Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 17

Verses 1-24

Ezekiel 17:22-24 Prophecy of the Exalted Tree In Ezekiel 17:22-24 the Lord gives Ezekiel a prophecy of a cedar tree being planted on a high mountain and exalted above all other trees. The analogy of a great tree providing shelter for the animals is used a number of times in Scriptures. In the book of Daniel Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has a dream of a great and majestic tree providing shelter and shade for the beasts and the birds (Daniel 4:12). This tree was suddenly cut down, representing his own fall from power.

Daniel 4:12, “The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.”

In the New Testament, Jesus tells the Parable of the Mustard Seed, which grew to be the greatest herb, providing shelter for the birds (Matthew 13:32).

Matthew 13:32, “Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. “