Carried into a land of traffick

"Arabs--before Islam--and their narrations confirm that an eagle was one of their ancient gods. They even created an idol to worship in the form of an eagle. It is one of the idols of Noah, peace be upon him, mentioned in the Holy Quran."

*****

Near the end of his remarks at the annual National Prayer Breakfast held earlier this month, President Biden made mention of Psalm 22, known most famously for its first verse, quoted by Jesus Christ on the Cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

According to Cal Thomas' newspaper column, "Biden didn’t just misquote it, he rewrote it: 'In my church we’ve turned (it) into a hymn – He will raise you up on Eagles wings . . . ' He also blended in a line from the Irish Blessing."

Yahoo News reported this about the Prayer Breakfast: "Before his latest nod to 'On Eagle's Wings' (an American Catholic standard, especially at funerals) the president stressed that Americans 'believe everyone deserves a fair shot. We give hate no safe harbor. … In my church, we've taken the 22nd Psalm and turned it into a hymn. And it says, 'And he will raise you up on eagle's wings and bear you on the breath of dawn and make you to shine like the sun. Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.' "

The song's lyrics include, 

"You need not fear the terror of the night
Nor the arrow that flies by day
Though thousands fall about you, near you it shall not come

"For to His angels He's given a command
To guard you in all of your ways
Upon their hands they will bear you up
Lest you dash your foot against a stone"

***** 

Ezekiel 17 begins: [1] And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

[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, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:

"In this parable, Ezekiel's literally going to outline ahead of time the international relations between Israel, Babylon and Egypt, between about 595 and 588 B.C.--about a 20-year period," explains Richard Jordan.

"Ezekiel explains what verses 3-4 mean in verse 12. He tells what verses 5-6 mean in verses 13-14. Verses 7-10 are interpreted in verses 15-18.

"The great eagle is the king of Babylon. He's great, in fact--he's the most powerful international force of his day.

"His wingspan stretches out across a wide domain. His glory covers all the nations of the earth at the time.

"Verse 12 says he came to Jerusalem, so why would it say in verse 3 that he came to Lebanon? The cedars of Lebanon were what the palace of the king in Jerusalem and the temple were made of.

Verse 4: [4] He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.

"He comes to Jerusalem and takes the king. He chops off the top of his young twigs; he takes him off the throne, cuts his family off and carries it into a land of traffick.

"It's interesting Babylon is called the land of traffick, the city of the merchants. You get to Ezekiel 28, when Lucifer becomes Satan, and he goes out and merchandises his evil plan. Eventually it's called MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Verse 5: [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.

"The king of Babylon takes away the king who's there but doesn't put a Gentile in his place. When it says he takes the seed of the land, he takes another king from the line of David. The seed line, the seed of the woman. That's going to be a guy named Zedekiah and he puts him on the throne."