Ezekiel 29-32 Egypt’s Judgments
God gives Ezekiel prophecies regarding Egypt’s judgments several times over the years. Bottom line, Egypt doesn’t have a chance against God.
These five chapters in Ezekiel deal with Egypt’s judgment, but they are given to Ezekiel over several years. Most of them happen during a two-year span, 10th to 12th year, while one occurs in the 27th year. I’m going to stick them in chronological order, as best as I can, but stay focused on Egypt as the main focus. Forgive the ‘intro’ for it is lengthy today.
Egypt was an on and off again friend to the descendants of Abraham. The first time these two ‘people’ encounter one another is when Abraham took his people to Egypt during a drought in Canaan. Their relationship started off with a ‘white lie’ and Egypt suffering for Abraham’s actions. The two parted on fair terms but there was no invitation to ‘drop by’ for another visit.
The next time we encounter Egypt is when we are introduced to the mother of Abraham’s first child. Hagar was an Egyptian slave belonging to Sarah. I wonder if she was picked up while Abraham was in Egypt.
Their next interaction was when Joseph was taken there as a slave and sold in the market. This was the beginning of their LONG-TERM relationship that ended with God bringing His people out after 400 years of slavery.
God told His people to have nothing more to do with Egypt. But, by the time Solomon was king, at leas one marriage and business dealings were struck between the two countries. They never resumed the side-by-side relationship that went on while Joseph was remembered, but they would have political relationships.
Egypt was the first to depose one of Judah’s kings. Pharaoh Necho took Jehoahaz captive and made his uncle, Jehoiakim, king in his place. And the final alliance was done when Zedekiah asked Egypt for help against Nebuchadnezzar. Egypt wasn’t able to render Judah any aid as Nebuchadnezzar stepped in between and defeated Egypt before completely destroying Jerusalem.
Egypt, above all other nations, should know of Israel’s God. With all He did in their midst, they should have been on their faces worshiping Him. Instead, they were too proud to bow down to anyone and their Pharaoh considered himself a God. God has a LOT to say to them.
Let’s rejoin Ezekiel as the Lord shares His words with him regarding Egypt. We are going to jump through history to catch God’s words and heart towards Egypt. Holy Spirit, direct this journey today. Help me to see Your hand in all of this. Help me take from it what You would have me to apply to my own life.
♥ ♦ ♥
It has been about a year since Ezekiel’s wife died. He still thinks of her frequently. He lovingly fingers and smells her shawl by the door as he goes out to deliver God’s messages. The scent is slowly fading from the fabric, but it still lingers in Ezekiel’s heart.
Ezekiel kneels down in his customary spot to spend time with the Lord this morning. It’s a cold morning and his mind momentarily jumps to the warm breakfasts his wife used to have waiting for him after his time with the Lord. He shakes the memory free and returns his attention to the Lord.
God sees Ezekiel’s ache and gives him an extra measure of peace today. It is the 12th day of the 10th month in the 10th year of captivity for Ezekiel and those carried away with Jehoiachin. There is nothing outwardly special about today; until the Lord speaks.
EVERY word of the Lord is important. When the Lord starts speaking, Ezekiel listens a bit deeper.
“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’ I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales; and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams, with all the fish of your streams that stick to your scales. And I will cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your streams; you shall fall on the open field, and not be brought together or gathered. To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens I give you as food. Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 29:2-5).
“All Egyptian Pharaoh’s think they are gods. Why is this one important to You” Ezekiel asks.
“Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 29:6-8).
“Ah. Now I see. They failed Judah.”
“They gave her false hope. Judah leaned on Egypt instead of leaning on Me. This is after Jehoiakim turned against them and into the hands of Babylon.”
God continues on with His judgment. “Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries” (Ezekiel 29:9-12).
“Egypt will go into exile, just like Israel! THAT is unexpected. I wonder if they will be brought here, to serve alongside us.”
“For thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered, and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord God” (Ezekiel 29:13-16).
