Ezekiel 19:10 says, Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. God then said that their mother had been like a vine in the blood that was planted by the water and was fruitful. For a time, this was true of Israel. The people of Israel remained faithful to God because they were descendants of David and because of the covenant he had made with God. We will never be saved by who our parents are but will only be saved by the blood of Christ shed for our sins if we accept Him as our Savior and Lord.
Verse eleven adds, And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. God basically said that for a time when the people of Israel were faithful to Him that she flourished. If we are a born-again believer, then we should be flourishing spiritually.
Verse twelve continues, But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. God then said that instead of flourishing, that when the people of Isreal turned away from Him and started worshipping false gods that they were plucked up, cast down, and the east wind dried up their fruit. The root was not plucked up, so God’s promise was still with them. They were no longer a powerful nation to be feared, but they were a defeated nation that was doing nothing to bear fruit for God. Even as followers of Christ, if we stop being obedient to Him, we may be defeated as witness for Him if we do not live by faith in Him. Still, if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will never be forever defeated spiritually.
Verse thirteen states, And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. God said that now instead of being planted in the promised land thst Israel was once again planted in the wilderness, which is where their lack of faith had left them once before. As followers of Christ, I believe that we are forever saved, but we may once more wander around in a spiritual wilderness if we are not obedient to God, and if we are in the wilderness of sin, we will stop bearing fruit for Him.
Verse fourteen adds, And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation. God said that their strong rod, the prophets of God, were no longer with them. When the people of Israel stopped listening to His prophets, God quit sending them, though at this time there was still a few prophets left. If we are to be a Christian nation, we must always put God and His word first, and if we turn away from Him to follow other gods, we may find ourselves defeated. Like the people of Israel then, if this happens, we should lament for what has happened.
