The Book of Esther

The book of Esther is written to explain the background to the feast of Purim.
The book describes an attempt to wipe out the nation of Israel as a people.
It's a story of God's intervention on behalf of his people through the woman Esther. 

The story takes place after the Babylonian captivity, several years after the Jews returned to their homeland, see the chronology in The Book of Ezra.

It's set in the First Persian Empire that had conquered Babylon, in where there are still many Jews.

There was a Jew named Mordecai, who raised Hadassah (Hebrew name), also known as Esther (Persian name). She was his uncle's daughter, for she had neither father nor mother, and she was fair and beautiful. When her father and mother were dead,
Mordecai took care of her as his own daughter. (Est 2:5–7).

The Persian king Ahasuerus (known as Xerxes I) gave a feast for all his officials and servants in the third year of his reign (Est 1:1–9). He felt offended by his wife because she didn't stand up for him when he needed her (Est 1:10–12). He then published a royal decree that his wife should no longer come before him, and that the king should give her royal estate to someone else. (Est 1:19–22). The maiden whom the king liked best would become the new queen (Est 2:2–4).

It would have been easy for her to carry out her husband's will and thereby strengthen his ability to rule the country in a good way. She didn't stand up for him as a leader. Ahasuerus neither followed the Old Covenant (since he wasn't a Jew) nor the New Covenant (it hadn't been introduced yet). He probably thought he wasn't doing anything wrong by divorcing her, he just followed their traditions and laws.

Daniel had received a revelation in the third year of Cyrus, a former king of Persia
(Dan 10:1), see Visions and Dreams by Prophet Daniel. It contained the message: "And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece." (Dan 11:2).
This fourth king was Xerxes I. He used his riches to start a war, something that seems very common to do even among autocrats in our time. Perhaps Ahasuerus
had gathered his commanders at this feast about 483 BC to plan his great invasion of Greece which was carried out in 481–480 BC. Ahasuerus had a free will to choose whether to start a war or not, but God knew which choice he would make, see The Predestination Theory and God is omniscient (all knowing) in God's Attributes.

When the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together, Esther also was brought to the king's house. Esther hadn't revealed her nationality and family background, as Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. The king loved Esther above all women, and she found grace and favor in his eyes more than all the other women, so that he put the royal crown on her head and made her queen. (Est 2:8, 10, 16–17, 20).

Mordecai found out about a plot to kill the king and told queen Esther about it, who in turn reported it to the king and gave Mordecai credit. When the report proved true, the men behind it were impaled on poles. (Est 2:21–23).

The king honored Haman the Agagite and gave him a seat of honor above all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and worshiped
Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai wouldn't kneel or pay him honor. The royal officials told Haman about it to see if Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for Mordecai had told them he was a Jew. Haman
became angry at this. After learning who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of just killing Mordecai, he looked for a way to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom. He convinced the king to have a decree issued to destroy them. The king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman and told him to do with the Jews as he pleased. (Est 3:1–11).

A script was drawn up, written in the king's name and sealed with his own ring.
Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with orders to destroy, kill, and annihilate in a single day all the Jews, young and old, women and children, and to plunder their goods. A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of all nationality so that they would be ready for that day. (Est 3:12–15).

That Haman is an Agagite probably means that he is a descendant of Agag,
an enemy of Israel and king of the Amalekites. Amalek who was the ancestor
of the Amalekites, was the grandson of Esau who was twin brother of Jacob
(1 Chron 1:35-36). Samuel had told Saul that the Lord wanted to punish the 
Amalekites because they attacked all the Israelites who were lagging behind
when they were weary and worn out when they came up from Egypt, see
3.2 Israel Defeats Amalek in Moses; Part 9: Provision from God. Saul would attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belonged to them.
He shouldn't spare them; dead men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys (1 Sam 15:1–3). God had given them hundred of
years to repent, but they didn't. Saul disobeyed God and didn't do as God told him.
If he had obeyed God, Haman might not have been around at this time.

