During a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, Ebenezer Scrooge hears the sound of his own funeral bells. Thankfully, the warning comes just in time. As a result of this sobering vision of his own death, Scrooge becomes a new man and the story has a delightfully happy ending. We live in a culture that is inherently optimistic. We like to assume that missed opportunities can be redeemed and foolish choices can be undone. We believe in second chances and surprising comebacks. When facing the verdict of death, we cannot accept the possibility that it is unchangeable. But Ezekiel 19 tells a different story. The funeral bells are sounding for Judah under King Zedekiah, and there is no prospect of a happy ending. Their fate is sealed; their doom and defeat are unavoidable. To conduct a funeral service for someone who is still alive may seem inappropriate to us, but Ezekiel’s listeners would have immediately understood the gravity of their situation. At the start of this chapter, the prophet is told to “take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel.” A lament was a common and distinctive form of song, frequently heard at funerals. Ezekiel’s dirge opens with the image of a mother lioness and one of her cubs, whom she trains to become leader of the pack. He behaves like a lion, catching prey and devouring people. But he is hunted by the nations, captured, and carried off to Egypt (v 1-4). This clearly represents the brief reign of Jehoahaz, as recorded in 2 Kings 23:31-34. In his place, the lioness appoints a second cub, who acts with even greater destruction. He too is hunted by the nations, captured, and carried into exile, this time to Babylon (v 5-9). This describes what has happened to Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:8-15), or more likely, what will happen to Zedekiah (24:18-25:6). The lament continues with a different image, as a vine is planted in perfect conditions, grows abundantly, sprouts many branches, and bears much fruit. “Its strong stems became rulers’ scepters,” representing the twenty-two kings of Judah who appeared from David’s day to Zedekiah’s day. But the proud vine has been pulled up and replanted in a dry desert. Its branches are burned so that none are strong enough to serve as a ruler’s scepter (v 10-14). Ultimately, the Lion of Judah’s tribe will come to rule over the nations. The faithlessness of man is not the end of this story. God’s promises will be fulfilled and Christ will triumph to win the salvation of His people. Though now we lament, soon we will go to the place where laments will be no more! For further meditation: