Ezekiel -- Lesson Sixteen
Chapters 29 - 30 -- Prophecies Against Egypt
1. Introductory comments.
1. Chapters 29-32 round out the collection of oracles
against foreign nations and are devoted entirely to the
proclamation of judgment against Egypt.
1. There are seven prophecies against Egypt; six of them
are explicitly identified by date, and it is clear that
they were delivered at various different times in Ezekiel's
ministry.
2. While the oracles may seem tedious and repetitive to us,
we must remember that they were delivered at various
different times.
3. When we remember that each oracle was delivered on a
separate occasion in history, the force of the various
oracles may be perceived.
2. The general background of the oracles is provided by a
knowledge of the long history of the relationships between
the chosen people and Egypt.
1. The relationship began in the days of slavery before the
Exodus.
2. After the Exodus, when the Israelites formed their own
state, Egypt was always too close and too powerful a
neighbor to be ignored.
3. From Egypt's standpoint, Israel was of vital
geopolitical significance.
1. The principal threat to Egypt's existence always lay to
the north, not in Palestine as such, but in Syria and
Mesopotamia.
2. It was from the north that the successive empires of
Assyrians and Babylonians threatened Egypt; Israel's land
was the buffer zone, part of Egypt's defense against
northern aggression.
3. Thus, when Egypt was friendly towards Israel, it was
always out of self-interest and towards the goal of
self-protection.
4. Equally, Egypt's enmity was rooted in the same political
purpose, namely that of securing the northern approach to
the nation against the encroachment of dangerous foreign
powers.
4. Israel was small compared to its neighbors -- Egypt,
Assyria, Babylon and Persia.
1. It was they who determined whether the little country
was allowed to retain her independence, like a little
Switzerland, or whether she should become a political
settlement or a military staging-post or an international
bargaining point.
2. They could no more be ignored than can the United
States, Russia, and China in the policies of a state in
Europe or South-east Asia today.
5. What Ezekiel was at pains to point out was that the
final say in Israel's destiny was not their's, but God's --
and God was Israel's God.
1. More than that he said that even the destiny of the
great powers, such as Egypt was in the hands of Israel's
God.
2. Jehovah controlled everything!
2. Egypt's Sins Exposed and Judged. (Jan. 7, 588,587 B.C.,
a few months before the siege and eventual destruction of
Jerusalem. 29:1-16.
1. The Introduction of the Monster. 29:1-6a.
1. This message against Pharaoh was directed at Pharaoh
Hophra (588-596 B.C.), whose grandfather, Pharaoh Neco
killed Josiah at Megiddo in 609 B.C.
2. Pharaoh is described as a monster lying among the
streams, which claimed the Nile as his domain.
1. "Monster" has been translated "crocodile," "jackal,"
"monster," "serpent," "dragon," and obviously refers to a
feared creature.
2. The "monster of the Nile was the crocodile.
3. The monster is described as arrogant -- My river is mine
own, and I have made it for myself. v. 3.
4. As with so many causes of arrogance, the reverse was
true: Egypt was the product of the Nile, not vice versa.
1. Egypt's greatness throughout history was the fruit of
the Nile.
1. The Nile made possible the habitation of the valley.
2. It provided the rich soil in which to plant crops, water
to irrigate them, transportation, and water to drink.
3. Without the Nile there would have been no Egypt.
2. As an act of judgment, the monster would be dragged from
the river and left to die on dry land, there to become food
for the birds of the air.
1. The "hooks" in the jaws to render the monster helpless
described the standard method for capture and destruction
of a crocodile. v. 4.
2. The monster of the stream will be left in the desert,
which would mean certain death for a crocodile as well as
the fish that were his food. v. 5.
5. When the destruction of Egypt becomes a reality,
everyone will know that God did it. v. 6a.
2. The Judgment that will befall Egypt. 29:6b-16.
1. Ezekiel portrayed Egypt as a crumpled reed used as a
staff for support, that splintered when weight was applied.
1. The same figure is applied to Egypt in 2 Kings 18:21.
2. When the reed broke, the shoulders of those nations,
including Israel that leaned on it, were dislocated.
3. Those who relied on Egypt were not strengthened, but
crippled.
4. Those who leaned on Egypt would be forced to stand on
their own or perish. vv. 6-7.
