St. Anthony of Padua
Maso di Banco
first half of the 14th century
From: Ezekiel 17:22-24
The allegory come true (Continued)
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[22] Thus says the Lord GOD: "I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain; [23] on the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar; and under it will dwell all kinds of beasts; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. [24] And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it."
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Commentary:
17:22-24. Chapters 15-17 contain a number of allegories. The special feature of the cedar tree allegory describing the eventual restoration is the way it puts the stress on God's action by explicitly repeating the first person singular: "I myself", "I the Lord will bring low", "I the Lord have spoken". Some commentators think that these verses might have been inserted in the text later, but the style and content of the oracle are perfectly in line with Ezekiel's thinking.
"In the shade of its branches birds of every sort will rest" (v. 23): the same words are used in the account of the flood about all sorts of birds entering Noah's ark. It points therefore to the eschatological nature of the oracle: after the exile, just as after the flood, everything will be completely new, although it will derive from something that already existed. Also, the reference to "birds of every sort" points to the catholic nature of the new Israel. It is no surprise therefore that our Lord should use similar imagery to describe the Kingdom of God: it is like a grain of mustard seed that grows and "becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches" (Mt 13:32).
"I the Lord bring low the high tree" (v. 24): here again we see the Lord as the protagonist in the history of the chosen people. He is the author of life, which makes what is dry flourish, and of death, which withers the green tree. He has set his might against those who, in their arrogance, do not accept him (cf. 31:10-14). The New Testament will have much to say about the value of humility; for example: "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Mt 23:12).