“They have 40 years while Israel has 70. Why is that Lord?” When Ezekiel doesn’t hear an answer to that question, he simply says; “I will share Your words Lord.”
Ezekiel goes to the marketplace with God’s words against Egypt. As he stands on his stone, proclaiming God’s judgment, the people are sorry to hear God’s words. Word had come through fugitives that Egypt had agreed to help Judah stand against Babylon.
“All is lost” echoes through the crowd. “Israel has no one to stand with her.”
Ezekiel brings this message for a month before the Lord releases him. And his heart breaks every time he hears the people’s cries. In his heart, he is crying out; “The LORD would stand with Israel if she would stop looking to other men and their gods!” But no one can hear these words of Ezekiel’s. His mouth is still bound. And, even if they did hear them, they would not obey them.
Ezekiel continues his regular time with the Lord each day. It is the 7th day of the 1st month of the 11th year of his exile. God speaks to him again concerning Egypt.
“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 30:21-26).
“When was Pharaoh’s arm broken, Lord?”
“When he tried and failed to come between Nebuchadnezzar and protect Judah from my judgment. He was sent home but not yet destroyed. But he will be.”
Ezekiel sits with this thought. Word had filtered into Babylon about Nebuchadnezzar running Egypt off when she tried to support Judah. Apparently, God did damage that still hadn’t been repaired. “Israel HAS to learn to lean on her Lord. He is our ONLY hope” Ezekiel says to himself.
Ezekiel shares the message with the people for two months before being released by the Lord. The people don’t even ask questions of this prophecy. As Ezekiel prophecies, the people hang their heads in shame and click their tongues. They have heard of Egypt’s defeat. And God is saying He has MORE judgment in store for them. They remember last year, God telling them that Egypt would fall to Nebuchadnezzar.
Their hope died that month. Now it is buried. All they have left to cling to are the words from Jeremiah saying that this exile would only last 70 years.
It has been almost three months since God called out His last prophecy against Egypt. It is now the 1st day of the 3rd month of the 11th year of captivity. Ezekiel is in his customary place, seeking the Lord. Today, God gives him a lament to bring to the people for Pharaoh.
“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:
“Whom are you like in your greatness? Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade, and of towering height, its top among the clouds. The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall, making its rivers flow around the place of its planting, sending forth its streams to all the trees of the field. So it towered high above all the trees of the field; its boughs grew large and its branches long from abundant water in its shoots. All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth to their young, and under its shadow lived all great nations. It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down to abundant waters. The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor the fir trees equal its boughs; neither were the plane trees like its branches; no tree in the garden of God was its equal in beauty. I made it beautiful in the mass of its branches, and all the trees of Eden envied it, that were in the garden of God” (Ezekiel 31:2-9).
Ezekiel is wondering where God is going with this. “This message is for Pharaoh, isn’t it?” he thinks to himself. God continues with His analogy and lament that Ezekiel will say in the hearing of the people.
“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out. Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man, with those who go down to the pit” (Ezekiel 31:10-14).
“Assyria surely was great. They conquered and carried away Israel. If Judah hadn’t reached out for help from You, they would have been carried off too. All their earthly allies were powerless to deliver her, but Hezekiah turned to You for help. And YOU saved Judah!”
“Thus says the Lord God: On the day the cedar went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the world below. They also went down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were its arm, who lived under its shadow among the nations” (Ezekiel 31:15-17).
“Assyrian’s fall was great. I didn’t realize that it shook the heavens! It was certainly a shake up here on earth” mused Ezekiel as he continues to listen for the words of the Lord.
“Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.
“This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 31:18).
“So this is why You brought up Assyria. So that Pharaoh would have something to ‘measure himself’ by.” Ezekiel wags his head and clicks his tongue. “This is truly a lament.”
Ezekiel feels led to put sackcloth around his middle before going to the marketplace today. This is a lament for Pharaoh of Egypt. It has some bearing for Israel, as she had put her hope in Pharaoh.
