From mere sprig to mighty cedar, a Reflection on Ezekiel 17:22-24

"Just a sprig off the top of the tree," the Lord God says through Ezekiel "will I break off and plant. And that sprig will grow into a noble tree. In its shade all birds will nest."

Very comforting. Very reassuring. Even in the time that Ezekiel wrote, a really bad time--Nebuchadnezzar's army had conquered Jerusalem. Even then, we can be reassured that God can make it right.

But--comforting to those who are not doing so well now. To others--a warning. Ezekiel tells us that God adds, "I bring low the high tree. I make high the low tree. I dry up the green tree. I make the dry tree flourish."

Sometimes we need that comfort--Jesus thought his hearers did that day when he told them the parable of the mustard seed. And sometimes, we need the warning.