2. Egypt was judged by the sword and desolation for two
reasons.
1. Pride.
1. Egypt said that the Nile was theirs. v. 9.
2. Pharaoh Hophra was known for his arrogance and inflated
self-image.
1. He felt that no one could defeat him.
2. He felt so secure that he believed that not even the
gods of Egypt could dislodge him from his position as king.
3. Such self-sufficient pride was punished in Tyre (28:2),
and will be in Egypt as well.
2. Egypt has seduced Israel.
1. Pharaoh Hophra promised to help them confront
Nebuchadnezzar, but when the battle came, he abandoned them
like the brittle staff (v. 7).
2. Therefore God promised to ruin the streams (v. 9) and
made the land uninhabitable for 40 years (v. 11: related to
the 40 years of wandering after the Exodus). v. 12.
3. The oracle against Egypt illustrates two flaws in
character that are as commonly the characteristics of
individuals was well as nations.
1. The first is delusion, an offshoot of pride and
arrogance.
1. So self-centered had Egypt become in its power that it
persuaded itself that both the nation and the river on
which it was based were its own creations.
2. This delusion of grandeur, spoken of as a form of
national omnipotence, was dangerous in the extreme; it
could only be shattered by the truly omnipotent God, whose
words the prophet declares.
3. The most dangerous lies are those that delude the liar.
1. Egypt really believed its own lie, that its strength was
its own creation.
2. In this self-delusion, it typified not only all great
nations that express a similar conviction, but also all
individuals who think that they are self-made and that
their achievements are entirely the consequence of their
own abilities and efforts.
3. It is incumbent on all those who achieve a degree of
preeminence in this world to recognize that ultimately such
preeminence is the gift of God.
2. The second flaw is selfishness.
1. From time to time Egypt offered friendship to its
neighbor, but it was only a tool to engineer its own
benefit.
2. False friendship offered for selfish reasons and hastily
withdrawn at the least sign of cost, undermined the entire
fabric of human and national relationships and invited
judgment.
3. Friendship is fundamental to all human relationships,
holding individuals and societies together.
1. It can only be strong if it is engendered in the spirit
of self-sacrifice; the friendship that is willing to take
but is not willing to give is not true friendship at all.
2. There is no greater insight into the nature of true
friendship that that taught by Jesus. John 15:13.
3. True friendship must eliminate the power of selfishness
and replace it with the power of true selflessness.
3. Egypt to Suffer the Fate of Tyre. (New Year's Day, April
26, 571 B.C., some sixteen years later than the first
oracle.) 29:17-21.
1. Nebuchadnezzar campaigned against Tyre for 13 years and
came away without a final victory.
1. All they got for their trouble was bald heads and
shoulders rubbed bare (v. 18), a graphic description of
chafing helmets and shoulders bearing the load of siege
works.
2. In this message God promised to give him a consolation
prize -- Egypt.
3. The loot and plunder that his armies would take was much
needed pay for his men, who came away from Tyre unrewarded.
vv. 17-19.
2. Nebuchadnezzar's campaign against Egypt was divinely
motivated "because they wrought for me." v. 20.
1. God gave Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar as repayment to his men
for their opposition to Tyre.
2. Even though the city became a vassal of Babylon and paid
tribute, the 13 year siege of Tyre ended with the island
fortress still unconquered.
3. Whether the treasure of Tyre escaped by water from the
island fortress or was expended in the cost of defense, the
Babylonians certainly never captured the treasure of Tyre.
4. As a consequence of the disappointment over Tyre, the
prophet declares that Nebuchadnezzar would be given the
opportunity of plundering Egypt and carrying off its
wealth, compensatory wages for the fruitless work in the
long siege of Tyre.
5. Though little is known of the event from historical
sources, it occurred a few years later (568, 567 B.C.), at
which time it is presumed that Pharaoh, Amasis II, came to
terms with the invading army by paying massive tribute.
3. The oracle concludes with an element of hope: a "horn"
would spring forth in Israel, indicating new life and thus
new hope.
1. This may be a Messianic statement (cf. Ps. 132:17), but
the language does not demand it.
2. It may be a general reference to Israel's future
restoration.
3. Some suggest that Nebuchadnezzar may himself be the
"horn to bud forth unto the house of Israel," in that he
would now work for Israel against her enemy Egypt, as he
had worked for God against Tyre.