When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Esther ordered a man to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why. Mordecai
told the man all about the coming destruction of the Jews. He also gave the man a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, to show it to Esther and explain it to her. Mordecai also asked him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. (Est 4:1–8).

The man went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to tell Mordecai that for any man or woman who approached the king in the inner court without being summoned, the king had a law: that they would be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days had passed since she was called to go to the king. 
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer:
"Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" 
Then Esther answered Mordecai to gather the Jews and fast for her. They wouldn't eat or drink for three days, night or day. She and her attendants would also fast. When this was done, she would go to the king, even though it was against the law, even if the result would be that she perish. Mordecai went and carried out all of Esther’s instructions. (Est 4:9–17).

Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king sat on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 
When he saw Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out the gold scepter that he had in his hand. She asked the king to come to a banquet that day that she had prepared for him, along with Haman. The king accepted the invitation and went with Haman to this banquet. There she asked the king to come the next day to a banquet that she would prepare for them together with Haman.
(Est 5:1–8).

When Haman left, he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear of his presence. Haman was then filled with rage against
Mordecai. When he came home, he called his friends and wife together. He boasted to them of his vast wealth, his many sons, all the ways in which the king had honored him, and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 
He also told them that he was the only one whom Esther had invited to accompany the king to a banquet she was holding the next day. But all this gave him no satisfaction as long as he saw Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate. His wife and all his friends told him to set up a pole that reached a height of fifty cubits
(25 meters), and to ask the king at the banquet the next day to let Mordecai impale it. This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up. (Est 5:9–14).

That night the king couldn't sleep, so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and be read to him. There it was found that Mordecai had exposed two of the king’s officers who who had conspired to assassinate the king, and that he hadn't been honored for doing so. (Est 6:1–3).

At that time Haman came to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him. As he entered, the king asked him what he should do for a man whom the king wished to honor. Haman thought the king was speaking of him and replied that such a one would be given a royal robe that the king had worn and
a horse that the king had ridden, one with a royal coat of arms placed on its head.
Then the robe and the horse were to be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes, to dress the man whom the king pleased to honor, and to lead him on the horse through the streets of the city, and proclaim before him that this is what is done for the man whom the king delights to honor. The king then commanded 
Haman to get the robe and the horse and do exactly as he had suggested for
Mordecai the Jew, and not neglect anything that he had recommended. So Haman
got the robe and the horse, dressed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through
the streets of the city, proclaiming before him that this is what one does for the man whom the king wishes to honor. (Est 6:4–11).

Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, and told his wife and all his friends all that had happened to him. His advisers and his wife told him that he couldn't stand against Mordecai,
who would be his ruin because he is of Jewish origin. While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman over to the banquet Esther had prepared. (Est 6:12–14).

The king and Haman went to Esther’s banquet. Esther then told the king that she and her people had been sold to be destroyed by Haman, to be killed and annihilated. Haman then became terrified before the king and queen and begged Esther for his life. Haman’s face was covered and he was impaled on the pole at Haman’s house, which he had set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king. (Est 7:1–10).

That same day, the king gave Esther the estate of Haman. Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. The king took off his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman, and handed it to Mordecai. Esther begged the king to put an end to Haman's evil plan, which he had devised against the Jews.
She asked for an order to be written overriding the dispatches that Haman devised and wrote, to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. The king answered Esther and Mordecai that he had given Haman's estate to Esther, and that Haman had been impaled on the pole he had set up. Now they were to write another decree in the king’s name in favor of the Jews, as they thought best, and seal it with the king’s 
signet ring. No document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring could
be revoked, not even by the king. (Est 8:1–8). 

The royal secretaries were summoned and wrote all Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush, see the video The Black Pharaohs: The Kingdoms of Kush. These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. Mordecai wrote in the king's name, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king. The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves, to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children, and to plunder the property of their enemies. A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready to take revenge on their enemies. (Est 8:9–15). 

For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. In every province and in every city to which the king's edict came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them. (Est 8:16–17).

