenant) and also encouraging
the community to believe that God would be faithful to the promise
to return them to the land and to restore the community.
Today’s text is preceded by a vision that is interpreted allegorically. In
allegory, a speaker uses one set of images to speak about another reality.
Ezekiel 17:2–6 describes a first eagle (the eagle often represented military
power in the ancient Near East) who came to Lebanon and carried off the
top shoot of the cedar tree and carried it to another city and who then
planted a seed from the land that became a small plant. Ezekiel 17:7–8
describes a second eagle toward whom the low plant stretched its foliage.
God suggests through questions that the transplanted vine will not survive
(17:9–10).
The cedar is the rebellious house of Israel. The first eagle is the ruler
of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, who deports many leaders of the community
to Babylon (17:11–12). The ruler of Babylon allowed the monarch of
Israel, Zedekiah, to continue in power while serving Babylon (17:13–14).
The second eagle is a pharaoh to whom Zedekiah turned while abandoning
Babylon (17:15a). The Babylonians will attack Jerusalem again to punish
Judah for the alliance with Egypt: Zedekiah will die in exile without
help from the Egyptians, and listeners should understand these things as
directed by God (17:15b–21).
Ezekiel uses many of the same visual elements in 17:22–24 but in the service
of a vision of coming salvation. Some elements of this vision are parallel
to those of the previous vision, but different characters, actions, and
words show how God can transform a situation from judgment to restoration.
God, instead of an eagle, now takes a sprig—tender but full of potential
for growth—from the top of the cedar, and plants it in the land (17:22).