As soon as Ezekiel steps from his house, wearing the sackcloth, people begin to take notice. He finds that he has a crowd already before he even reaches the marketplace. “Good. They need to hear this” he thinks to himself.
Ezekiel stands atop his favorite stone and faces Egypt. He calls out the lament for her Pharaoh that the Lord has given him. The people hang their heads. They know of the fall of Assyria too. They are living under the rule of her conquerors.
Ezekiel shares this message for two months. By this time the crowds have stopped gathering to hear the lament. Ezekiel puts the sackcloth away and waits on another word from the Lord.
Ezekiel hears from the Lord again concerning Egypt. It is the 1st day of the 12th month or the 12th year of exile; more than a year since the Lord spoke to him concerning Egypt.
“Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:
“You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers. Thus says the Lord God: I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples, and they will haul you up in my dragnet. And I will cast you on the ground; on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you, and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you. I will strew your flesh upon the mountains and fill the valleys with your carcass. I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood, and the ravines will be full of you. When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 32:2-8).
Ezekiel thinks about the imagery contained in this lament. “The mothers are not going to like it” he thinks to himself.
“I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known. I will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when I brandish my sword before them. They shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall” (Ezekiel 32:9-10).
“ALL nations tremble when You bring destruction Lord” Ezekiel thinks to himself.
“For thus says the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most ruthless of nations.
“They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt, and all its multitude shall perish. I will destroy all its beasts from beside many waters; and no foot of man shall trouble them anymore, nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them. Then I will make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, declares the Lord God. When I make the land of Egypt desolate, and when the land is desolate of all that fills it, when I strike down all who dwell in it, then they will know that I am the Lord. This is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 32:11-16).
Ezekiel sits and lets the weight of this lament seep into his soul. Again, the King of Babylon will be the Lord’s instrument. And that hand will be HEAVY upon Egypt. He knows that there is figurative language in this lament. And that the mothers are not going to like the graphic nature of it. “They balked at having their sins identified. I wonder how they will react to this song filled with blood and gore.”
No matter what the people think about the Lord’s words, Ezekiel will bring them anyway. He is faithful to do as the Lord says. He does not want the blood of the people laid at his feet because he refused to speak.
Ezekiel goes to the marketplace again to deliver the Lord’s word. He was exactly right in predicting the mothers’ responses. As the lament builds and the descriptive words flow, mothers take their children from the marketplace, while giving Ezekiel an evil look. Their looks do noting to tone down his words.
“If you would have stayed, you would have found that the Lord tones down the imagery Himself” Ezekiel thinks to himself. He brings this message for two weeks.
On the 15th day of this same month and year, the Lord gives Ezekiel yet another lament for Egypt. Ezekiel is surprised by the short span between these two messages.
“Is something big happening Lord?”
God doesn’t answer Ezekiel’s question. Instead, He gives Ezekiel a new lament.
“Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit: ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’ They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes. The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword’” (Ezekiel 32:18-21).
“Assyria, Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom, the princes of the north, and all the Sidonians are there, and all their companies, their graves all around, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living. They went down uncircumcised into the world below.”
“When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord God. For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 32:31-32).
Ezekiel considers all the nations the Lord has listed. Not every nation that God has promised to judge are among those in Sheol. But the mighty ones are waiting for Egypt to join them.
The people are surprised to hear Ezekiel’s new lament. Usually there is a period of time between the prophecies from the Lord. But this one follows right on the heels of the other.
“Why is God singing so many laments over Egypt? He didn’t spend that much time on any of the other nations. And He doesn’t seem to be spending any time on us!”
Ezekiel is finally able to answer the people, as God released his tongue on the fifth day of this month; when word reached him that Jerusalem had fallen. “God has cried great tears over His people. But they would not listen to Him. Listen well to the lament He raises, lest He raise on just like it over us. Be NOT one of the uncircumcised! Return to Him so that we may be restored to our land.”
