9 One of their kings was Zedekiah. This Zedekiah took an oath to Nebuchadnezzar, king of the barbarians, that he would remain in alliance with him. Afterwards he revolted, and went over to the king of Egypt, disdaining the obligation of his oath, and suffered the things of which you shall hear presently. But first, it is necessary to mention the parable of the prophet, in which he enigmatically represented all these matters: “The word of the Lord,” says he, “came to me, saying, Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable, and say, Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle, with great wings, and long extended, full of claws.” Here he calls the king of the Babylonians an eagle, and speaks of him as being “great, and long-winged;” and he calls him long-extended and “full of claws,” on account of the multitude of his army, and the greatness of his power, and the swiftness of his invasion.
For just as the wings and claws of the eagle are his armour, so are horses and soldiers to kings. This eagle, he goes on to say, “has the leading to enter into Lebanon.” What is meant by the “leading?” Counsel— design. And Judæa is called Lebanon, because of its situation near that mountain. Afterwards, intending to speak of the oaths and treaties, “He took,” says he, “of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field, that it might take root by great waters. He placed it to be looked upon; and it grew, and became a weak vine, and of small stature, and it stretched out its branches towards him, and its roots were under him.” Here he calls the city of Jerusalem a vine; but in saying that it stretched out its branches towards the eagle, and that its roots were under him, he refers to the treaties and alliances made with him; and that it cast itself upon him.
Next, purposing to declare the iniquity of this, he says, “And there was another great eagle,” (speaking of the Egyptian king), “with great wings, and having many claws; and the vine did bend itself toward him, and its tendril toward him, and shot out its branches, that it might be watered. Therefore, I said, Thus says the Lord God: Shall it prosper?” That is to say, “after having broken the oath, and the treaties, shall it be able to remain, or to be safe, or to avoid falling?”
Presently, for the purpose of showing that this is not to happen, but that it is certainly to be destroyed on account of the oath, he discourses concerning its punishment, and alleges the cause. “For its tender roots and its fruits shall become corrupt, and all which springs therefrom shall be withered.” And for the purpose of showing that it will not be destroyed by human strength, but because it has made God its enemy by means of these oaths, he subjoins, “Not by a mighty arm, nor by much people, to pluck it up by its roots.”
Such indeed is the parable, but the prophet again explains it, when he says, “Behold, the king of Babylon comes against Jerusalem.” And then, after saying some other things between, he mentions the oaths and the treaties. “For” says he, “he shall make a covenant with him;” and presently, speaking of the departure from it, he goes on to say, “And he will depart from him, by sending messengers into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people.” And then he proceeds to show that it is on account of the oath that all this destruction is to take place.
“Surely in the place where the king dwells that made him king, he who has despised My curse, and has transgressed My covenant, in the midst of Babylon he shall die; and not by great power nor by multitude, because he despised the oath in transgressing this My covenant; I will surely recompense upon his own head this My oath which he has dishonoured, and My covenant which he has broken; and I will spread My net upon him.” Do you see, that not once, or twice, but repeatedly, it is said that because of the oath he was to suffer all these things.
For God is inexorable when oaths are treated contemptuously. Nor merely from the punishment which was brought upon the city by the oath, but also from the delay, and the postponement, may it be seen how much God is concerned for the inviolability of oaths. “For it came to pass,” we are told, “in the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built a wall against it round about, and the city was besieged until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah, and the ninth day of the month, and there was no bread for the people to eat, and the city was broken up.” He might indeed, at once from the first day, have delivered them up, and have given them into the hands of their enemies; but He permitted that they should first be wasted for the space of three years, and experience a most distressing siege; to the end that during this interval, being humbled by the terror of the forces without, or the famine that oppressed the city within, they might compel the king, however unwillingly, to submit to the barbarian; and some alleviation might be obtained for the sin committed. And to prove that this is true, and no conjecture of my own, hear what He says to him by the prophet: “If you shall go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you shall live, and your house. But if you will not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their hand. And the king said, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hands and they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beseech you, the word of the Lord, which I speak unto you; so shall it be better for you, and your soul shall live. But if you refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord has showed me. All the women that are left in the king of Judah's house, shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes; and those shall say, The men who are at peace with you have deceived you, and have prevailed over you; they shall prevail when your feet slip; they are turned away from you, and they shall bring out all your wives, and your children to the Chaldeans, and you shall not escape out of their hand, for you shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”
Source: Homilies on the Statues (New Advent)