Ezekiel 17:22-23 - Homiletics.

Christ, the new Cedar.

After words of darkness and ruin, there appears the wonderful Messianic prophecy of restoration and future blessings. Sometimes this prophecy is expressed in general terms; but here the personal Messiah is distinctly predicted under the image of a shoot taken from the fallen cedar.

I. THE PLANTING OF THE NEW CEDAR .

1 . It is a cutting from the old cedar . That proud and once venerable tree has been cruelly torn by the fierce eagle. One of its topmost twigs has been carried away, for Jehoiachin has been taken to Babylon. But another shoot from the same tree is destined to a glorious future. Christ is of the stock of David. He is called God's Servant, "the Branch" ( Zechariah 3:8 ). The people hailed Jesus as the "Son of David" ( Matthew 20:30 ). Christ comes as a King, and he comes to fulfil God's ancient promises to David. He unites the present to the past, and accomplishes in himself what the throne of David had failed to attain.

2 . It appears as a slender twig . It was said of the Christ, "He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground" ( Isaiah 53:2 ). Jesus entered the world in the lowly estate of the infant Child of a poor woman, and his earthly life was one of humiliation and slight visible achievements.

3 . It is planted on a mountain .

II. THE GROWTH OF THE NEW CEDAR .

1 . It is to grow in size . It shall bring forth boughs. The cutting becomes a cedar tree. The mustard seed grows into a great tree. Christ not only grew in stature, wisdom, and grace as a Child ( Luke 2:14 ). He grew in power afterwards, being made perfect by the things that he suffered ( Hebrews 5:8 , Hebrews 5:9 ), and being exalted to the right hand of God on account of his great self sacrifice at the cross. Christ continues to grow in the extension of his kingdom, in the progress of the Church, which is his body.

2 . It is to be fruitful . "And bear fruit." This cedar is to share the merits of the vine. Great as the monarch of Lebanon is it is to be fruitful as the tender plants of the vineyard. Christ is not only great and exalted, and ever growing in the power of his kingdom. He gives out grace. His fruit is for the healing of the nations. He is the Bread of life, and his people feed upon him. Christianity is not merely a big success, like Mohammedanism. It is a blessing to the world as beneficent as it is victorious. The great Oriental monarchies were destructive, bringing a blast from the desert over the countries they conquered. The kingdom of heaven is healthful and fertilizing, promoting goodness, enterprise, civilization. We donor simply admire a great Lord in his solitary grandeur, like some awful, barren, Alpine peak. We are grateful to One who is as a fruitful tree.

3 . It is to afford shelter . The birds are to roost in its branches, and take refuge from the storm under its foliage. So was it to be with the mustard tree ( Matthew 13:31 ).