4. At the same time Ezekiel's mouth will be opened to speak
with greater confidence.
1. To take this in relation to Ezekiel's ritual dumbness is
to take it in isolation from its context; by this time his
ritual dumbness was a thing of the past (cf. 33:22).
2. It seems better to take it simply as a reference to the
authentication of Ezekiel's prophecy through fulfillment.
4. The oracle ends with the refrain, "then shall they know
that I am the Lord," which has punctuated this chapter
three times already (vv. 6, 9, and 16); it is Ezekiel's
overriding desire.
4. Egypt and Allies Devastated (the only undated oracle in
the prophecies against Egypt). 30:1-19.
1. This message has four parts, each introduced with "This
is what the Sovereign Lord says" (vv. 2, 6, 10, 13), and
each concluded with a final word, "declares the Sovereign
Lord" (v. 6), "they will know that I am the Lord" (vv. 8,
19), and "I the Lord have spoken" (v. 12).
2. Some have concluded from the absence of the date that
these verses do not belong to Ezekiel, but the absence of
the date is not compelling evidence.
3. A Cry of Distress at the Nearness of the Day of the
Lord. 30:1-9.
1. This was not a funeral lament such as the lament for
Tyre in 27:1-36, but a cry of distress at the nearness of
the day of the Lord. v. 2.
2. Ezekiel anticipates the coming judgment and defeat of
the mighty nation; the forces of history and nature would
combine to bring Egypt to ruin.
3. The prophecy begins with a reference to the coming "day"
of the Lord. vv. 2-3.
1. That "day" is sometimes used in a general sense to mean
a day of judgment.
2. Sometimes it is used to refer to God's judgment on the
nations at the end of human history.
3. Sometimes it refers to a day of blessing and deliverance
for Israel (29:21).
4. It is used in v. 3 in the first sense of a general
approaching day of judgment called the "time of the doom of
the nations" (NAS).
5. Ezekiel's prophecies are similar in impact to Joel who
shook a spiritually apathetic people awake with the theme
of the day of the Lord (Joel 1:15 - 2:11).
6. Ezekiel utilized the same theme as Joel in announcing
judgment on the former ally of Judah.
4. Earlier Ezekiel had anticipated the great day of
judgment when the "end" would come for the land of Israel
(7:1-13).
1. In this oracle he makes it clear that God's judgment
would be universal and international in character.
2. A sword of judgment would devastate Egypt and its
southern neighbor, Ethiopia, just as a sword of devastation
had already been declared for the land of the chosen people
(ch. 21).
1. Judgment for Egypt and its allies was symbolized by the
sword. v. 4.
2. It would bring judgment on Egypt, Ethiopia, and even the
covenant people (NIV, perhaps a reference to those who had
fled to Egypt from Judah, seeking protection); all would
fall by the sword. vv. 5-6.
3. When Egypt was on fire and its allies were crushed, all
would know that Jehovah is God. vv. 7-8.
4. On that day messengers would tell of the plight of Egypt
and bring fear of doom on the allies. v. 9.
4. Nebuchadnezzar, the Sword of Destruction. 30:10-19.
1. Two sources are specified as the instruments of God's
coming judgment, one in the sphere of history and the other
in the sphere of nature.
1. The Babylonian emperor, Nebuchadnezzar, would invade the
land and cover its soil with the corpses of the slain.
2. But God would also dry up the River Nile, upon whose
waters the nation was totally dependent (v. 12), and thus
would mock the hollow boast that even the Nile was
controlled by Egypt (29:9).
2. God's coming judgment would be complete.
1. The catalog of the coming destruction for all the great
Egyptian cities indicates the comprehensiveness of the
prophet's vision. vv. 13-19.
2. The cities of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, form the
north-eastern reaches of the Delta area to the southern
reaches of the River Nile, all would succumb to the divine
devastation.
3. The archeological remains that may still be seen
indicate just how splendid the ancient cities of Egypt
were.
1. They embodied extraordinary human achievement in their
fine architecture and massive structures.
2. But the cities, symbols of human strength and progress,
would be unable to withstand the onset of judgment.
4. No human structure can withstand the might of God.
1. Ezekiel penetrates the facade of strength and continuity
upon which so much of the false confidence of the human
race is based.
