He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land,
God uses riddles and parables not to obscure His mind but to command attention and stay in memory; what He hides in a familiar dress insinuates itself deeper into careless minds. Ministers must study acceptable words and find varied methods, lest the pulpit and life speak two different languages.
AI summary
Commenting on Ezekiel 17:1-21
But he rebelled against him,.... Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon, broke the covenant he entered into, and violated his oath: in sending his ambassadors into Egypt; to form an alliance with the king of it, and obtain help from him to break off the Babylonian yoke; this is signified by the vine "bending its roots, and shooting forth its branches towards another great...
the king's seed--Zedekiah, Jeconiah's uncle. taken . . . oath of him--swearing fealty as a vassal to Nebuchadnezzar (Ch2 36:13). also taken the mighty--as hostages for the fulfilment of the covenant; whom, therefore, Zedekiah exposed to death by his treason.