Ezekiel 17 exegesis
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying
The words of the Lord contain the power to grant life. When we hear them we need to focus all of our attention to listening to them, so that we may understand them by obeying them. It is especially our onus to listen to the words of the Lord, as spoken by the prophets, during the Fast of the Prophets that precedes the feast of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel
In Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 you find the ten commandments. Later in the book of Deuteronomy you hear them being expounded upon with depth and attention to minutia. If all people were robotic, or the same in personality type, God would input these commandments into our brains and we would obey. We do not obey. There are audio learners, visual learners and kinetic learners. The visual learners benefit from hearing a teaching in the form of a riddle or parable. A concept that was ethereal and distant, could become palpable and close with the use of a narrative. Now do you see the loving-kindess, steadfast love and mercy of God?
Verses 3-10 describe a parable of two vines. One fails to grow properly, whilst the other blossoms beautifully.
Verses 11-21 describe a kingdom that thought it was on top of the world. Only God is on top of the world, for He is not of this world. All of the elements of this world shall pass, but the Lord God shall not. Although this text is speaking about a specific kingdom, there is a functional critique of centralized power that the final verses solidify.
Thus says the Lord God, "I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and set it out; I will pluck from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shades of its branches. All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree and make dry the tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it."
I will never forget that Israel means to contend or struggle with God. As we are looking at the function of this story for our context, it is important for us to consult with experts in the original languages of the holy scriptures. Anyone of us can be elected by God to struggle with Him. Not to meet Him in the Octagon and try to wrestle Him into an armbar, but to put all of our effort into hearing His instructions and obeying them. To talk with Him without ceasing. No matter what our position is in this world, all that matters is if we are in God's favor. We do not get His favor from our currency holdings, church titles, professional accolades, presidency, kingship, ministership, suits, purses, brand names, jewelry, coolness in school, strength, speed, wit, A pluses, cars, jets, chains or the amount of women we have slept with. His favor is curried only by how willing we are to consistently change our ways to The Way, seek His instructions and obey them.
Furthermore, we must love each other.