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

156 Proper 7 [12]/Year B
God plants the sprig on the mountain height of Israel so that it will
“bear fruit” and become a thriving tree (17:23). Scholars agree that
Ezekiel here speaks of God restoring the rule of the Davidic house (e.g.,
Isa. 11:1–10; Jer. 23:5–6; 33:15).
Strikingly, Ezekiel says, “Under it every kind of bird will live; in the
shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind” (Ezek.
17:23), echoing the full array of birds (clean and unclean) entering the ark
in Genesis 7:14 for the judgment by flood. Scholars often observe that
Ezekiel is here reminiscent of the vision of Isaiah and others of animals and
humankind living together in peace in a restored world (Isa. 10:33–
11:9). Elsewhere, the prophet speaks of birds in ways that associate them
with Gentile enemies (e.g., 31:6, 13; 32:4; 39:4, 17). William H. Brownlee
points out that Ezekiel 47:21–23 promises shelter for Gentiles equal to that
of Israel, and that Isaiah 2:2–4 (cf. Mic. 4:1–4) looks forward to the day
when Gentiles will come to Jerusalem to learn from the God of Israel. 48
Thus Ezekiel envisions a world in which Israel lives in peace with the animal
world and other nations while also becoming a shelter for Gentiles
who seek to know the living God.
The passage concludes that this action will demonstrate to the other
“trees of the field,” that is, the other nations, that the God of Israel is sovereign.
For the events around the exile and restoration demonstrate that
God can make low the high, make high the low, wither the tree that is
green, and cause the withered tree to revegetate (17:24).
This passage from Ezekiel is one of the best pairings in the lectionary
with Mark 4:26–34, parables comparing the apocalyptic coming of the
realm of God to a seed growing secretly (Mark 4:26–28) and the growth
of a mustard shrub (4:29–32). Not only do the parables pick up the contrast
between the small beginning (sprig, seed) and large conclusion (tree,
bush), but the latter parable directly alludes to Ezekiel 17:23 (and Daniel
4:12) by saying that “the birds of the air can make nests in its shade” (Mark
4:32). Mark uses the reference from Ezekiel to affirm that repentant Gentiles
will be in the eschatological realm (cf. Mark 1:15; 13:10).
Proper 7 [12]/Year B
1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4–11, 19–23), 32–49;
17:57–18:5, 10–16+ (Semicontinuous)
The story of David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17:1–58) shows that the spirit of
God is “mightily upon David” (1 Sam. 16:13). The armies of Israel and