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ISRAEL, GOD'S ORACLE PEOPLE

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE DAUGHTERS OF THE KING

Brother John G. Gassaway

Numbers 27:7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.

Zedekiah had two daughters, Tamar and Scotta. They would be the bloodline of David through Solomon, Josiah, and Zedekiah. We know they went down into Egypt where the rest of the small band of Jews was killed at Tahpanhes. God's promise to Jeremiah was that he would not die in carrying out his mission of replanting the throne of David and Ezekiel 17:22-24 gives us a riddle concerning Nebuchadnezzar and God. The riddle is being given to the House of Israel, although it concerns the House of Judah and the Jews.

Ezekiel 17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

The riddle is to describe the royal line of David through Solomon, Josiah and Zedekiah and how Nebuchadnezzar would be carrying out some actions regarding the line of David, always symbolized by the giant cedar of Lebanon. Interestingly, it is written to the House of Israel, not to the Jews or to Zedekiah.

4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants. 5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree. 6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

The eagle who is identified later in this chapter was Nebuchadnezzar and he did, as history showed, take the young twig, Jehoiachin to Babylon, and left Zedekiah in place in Jerusalem. He also took other captives represented by the "seed of the land," that is, the artisans, craftsmen, prophets and learned men of Jerusalem. They fared well in Babylon along the River Chebar.

7 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. 8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches and that it might bear fruit that it might be a goodly vine. 9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? It shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. 10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? It shall wither in the furrows where it grew. 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean?

This is explained later as Pharaoh of Egypt and the rebellious remnant that Nebuchadnezzar left in the land with Jeremiah and his small band. They were drawn to Egypt and Nebuchadnezzar's army (east wind) would overtake them and destroy them.

Tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; 13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land: 14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

The only "seed of the king" left in the land were the two daughters of Zedekiah. This indicates that God through Nebuchadnezzar intended to give the leader of Jeremiah's band a chance to rule but after rebelling, and then Ishmael murdering their governor Gedaliah [Jeremiah, chapters 40-42], ended that chance. It states clearly in Jeremiah 42:10 that God through Jeremiah would allow Jeremiah to replant Judah in the land. However, these "evil figs" decided against their only chance for this by turning to Egypt for help and were punished by God for their rebellion.

15 but he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape that doeth such things? Or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered? 16 as I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. 17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: 18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. 20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. 21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.

Johanan had been selected to replace Gedaliah after his assassination. God is saying here that Johanan, the leader of the band that went into Egypt would be brought to Babylon in order to "plead" with him but all of the fugitives would fall by the sword in Egypt. That may have brought Johanan to Babylon temporarily although scripture does not tell of it. It is certain that Jeremiah and his wards did not return to Babylon. Elsewhere in apocryphal scripture Jeremiah and his band, stays in the Holy Land long enough to gather the tent of the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant and hide them in a mountain. Of course, as already pointed out, death in Egypt nor a permanent residence in Babylon could not include Jeremiah for he yet had a mission to plant the Kingdom of Judah somewhere as well as God's promise that he would not die in Egypt. Neither would Baruch, Ebed mellech or the king's daughters.

22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent:

Now God is going to show what His plan for the throne of David is. He will now take from the top of the tree (the line of David) a "tender twig." That word in Hebrew indicates that tender means feminine. That is in fact what happened. The king's daughters were placed in the care of Jeremiah. But they were last seen in Tahpanhes with the bad figs and Jeremiah. God sent His edict for the bad figs in Jeremiah 46:14 Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Talpanhes: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.

Nebuchadnezzar had gained a treaty with Necho (Rameses II) after the Egyptian defeat at Carchemish and that included that Egypt would not shield any runaways in Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar's army did overtake them
there and all were killed but Jeremiah, Ebed Mellech, Baruch and the king's daughters, or "daughters of Pharaoh." The daughter of "Egypt" is to prepare herself for "captivity" by people of the "north."

Jeremiah 46:24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.

You can try to interpret this outside this whole story of Jeremiah and what happened to him after he left Egypt with the king's daughters but you will never explain it. I think this daughter of Egypt represented the daughters of Zedekiah. They would be captive of people of the north. North of Egypt is Spain, the British Islands, and Ireland, where Jeremiah shows up within five years after he disappears from Israel. Jeremiah was prophesied by Isaiah to take this trip that he had never taken, going by way his feet had never gone.

Isaiah 41:2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? He gave them as the north.

Just in case you are thinking Cyrus, no; Cyrus was not a righteous man and he never went anywhere he could not travel by horseback. Jeremiah did pursue kings, the kings of the line of Zerah. He knew exactly where to find them, in Spain and Ireland. Jeremiah did in fact rule over kings. He was the titular ruler of Ireland after he arrived there according to the Chronicles of Ire. He took with him these daughters. They would represent the future of David's throne and would be planted on a high "mountain."

Ezekiel 17:23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

The mountain God speaks of turns out to be the "height" of Israel. In the riddle a mountain represents a large body of people - a vast number of people and a goodly cedar would be a continuation of the throne of David. That would not be anyone in Babylon and history showed that. Where was that mountain which is called "Israel?" At this time many of Israel, the Cimmerians, who had been carried into Assyrian bondage had broken through the Caucuses Mountains into Europe and into the British Islands. The other tribes would follow them and push them into the Spanish peninsula and on into the British Islands. There was also at that time a considerable group of Simeonites, Dannites and Jews in the British Islands, specifically, Ireland under the rule of the Milesian kings of the line of Zerah. Micah will note that those kings would go before those that would come to the British Islands as well as the LORD [Micah 2:13].

Micah 2:13 the breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them and the LORD on the head of them. Ezekiel 17:24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.

This high tree, the line of Solomon through Zedekiah has been brought down and the "LOW TREE" is to be exalted. I interpret that as the line of Pharez, while still ruling over Judah by right of inheritance, is now lower to some other tree that has been exalted. I interpret that to be the line of Zerah which had been in Ireland and Spain for several centuries and were known to the people as the "high kings of Ireland" and the Milesian kings of Spain. This tree would flourish in a place which fulfills God's promise that David's throne would be perpetual and that Israel would be given a new home [II Samuel 7] where they would not be bothered by their old enemies, this at a time when they were not at war with their old enemies and David ruled from the Nile to the Euphrates. The details of how David's throne comes to be planted in Ireland come later.

II Samuel 7:10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly,

TO BE CONTINUED: THE FOURTH CROSSROADS IN PROPHECY; A NEW PLACE FOR ISRAEL AND A KING OF THE LINE OF JUDAH.