Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. – Ezekiel 13:4

Today's Scripture Reading (June 21, 2023): Ezekiel 13

Tipu Sultan (1751-1759) was the sovereign or Sultan over the Kingdom of Mysore, a kingdom that existed within the borders of modern-day India and a continuous opponent of British Rule on the Indian Continent. During his reign, the Sultan argued, "It is far better to live like a lion for a day than to live like a jackal for a hundred years." It is a descriptive comment for the man often referred to as the "Tiger of Mysore," although maybe in the light of his words, the "Lion of Mysore" might have been more appropriate.

The Sultan's phrase expresses the difference between how a lion and a jackel choose to live in the animal kingdom. A lion chooses to rule over his territory in the open. A jackal would rather hide among the ruins, burrowing into the ground to hide and often further damaging the foundations of the building that once stood there.

There is no doubt that Tipu Sultan lived as a Lion and not a Jackal. The life of the "Tiger of Mysore" ended in the capital city of Mysore, Srirangapatna, during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. Tupu Sultan was trying to defend the city. It was in the capital that Tipu Sultan was betrayed by some of his own people, who weakened the walls of the city, allowing the soldiers of the British East India Company to enter the city. The Sultan's French advisers told the Sultan to use the secret passageways to escape the city and continue the war from another city. But maybe Tipu Sultan saw escaping the city through underground tunnels as living like a Jackal and not a Lion. The "Tiger of Mysore" refused to leave the city and died defending Srirangapatna in the open instead of escaping through the ruins.

Ezekiel prophesies that the prophets of Israel are like jackals among the ruins. Of course, Jerusalem had not physically been left in ruins yet, although that moment was coming. But the prophets of Israel were already running among the ruins of the faith. By prophesying what was in their imaginations rather than what had come from the mouth of God, they were also destroying the foundation of the Jewish faith. The reality in Jerusalem was that as long as the false prophets had the people's attention, the city was spiritually and physically doomed. And by this time, the hearts of the people were hardened because they had been ignoring the words of true prophets of God, men like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and had placed their trust in men who were nothing more than jackals hiding among the ruins of the Jewish faith.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 14