Ezekiel 17:23-24, “On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am YHWH.”
What is this but another example of YHWH made known to the world through the crucified and risen Christ? The sprig planted on the mountain heights is the Messiah who is literally lifted up on a tree, and when He is thus lifted up, the tree of His cross becomes the shelter to which all peoples, tribes, and languages (“every kind of bird”) are gathered (John 11:51-52, 12:32), thus bearing much fruit (John 12:24). On Calvary the “tender shoot” of the Messiah (Isaiah 53:2) is exalted as the “noble Cedar” of our redemption (Ezekiel 17:23), and so becomes the definitive revelation of the name and supremacy of YHWH to all nations (John 8:28, 12:27-28, 17:1-5,26).