1. Egypt represented a truly extraordinary civilization in
the 6th century B.C.
2. It had been strong for some 2,500 years, an achievement
without parallel in any modern civilization.
3. Its architectural achievements embodied this same sense
of continuity.
4. Its pyramids must have seemed to be as ancient as the
Nile itself.
5. Yet this ancient and seemingly perpetual civilization
was as vulnerable to the judgment of God as any other
nation or people.
6. It's confidence and pride could be and would be
shattered when the foundations upon which it was built were
summoned to judgment.
2. The oracle against Egypt stands as a perpetual reminder
of the omnipotence of God, over and against the temporary
potency of mankind.
1. What was true of Egypt is equally true of modern nations
and empires.
2. The most enduring of man's creations are indelibly
marked with the signs of temporality.
3. The durability of a nation or civilization does not
depend on the singular achievements of its various members;
it is subject to the sovereignty of God.
4. The qualities that permit survival are not greatness and
strength, rather they are the fruits of humility and
morality that emerge from the recognition of the ultimate
sovereignty of God in all human affairs.
5. Egypt Helpless in the Day of the Lord (dated April 29,
587 B. C., just a few months before the final siege and
defeat of Jerusalem). 30:20-26.
1. When Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem in 588 B.C.,
Pharaoh Hophra initially came to Zedekiah's assistance.
1. Hophra's army was defeated and he returned to Egypt.
2. When Jerusalem fell, Hophra, whose strength was broken,
was defeated by Ahmose in a civil war.
3. Nebuchadnezzar invaded and easily conquered Egypt, which
subsequently was never a prominent world power.
4. The fall of Egypt was a prelude to the complete
destruction God would bring on both Egypt and Babylon.
5. Like the Hebrews, the Egyptians would be dispersed as
exiles among the nations. vv. 23, 26.
2. The prophecy bears sober testimony in graphic detail to
the events associated with the fall of Egypt.
1. Ezekiel said that Pharaoh's arm would be broken, vv.
21-22, 24, and that his arms would fall limp. v. 25.
2. This passage presents Pharaoh as helpless and unable to
hold a weapon, and therefore unable to defend against
invading armies. v. 21.
1. In the traditional metaphor of the ancient world, the
might of a king and his army was symbolized by the arm.
2. A royal arm, successfully wielding a sword, was a symbol
of strength.
3. Pharaoh's arm had been fractured once, Ezekiel declared,
referring back to the fruitless campaign of Hophra; that
arm had never healed and the other would be broken in the
future.
4. Ezekiel was in effect fracturing the false hopes of
those in exile, who still believed that salvation might be
found in Egypt.
5. Ezekiel's message is further strengthened by the
announcement that the Babylonian king's arm would be
strengthened; the one from whom deliverance was sought was
the one who would destroy a false hope of deliverance.
3. Additional references to the defeat of Egypt may be
found in Isaiah 30:1-14 and 2 Kings 24:7.
4. The repetition of the ideas in the last four verses was
for emphasis. vv. 23-25.
5. Egypt's devastation and its loss of standing in the
family of nations is a constant testimony to the truth of
God's word; the great civilization would exist only in
ruins and in historical records.
3. In this short oracle, Ezekiel illuminates several
significant themes.
1. It is folly to seek human deliverance from the
instrument of God's judgment.
1. Those in Jerusalem and those in exile were terrified by
the Babylonians.
2. They thought that salvation might be found with Pharaoh.
3. They were blind, unable to perceive the truth that God
was using the Babylonians as the executor of his will and
judgment.
4. To seek a human or political solution to a national and
spiritual problem was an exercise in folly.
5. When human actions have precipitated external crisis, it
is the internal roots of corruption that must be dealt with
more urgently than the external danger.
2. The arm of flesh will fail you, you dare not trust your
own. (Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.)
1. The oracle is addressed to Egypt, yet its impact is felt
by the Israelites who looked to Egypt for strength.
2. Lying behind this false hope was their failure to
remember a fundamental of Hebrew theology -- ultimately it
was only the arm of God that was strong. (Ps. 98:1 -- O
sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous
things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him
victory.)
3. The chosen people had once been a mighty nation, but
only because of the strength of God's "holy arm."
4. Having forgotten the strength of God's arm, they would
fall victim to the arms of human enemies strengthened by
God for judgment.