Then came the day that the edict commanded by the king was to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the game was turned and the Jews gained the upper hand over those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their cities in all the king's provinces to attack those who were determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all other nationalities were afraid of them. And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews for fear of Mordecai had seized them. Mordecai was prominent in the palace, his reputation spread throughout the provinces and he became more and more powerful. The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killed and destroyed them, and they did whatever they wanted to those who hated them. (Est 9:1–19).

Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews throughout the king's provinces to make them annually celebrate the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies. They should give gifts of food to each other and gifts to the poor. Therefore, these days were called Purim. These days should be remembered and observed in every generation of every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants. Mordecai was second in rank to the king, preeminent among the Jews and highly esteemed by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke for the welfare of all Jews. (Est 9:20–10:3).

Six lessons to learn from the Book of Esther:

1. God wants to work through us, as he did through Esther in a specific way. 
   It's a blessing to have a spouse who supports this behavior to follow God.
2. "God moments" can change/save lives. A "God moment" is when God orchestrates an opportunity to, for example, share the gospel for a person.
3. It often takes courage. Esther must be willing to risk her life.
4. Fasting and prayer are keys to victory.
5. Obedience is required.
6. God works EVERYTHING for his purpose.

See also The Old Testament of the Bible.

The Book of Lamentations

The Book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Babylonians in 587 BC, see Prophet Jeremiah.

The five chapters of this book have the following symmetrical structure:

1. Focus on the people.
2. Focus on God.
3. Jeremiah's response to suffering.
4. Focus on God.
5. Focus on the people.

The poetic style is based on the Hebrew alphabet which has 22 letters.

• Chapters 1, 2, and 4 are alphabetical acrostics that begin each verse. 
  Every verse begins with the next consecutive letter of the alphabet.
  Each chapter has 22 verses because the alphabet has 22 letters.
• Chapter 3 is an alphabetical acrostic that begins each stanza. Each stanza is three verses long, with each stanza beginning with the
  next letter of the alphabet. It has (3 x 22 =) 66 verses.
• Chapter 5 isn't arranged acrostically, but it has 22 verses.

God had told the people in Deu (5 Mos) 28:15–68 what would happen if they turned away from the Lord. God had given them about 470 years to turn from their evil ways and repent, but they didn't. God sent several prophets to warn the people but they didn't listen. 

God doesn't like to give suffering or sorrow to anyone (Lam 3:33). The Book of
Lamentations shows what their disobedience to the Lord led to, not obeying and following the Old Covenant that the Jews had with the Lord. God became like an enemy to the people (Lam 2:5a). God isn't an enemy, but the people had put themselves in a situation where God was working against them. Sin carries consequences, see God has wrath in God's Attributes. The consequences can be horrible and must be avoided by not living in sin, see Sanctification.

See also The Prophet Books in the Old Testament.

The Prophet Books in the Old Testament

The Latter Prophets in the Old Testament are divided into two groups:

• The Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel).
• The Twelve Minor Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).

The terms "Major" and "Minor" have nothing to do with the achievement or importance of the prophets, rather with the length of the books.

These prophets lived in the northern Kingdom of Israel, in the southern
Kingdom of Judah, and during the Babylonian captivity in Babylon. 
The prophets lived in a turbulent period in Jewish history.
They saw the northern Kingdom of Israel being conquered by Assyria in 722 BC,
and the southern Kingdom of Judah being conquered by Babylon in 587 BC.

Also the term Ephraim and Judah is used for these two kingdoms of Israel:

• Ephraim was ultimately the primary tribe in the northern kingdom, and Judah was the primary tribe in the southern kingdom.
• When the two regions split into two separate kingdoms, Israel would also be called Ephraim, whose capital was Samaria.
• The southern region would become known as Judah, and later Judea during the time of Christ. The capital would be Jerusalem.
• Ephraim (or Israel) would be the first kingdom to go into exile after being conquered by the Assyrians.
• In later years, Ephraim (or Israel) would be called Samaria (named after its capital) and its inhabitants known as Samaritans, Jews who mixed with
  Assyrians and people from other nations. They literally lost their identity as Jews. This is why the Samaritans were despised at the time of Christ.