Many years go by before the Lord has another message for Ezekiel regarding Egypt. It is the 1st day of the 1st month of the 27th year of exile when God addresses Egypt again.
“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 29:18-20).
“Is this the second arm being broken that You spoke about so long ago?”
“On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 29:21).
“A second opening” thinks Ezekiel. “Am I to be that horn? Whatever it is You have for me Lord, I will do it. And I trust You to tell me when that day is as well.”
Ezekiel carries this word to the people, the same as he has done so many times before. The people are surprised to see him walk to his old stone. It has been years since he stood on this stone. Usually, he teaches from the benches in the marketplace or meets with the people in his home. They know that, by taking his stone, he is bringing them another prophecy.
Ezekiel calls out the words of the Lord from atop his stone for two weeks before he is released by the Lord. He is still wondering about the horn portion of the prophecy.
Ezekiel has not forsaken his daily time with the Lord since the moment he was first called to be His instrument. Today, the Lord gives him another word for the people.
“Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’ For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. A sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Cush, when the slain fall in Egypt, and her wealth is carried away, and her foundations are torn down. Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
“Thus says the Lord: Those who support Egypt shall fall, and her proud might shall come down; from Migdol to Syene they shall fall within her by the sword, declares the Lord God. And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries, and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have set fire to Egypt, and all her helpers are broken.
“On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom; for, behold, it comes!
“Thus says the Lord God:
“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land, and they shall draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain. And I will dry up the Nile and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers; I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it, by the hand of foreigners; I am the Lord; I have spoken.
“Thus says the Lord God:
“I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis; there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt; so I will put fear in the land of Egypt. I will make Pathros a desolation and will set fire to Zoan and will execute judgments on Thebes. And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the multitude of Thebes. And I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium shall be in great agony; Thebes shall be breached, and Memphis shall face enemies by day. The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword, and the women shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark, when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt, and her proud might shall come to an end in her; she shall be covered by a cloud, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 30:2-19).
Ezekiel’s heart is silent throughout the Lord’s prophecy. He has heard so many words against Egypt. This sounds like a culmination of them all. “An end to the idols of Egypt. Who would ever think that possible” muses Ezekiel. “Only YOU Lord cand do this.”
Ezekiel brings this prophecy to the people in the marketplace. It has only been a week since he stopped bringing his last prophecy. The people are not nearly as stunned, but they listen just as intently. They too, latch onto the portion where God says that the idols of Egypt would be broken. They cling to this hope.
“If God can do THAT in Egypt, imagine what He can do with us!”
Those who have turned to the Lord, treasure ALL the prophecies Ezekiel has brought them. They hold fast to the hope being shared for His people.
Those who have scoffed at Ezekiel’s prophecies have hearts made of stone. They will not be coming with the people when God brings them back to their homeland.
(to be continued)
Many of the prophecies spoken over Egypt do not have conclusive evidence in secular history. I found one study site that gives possible explanations. I’m linking it here for your reference.
I’m curious if some of these might be end time prophecies. Probably not the 40 years ones, but maybe this last one. I’m not versed in end times prophecies, so I will leave that question up to those who feel they have a better grasp that I do. In truth though, we are ALL just making guesses, even educated guesses, as to what awaits us. Only God know for sure. And I will trust Him to carry me through whatever lies ahead.
Father God, I’m curious why You gave the people so many prophecies about Egypt. You didn’t leave any of Israel’s neighbors out, but You really had a LOT to say about Egypt. And NONE of it good.
You use Egypt as a representation for sin in many places. Is the fact that we have to fight so hard against our own sin that You spend so much time there? I would NOT even try to equate Nebuchadnezzar’s roll with my standing against my own sin!
You use things of this world to bring me back to where You want me to be. Nebuchadnezzar was one of those instruments You used for Your people. THANK YOU for loving Your children enough to NEVER give up on them. And that includes me.
Thank You also for showing me where I got out of order while telling Your story. I PRAY that there are no more sections like that. I hate when my computer moves me around on the page without my noticing.
