John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 17:22

"Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain:" — Ezekiel 17:22 (ASV)

Here the Prophet begins to address the restoration of the nation and kingdom. Therefore, this prophecy undoubtedly refers to Christ, because although, in a sense, God had pity on the people when they enjoyed the freedom to return under Cyrus and Darius, yet what is written here was never fully realized except under Christ.

It is indeed true, as I have expressed elsewhere, that when the prophets promise restoration to the Church, they do not restrict their discussion to the person of Christ, but begin with the return of the people, because that was the beginning of the full and solid liberty which was ultimately made manifest in Christ.

And Christian writers have erred in insisting so precisely that anything said about the restitution of the Church must be understood concerning the person of Christ, and in doing so, they make themselves ridiculous to the Jews. But, as has already been said, whenever the Prophets offer the hope of freedom to the elect and the faithful, they encompass the entire period from the return of the people, or from the end of their exile, to the end of the kingdom of Christ.

Therefore, when the reign of Christ is discussed, we must date its beginning from the period of the building of the temple after the people's return from their seventy-year captivity. Then we must consider its boundary not at the ascension of Christ, nor even in the first or second centuries, but throughout the entire progress of His kingdom, until He shall appear on the last day.

Now let us come to the Prophet's words: Thus says the Lord Jehovah, I will take from the top of the lofty (or tall) cedar. God continues the allegory which we saw, for as He said that the top was torn off, or that the highest branch was plucked from the cedar of Lebanon, so He now says, that He would take from the top of the cedar, and after He had plucked or wrenched off a bough, and planted it. Such would be the growth that all the trees would acknowledge that to be a wonderful work.

Now this restoration is described to us in various ways, because after God had spoken of a lofty bough, He descends to a low and abject one. He then declares that such would be the beginning of the new kingdom, that He would make the dry tree bud and humble the lofty one.

These things at first sight seem to contradict each other, but they agree very well, because God took from the top of a lofty cedar when He planted a new king. For Christ, with respect to God's eternal decree, was always more excellent than heaven and earth; at the same time, God afterwards says that He was humble, as He certainly was.

But let us examine the words: I will take, says He, from the top of a lofty cedar, and I will set it: from the top of its twigs I will pluck a tender one, and I will plant it upon a lofty and elevated mountain. Here, as I have said, He speaks of a tall and lofty cedar, and then He speaks of a high branch. He adds afterwards, I will pluck a tender one from it. By this, He means that the twig which He would pluck and plant would be without strength. Therefore, the humble beginning of the reign of Christ is shown here, as the Prophet afterwards explains more clearly.