See History of Ancient Israel and Judah.

The Major Prophets:

• Isaiah, see The Prophecies of Isaiah.
• Jeremiah, see Prophet Jeremiah and The Book of Lamentations.
• Ezekiel, see The Book of Ezekiel.
• Daniel, see Visions and Dreams by Prophet Daniel.

The Twelve Minor Prophets:

• Hosea, see The Book of Hosea.
• Joel, see The Book of Joel.
• Amos, see The Book of Amos.
• Obadiah, see The book of Obadiah.
• Jonah, see The Book of Jonah.
• Micah, see The Book of Micah.
• Nahum, see The Book of Nahum.
• Habakkuk, see The Book of Habakkuk.
• Zephaniah, see The Book of Zephaniah.
• Haggai, see The Book of Haggai.
• Zechariah, see The Book of Zechariah.
• Malachi, see The Book of Malachi.

See also The Old Testament of the Bible.

The Book of Ezekiel

Ezekiel was a contemporary with Jeremiah, see the Prophet Jeremiah, and Daniel, see Visions and Dreams by Prophet Daniel. Ezekiel and Daniel were prophets for the Jews during the Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah was a prophet for the Jews, mostly while they were still in their homeland, in Judah.

Ezekiel got a vision that he was at God's Throne in Heaven. There he was called by God to be a prophet to the Jews (Eze 2:1–5, 3:4–6). They wouldn't listen to him, because they had a hard forehead and a stubborn heart (Eze 3:7). God told him not to be afraid of them and what they said, and not to be dismayed at their appearance, for they were a rebellious people (Eze 2:6–7, 3:8–9).

God had made Ezekiel a watchman for the Jews. Whenever he heard a word from God, he had to warn the people. If God tells the wicked to die, and Ezekiel doesn't warn him to turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but God will make Ezekiel responsible for his death. If Ezekiel warns the wicked to turn from his way, and he doesn't, that person will die in his iniquity, but Ezekiel has saved his soul.
(Eze 33:1–9).

It was a very dangerous thing to be a prophet among the Jews. You may be mistreated and even lose your life. The Jews only wanted to hear what pleased them, see itching ears.

God's word is sweet as honey (Eze 3:1–3, Psalm 119:103, Proverbs 24:13).
It can be bitter in the stomach when it's about something I don't want to hear,
when it's about judgement (Rev 10:9–10).

God gave the following message through Ezekiel:

• The one who sins is the one who will die. The child won't share the parent's guilt, nor will the parent share the child's guilt. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. (Eze 18:4–20).
• If a wicked person turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all God's decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live, he won't die (Eze 18:21–23, 27–28, 33:14–16, 19).
• If a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things that the wicked do, he will die
  (Eze 18:24, 26, 33:12–13, 18).

God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turns from his way and live (Eze 33:11).

Ezekiel prophesies about the fall of Jerusalem. God would execute judgments on the city because the Jews had rebelled against God's rules and statutes by doing evil more than the nations around them. They worshipped pagan idols. (Eze 5:5–17, 8:3–18). God would bring his wrath upon Jerusalem. The righteous people who lived there couldn't rescue the city. But God would let a remnant of the people be taken
to Babylon (Eze 14:12–23). These deportations were done in several stages, see
The Book of Habakkuk. God would cut off both the righteous and the wicked from Jerusalem (Eze 21:3–4). The wicked would lose their lives, but the righteous would be part of the remnant taken to Babylon. The people who were still in Jerusalem believed that they were blessed and those who had been deported to Babylon
weren't. But it was the other way around. (Eze 11:13–16).

There were leaders among the Jews who devised iniquities and who gave evil counsel in Jerusalem. They said that the people didn't need to worry about the Babylonians. (Eze 11:1–3). God told Ezekiel to prophesy against them (Eze 11:4–12). 
These leaders didn't care about the people (Eze 34:1–10).

