August 22 A READ EZEKIEL 29–32
Judgment on Egypt
OVERVIEW
Ezekiel’s concluding words to Judah’s neighbors are addressed specifically to Egypt. The perennial enemy of God’s people, Egypt would not be totally destroyed (as Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, and Tyre would be). Instead, it would be reduced to insignificance after a time of dispersion and regathering. Never again would the glory of the pharaohs shine. Egypt’s wealth would be given to the Babylonians as a “reward” for carrying out God’s will.
MY DAILY WALK
God has always been in the business of working with the remnant, not the majority. Do you feel you’re in the minority as a Christian? The next time you’re tempted to say, “I’m a nobody . . . The church has so little influence . . . I’m insignificant,” think about little Israel. Like Ezekiel, get your eyes off yourself and fix your focus on God. It will do wonders for your perspective.
IF YOU DON’T CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN, YOU CAN’T SEE THE VIEW.
INSIGHT
Tiny Nation, Great God | Ezek. 32:1-32
The prophet devoted a large section, fully one-sixth of his prophecy, to a denunciation of Israel’s neighbors. It may seem strange to you that so much attention should be given to pagan countries in a book written to bring encouragement to God’s people in exile.
Consider the relationship of Israel to the world around it. Compared to its neighbors, Israel was a tiny nation only a few thousand square miles in size. But by being located along the primary Near Eastern trade routes, Israel became significant to the foreign affairs of Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, and Persia.
Ezekiel’s message to these great world powers is the same message God would proclaim to the nations today. The destiny of humankind does not rest in the control of kings and queens but in God alone. Secular historians may consider Israel of little consequence when compared with Babylonia and Egypt, Russia, China, or the United States. But Ezekiel saw the world powers from God’s perspective. Like specks of dust on the prophetic page, they would disappear from view, while God’s program for his people lived on.
A Message for Egypt
1On January 7,* during the tenth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the LORD: 2“Son of man, turn and face Egypt and prophesy against Pharaoh the king and all the people of Egypt. 3Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD:
“I am your enemy, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt—
you great monster, lurking in the streams of the Nile.
For you have said, ‘The Nile River is mine;
I made it for myself.’
4I will put hooks in your jaws
and drag you out on the land
with fish sticking to your scales.
5I will leave you and all your fish
stranded in the wilderness to die.
You will lie unburied on the open ground,
for I have given you as food to the wild animals and birds.
6All the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD,
for to Israel you were just a staff made of reeds.
7When Israel leaned on you,
you splintered and broke
and stabbed her in the armpit.
When she put her weight on you,
you collapsed, and her legs gave way.
8“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will bring an army against you, O Egypt, and destroy both people and animals. 9The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.
“Because you said, ‘The Nile River is mine; I made it,’ 10I am now the enemy of both you and your river. I will make the land of Egypt a totally desolate wasteland, from Migdol to Aswan, as far south as the border of Ethiopia.* 11For forty years not a soul will pass that way, neither people nor animals. It will be completely uninhabited. 12I will make Egypt desolate, and it will be surrounded by other desolate nations. Its cities will be empty and desolate for forty years, surrounded by other ruined cities. I will scatter the Egyptians to distant lands.
13“But this is what the Sovereign LORD also says: At the end of the forty years I will bring the Egyptians home again from the nations to which they have been scattered. 14I will restore the prosperity of Egypt and bring its people back to the land of Pathros in southern Egypt from which they came. But Egypt will remain an unimportant, minor kingdom. 15It will be the lowliest of all the nations, never again great enough to rise above its neighbors.
16“Then Israel will no longer be tempted to trust in Egypt for help. Egypt’s shattered condition will remind Israel of how sinful she was to trust Egypt in earlier days. Then Israel will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.”
Nebuchadnezzar to Conquer Egypt
17On April 26, the first day of the new year,* during the twenty-seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the LORD: 18“Son of man, the army of King Nebuchadnezzar* of Babylon fought so hard against Tyre that the warriors’ heads were rubbed bare and their shoulders were raw and blistered. Yet Nebuchadnezzar and his army won no plunder to compensate them for all their work. 19Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plundering everything it has so he can pay his army. 20Yes, I have given him the land of Egypt as a reward for his work, says the Sovereign LORD, because he was working for me when he destroyed Tyre.
21“And the day will come when I will cause the ancient glory of Israel to revive,* and then, Ezekiel, your words will be respected. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”