The grace of God in the enterprise of Man

Ezekiel 31:

8 The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it,

                              nor the fir trees equal its boughs;

    neither were the plane trees

                              like its branches;

    no tree in the garden of God

                             was its equal in beauty.

9 I made it beautiful

                             in the mass of its branches,

   and all the trees of Eden envied it,

                             that were in the garden of God.

Ezekiel 31 has as its context the fall of Assyria a few years ago and the prophetic pronouncement of impending doom on the land of Egypt- a nation that Judah was trying to depend on to slip from under Babylonian rule (II Kings 24). More than a hundred years ago, the Northern Kingdom (ten tribes of Israel) had already been captured and destroyed by Assyria( II Kings 17 and Isaiah 37).

Beyond the narratives of historical significance and divine judgement, this passage contains some of the most astounding insight into God's grace on the enterprise of man. Many people read creative and redemptive history as being regressive i.e God's original creation was perfect and subsequent to the first sin and its curse, everything has been less than the original creation. While this is certainly true with respect to the lost relationship with God at Eden, Ezekiel 31 points us to the fact that even within this under-curse world, God has been incredibly gracious to bless the work of man- sometimes even making it better than what it was in Eden!

Ezekiel 31:3-9 is an allegorical description of the beauty, growth and majesty of the kingdom of Assyria. Not only does God say that the allegorical tree of Assyria was wonderful, but that no tree in the garden of God (v8) could match its beauty! This means that there were aspects within the kingdom of Assyria that were better than the original creation. In the context (v11 and 15), it appears that the tree is symbolic to the nation as a whole- the land, the people, the work of the people. God blessed this place and the work of man to an extent that it has aspects comparable (enviable v9) to the original creation. This bears itself on two important implications in the world now apart from boundless implications for heaven:

1) God's grace on the fallen world: God is incredibly gracious even in this desperate, evil, fallen world. While the painting of the world contains broad strokes of evil, injustice, pain and so much more, there are bright strokes of God's blessing, grace and growth. 

2) Hope for the enterprise of man: Our work in this world has the potential of being blessed by God almighty to be comparable to the original creation. From tilling the ground to research on particle physics, there is hope and purpose for the work and enterprise of man.  If God could bless Assyria, how much more the work of God's children in the Kingdom of God and how more the work of the Church!

Genesis 11:6"...And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them."