God told him to prophesy against the prophets who saw false visions and gave lying divinations, who prophesied about Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her,
when there was no peace. (Eze 13:1–23, 22:25, 28). 
See also Prophecy in Spiritual Gifts. 

Their priests gave false teachings (Eze 22:26). Their princes were like wolves 
(Eze 22:27). The people practiced extortion and committed robbery. They oppressed the poor and needy and mistreated the foreigner and denied them justice 
(Eze 22:29).

God told Ezekiel to symbolize what king Zedekiah, the last king of Judah 
(see Zedekiah of Judah in Kings of Judah and Israel), would try to do when
he later tried to escape from Jerusalem (Eze 12:1–15). When he did, he was captured (2 Kings 25:1–7, Jer 52:4–11, 39:6–10, Isaiah 22:2–3). Five years later (587 BC), Jerusalem was destroyed (Eze 12:21–28). God also told through Ezekiel
The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine. 

God was true to his word and brought the Babylonian army that destroyed Jerusalem along with the temple in 587 BC (Eze 33:21), see The Book of Habakkuk.

God would bring the descendants to the deported people back to their homeland (Eze 11:17–21), see Prophet Jeremiah. 

Ezekiel uses the picture of the ruler of Tyre to describe Satan (Eze 28:11–19),
see also Explanation to Satan's Attack on the Woman in the Book of Revelation:

He was the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty (Eze 28:12).

He was in the Garden of Eden (Eze 28:13).

He was an anointed guardian cherub (Eze 28:14a), see God's Throne in Heaven.

He was on God's holy mountain (Eze 28:14b).

He was blameless in his ways from the day he was created, until iniquity was found in him (Eze 28:15). 

God threw him from the mountain of God, because he was filled with violence and sinned because of his misuse of contacts with other angelic beings (Eze 28:16). 

His heart became proud because of his beauty, and he corrupted his wisdom for his splendor (Eze 28:17). He wanted to be like God (Isaiah 14:13–14).

He is a murderer and the author of lies (John 8:44).

He will come to a dreadful end and will be no more forever (Eze 28:19). 
He will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:10), see
The Millennial Kingdom and the Great White Throne Judgement.

Ezekiel had a vision of a new temple, see Ezekiel's Temple.

He received a vision of Israel's end times, see The Valley of Dry Bones.

Ezekiel prophesied an attack on Israel near to the beginning of the
seven-years Tribulation period, see Gog from Magog.

He also speaks of the second coming of Messiah (Eze 16:60–63, 
34:11–12, 16b–22, 27b, 36:11b, 25–29a, 31–32, 38b, 39:21–22, 28–29),
see Messiah's Second Coming in in The Prophecies of Isaiah.

He speaks of the millennial kingdom (Eze 20:40–44, 28:25–26). Jesus will then
rule the world from Jerusalem. God will put David as leader over Israel
(Eze 34:23–24, 37:24–25, Hos 3:5). God will protect Israel, and the land will prosper (Eze 34:13–16a, 25–27a, 28–31, 36:8–11a, 24, 29b-30, 33–38a,
39:23–27). See also The Millennial Kingdom in The Prophecies of Isaiah.

See also The Prophet Books in the Old Testament.

The Valley of Dry Bones

The Jews had been taken captivity and taken to Babylon, see the Babylonian captivity, when Ezekiel receives this vision of Israel's end times. Many Jews had
died and the remaining Jews in Babylon wondered if they would ever return to their homeland. 70 years later they were allowed to return to their homeland, see The Book of Habakkuk, but it's only a forerunner of what God will do in the future. God will take a land that's no longer a land, and that has been scattered around the nations for many hundreds of years, and make them a nation again,
in its former place. God will call their people back to their land, see
Israel Becomes a Country in The Prophecies of Isaiah. Israel became a nation 1948. Later the whole nation will come to Christ, see Messiah's Second Coming and The Millennial Kingdom in The Prophecies of Isaiah.

