Reading for March 13th

Read Ezekiel 19.1-14 Two allegories concerning the demise of the monarchy.
Ezekiel laments the demise of the Davidic monarchy with two allegories styled as
dirges or songs of mourning.
In verse 1 raise up a lamentation for the princes of Israel: Hebrew poetry typically had
three stressed syllables in each line.
The lament, however, used a three-stress line followed by a two-stress line.
The poems use the 3/2 stress pattern (called "qinah") of the funeral lament.
Ezekiel refers to the kings as "princes," thereby expressing the king's diminished status
in relation to the priests (34.24; 45.7-8).
In verses 2-9 the lion symbolizes the tribe of Judah and the royal house of David (Gen 49.8-12).
A lioness was your mother refers to Judah or all Israel.
Note the identification of Israel as the bride of God in Hosea (Hos 1-3), Jeremiah (Jer 2-3), and Ezekiel (ch. 16).
The first cub who is brought ... with hooks to the land of Egypt is Jehoahaz, who was exiled to Egypt by Pharaoh Necho after Josiah's death (2 Kings 23.31-34; 2 Chr 36.1-4).
The second cub who learned to catch prey and devoured people would be Jehoiakim, whom Pharaoh Necho placed on the throne after exiling Jehoahaz.
Jeremiah condemns Jehoiakim for his injustice (Jer 21.11-22.19).
And brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody: Jehoiachin, who was exiled to Babylon following Jehoiakim's failed revolt (2 Kings 24.8-17; 2 Chr 36.9-10).
In verses 10-14 this poem employs the imagery of the vine (see chs. 15; 17; compare Isa 5.1-7).
It is impossible to identify the poem's imagery with specific individuals or countries
(see Isa 10.5-11.16; 1.29-31; 6.13).
The east wind dried it up: the "Sharab" or "Hamsin," a dry desert wind like the Santa Ana winds of southern California, is frequently employed as a symbol of God's power
(Ex 14.21; 15.8-10; Isa 11.15).
Now it is transplanted into the wilderness: Jehoiachin's exile.
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