The vision (Ezekiel 37:1–28):

The hand of the Lord was upon Ezekiel, and he was brought forth by the Holy Spirit and set in the middle of a valley, which was full of very dry bones. The Lord told him to prophesy to these dry bones to hear the word of the Lord. The Lord would make breath enter into them, and they would come to life. He attached tendons to them, made flesh come over them, and covered them with skins. He would put breath into them, and they would come to life. Then they would know that the Lord is God.
Ezekiel prophesied as he was commanded. And as he prophesied, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. He looked and tendons
and flesh appeared on them, skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

(This is a picture of when Israel became a nation again in 1948. But still most of the Jews aren't followers of Christ, even though it's God who has made this new nation possible. They are in the land but spiritually dead.)

Then the Lord told Ezekiel that he would prophesy for the breath to enter these slain, that they might live. When he prophesied as he had been commanded, breath came into them, they came to life and stood on their feet, a great army. Then the Lord told him that these bones were the people of Israel who thought that their bones were dried up and that their hope was gone, that they were cut off. Ezekiel should therefore prophesy and tell them that the Lord will  open their graves and bring them up from them. He will bring them back to the land of Israel. Then the people of Israel will know that he is the Lord, when he opens their graves and bring them up.

(The term grave is used to show that it's like raising them from the death when he allows breath to enter them so that they have spiritual life.)

The Lord will put his Spirit in them and they will live, and the Lord will settle them in their own land. Then they will know that it's the Lord who has spoken, and that it's he who has done this. 

(When Jesus returns, the entire nation of Israel will be rescued and saved from Antichrist and his army. The entire nation will then turn to Christ as their Savior
(Rom 11:25–27). They will be born again Christians, see The Book of Peter.
See this explained in The Depth of the Riches in The Book of Romans.)

The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel. He should take a wooden stick and write on it: "Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him." He should then take another wooden stick and write on it: "Belonging to Joseph, that is, to Ephraim,
and all the Israelites associated with him." 

(Ephraim and Judah were terms used for the two ancient kingdoms of Israel, see 
The Prophet Books in the Old Testament. The northern kingdom of Israel was often called Ephraim, and the southern kingdom of Israel was called Judah. In the time of Jesus, these names were changed, so that the northern part was called Samaria,
and the southern part was called Judea.)

God would join these two sticks together into one stick so that they become one in his hand. The Lord will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah’s stick. He will make them one stick of wood, and they will become one in his hand. The Lord will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. He will gather them around and bring them back to their own land. He will make them one people in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over them all and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.

(We have seen a partial fulfilment of this when Israel became a nation in 1948.
It will be completely fulfilled during the millennial kingdom. This prophetic principle with two parallel meanings is called "The law of double reference", and is described in Visions and Dreams by Prophet Daniel.)

The Israelites will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for the Lord will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and he will cleanse them. They will be God's people, and he will be their God.
David will be king over them (Ezekiel 34:23–24, 37:24–25, Jer 30:9, Hos 3:5),
and they will all have a shepherd. They will follow God's laws and be careful to keep his decrees. They will live in the land he gave to Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and their servant David will be their prince forever. God will make a covenant of peace with them, it will be an everlasting covenant. God will establish them and increase their number, and he will place his sanctuary among them forever. God's dwelling place will be with them. He will be their God, and they will be his people. Then the nations will realize that the Lord has made Israel holy, when his sanctuary is among them forever.

(This will be fulfilled during the millennial kingdom. David will reign over Israel. Jesus
will then rule over the whole world from Jerusalem. God won't save Israel for Israel's sake, but for the sake of God's holy name. God will show the holiness of his great name. Then the nations will know that he is the Lord. (Ezekiel 36:22–23, 32).)

See also The Book of Ezekiel.

The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

God told this parable to prophet Ezekiel, who had been deported to Babylon
(probably 597 BC) (2 Kings 24:14, Jer 24:1), to tell it to the Jews there.

This occurred when Zedekiah was king of Judah, see Visions and Dreams by Prophet Daniel. Jeremiah was at this moment in Jerusalem prophesying to the people there to serve king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Zedekiah didn't listen to Jeremiah and would be convinced by false prophets and other people to actually rebel against the king of Babylon. These false prophets told Zedekiah what he wanted to hear, see itching ears. See also Zedekiah of Judah in Kings of Judah and Israel.

The Parable (Ezekiel 17:1–24): 

A great eagle came to Lebanon. He seized the top of a cedar tree, broke off its topmost shoot, and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders. He took one of the seedlings of the land and put it in fertile soil.
He planted it like a willow by abundant water, and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. It became vine and produced branches and put forth leafy boughs. (Ezekiel 17:1–6). (The great eagle is an image of Nebuchadnezzar).

But there was another great eagle. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted, and stretched out its branches to him for water. It had been planted in good soil with abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine. Because of that, it would be stripped of its fruit so that it withers. It doesn't take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots. (Ezekiel 17:7–10). (This second large eagle is an image of Egypt).

Ezekiel would say to this rebellious people of Judah: The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried away her king and her nobles and brought them back with
him to Babylon. (Ezekiel 17:11–12).

(This king was Jehoiachin of Judah who was deported to Babylon (2 Kings 24:8–16). See also The Curse of Jeconiah).

Then he took a member of the royal family (this was Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17–20, 
2 Chron 36:11–12, 14–16, Jer 52:1–3a)). He made a treaty with him and put him under oath (Zedekiah swore an oath to the Lord (2 Chron 36:13a), and such oath must be kept (Joshua 9:19, Ecclesiastes 5:4–7 (3–6 in some translations))).
(Ezekiel 17:13a).

The king of Babylon carried away the leading men of the land, so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again, and survive only by keeping its treaty.
(Ezekiel 17:13b–14).

But the king (Zedekiah) rebelled against the king of Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. (Egypt is always a picture of the world (Isaiah 31:1), see Typology. Zedekiah tried to solve the issue in in his own strength, without turning to the Lord. God had told him, through prophets like Jeremiah and
Ezekiel, to submit to the king of Babylon, but the king also rebelled against God.) (Ezekiel 17:15).

The king won't succeed and be able to break the treaty and still escape. He would die in Babylon, in the land of the king who set him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke. Pharaoh with his mighty army and great hordes would be of no help to him in war, when ramps are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives. The king despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge and yet did all these things, he won't escape. God would repay him for having despised his oath and broken his covenant. God would spread his net for him, and he would be caught in God's snare. God would take him to Babylon and execute judgment on him there because he was unfaithful to God. All his chosen troops would fall by the sword, and the survivors would be scattered to the winds. (2 Kings 25:1–21, 2 Chron 36:13, 17–20,
Jer 52:3b–30). The people would know that God had spoken when this happens. (Ezekiel 17:16–21).

God himself would take a shoot from the top of a cedar tree and plant it. He would break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain, on the mountain heights of Israel. It would produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of all kinds would nest in it, they would find shelter in the shade of its branches. (Ezekiel 17:22–23).

(Zerubbabel led the rebuilding of Jerusalem and was the legal ancestor of Jesus
(Mat 1:12–13, Luk 3:27), see The Book of Haggai. Jesus will reign as king during the millennial kingdom, see The Millennial Kingdom in The Prophecies of Isaiah.)

All the trees of the forest would understand that God cuts down the tall tree and makes the low tree grow tall. He dries up the green tree and makes the dry tree flourish. (Ezekiel 17:24).

(Zedekiah would be the last king from the line of Judah until Messiah returns
(Ezekiel 21:25–27, Gen (1 Mos) 49:10, Heb 7:14), see 
Messiah's Second Coming in The Prophecies of Isaiah.) 

For information on other parables, see Jesus' Parables.