EZEKIEL CHAPTERS 29-30
EGYPT IS GOING TO FALL
PART 1
This section of chapters contains a series of oracles against Egypt. Egypt, unlike the other nations mentioned in Chapters 25-28, although destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar will continue to exist. However, it will exist as “the lowliest of kingdoms” (29:15). From the time it was prophesied that it would be destroyed, and was, until now it has never recovered its former glory, influence or power. These chapters prophesy that Egypt will be overrun by Nebuchadnezzar (30:10-12) and will be defeated as a world power (29:15). The fulfillment took place in approximately 570 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt and then Egyptian influence fell drastically after the rise of Persia in 539 B.C.
Egypt is the 7th nation in Ezekiel’s judgment cycle and it receives more attention than any other nation Ezekiel has addressed previously. Egypt has always played a big part in the life of Israel – father Abraham, as other Jews, tended to look to Egypt for help when a crisis arose:
Genesis 12:10-12 10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
Genesis 42:1-2 When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" 2 And he said, "Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die."
Exodus 14:10-12
Exodus 16:1-3
Numbers 11:4-9 4 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: "Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!" 7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. 9 And when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.
Numbers 11:18
Numbers 14:1-5 1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 So they said to one another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt." 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
Isaiah said “ Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help….” (31:1) ---- TODAY he would give the same warning to God’s people – BELIEVERS THAT RELY ON THE WORLD FOR HELP, INSTEAD OF TRUSTING IN THE LORD, COMMIT THE SAME SIN THAT THE JEWS FREQUENTLY COMMITTED BY LOOKING TO EGYPT
Ezekiel 29:1-7 (NKJV) 1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt. 3 Speak, and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers, Who has said, 'My River is my own; I have made it for myself.' 4 But I will put hooks in your jaws, And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales; I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales. 5 I will leave you in the wilderness, You and all the fish of your rivers; You shall fall on the open field; You shall not be picked up or gathered. I have given you as food To the beasts of the field And to the birds of the heavens. 6 "Then all the inhabitants of Egypt Shall know that I am the Lord, Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. 7 When they took hold of you with the hand, You broke and tore all their shoulders; When they leaned on you, You broke and made all their backs quiver."
This occurred on January 7, 587 B.C. – about 7 months before Jerusalem was destroyed. Pharaoh Hophra, who was Pharaoh Necho’s grandson, was the king (his Greek name was Apries) and he ruled Egypt from 589 B.C. until he was strangled in 570 B.C. during a revolt. A revolt that Jeremiah the prophet had prophesied in:
Jeremiah 44:29-30 29 And this shall be a sign to you,' says the Lord, 'that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for adversity.' 30 Thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.' "
A monster that lies in the rivers refers to the Nile crocodile and the Lord is using that to picture Pharaoh Hophra as a monster. It is a representation of pharaoh and the Egyptian people. The Nile crocodile was treated as a god by the Egyptians (later appearing on some of their coinage) and the Nile was a god. In doing this the Lord is saying he is more powerful than the Nile and also it’s most vicious occupant – the crocodile. Basically if the Nile is a god and he created the Nile then he must the god of gods.
PRIDE – Hophra’s major sin – he claimed he was the one who made the river and that it belonged to him (insinuating that all of its occupants belonged to him as well). His second major sin was disloyalty to Israel – although the Jews should never have looked to Egypt for help, when they did and Egypt agreed, then they should have kept their word. THIS SPEAKS TO US TODAY IN THE UNITED STATES’ PROMISES TO ISRAEL. Egyptian pharaoh’s were diligent in preparing their burial places but Hophra would be buried like an unwanted dead animal in the desert.
The fish clinging to him represents the people of Egypt. They will be punished as he is.
Ezekiel 29:8-12 (NKJV) 8 'Therefore thus says the Lord God: "Surely I will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast. 9 And the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, 'The River is mine, and I have made it.' 10 Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. 11 Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries."
The Babylonian army is coming and it will fulfill God’s Word and destroy man, beast and ravage the land.
Jeremiah 43:8-13 8 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9 "Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes; 10 and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them. 11 When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword. 12 I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment, and he shall go out from there in peace. 13 He shall also break the sacred pillars of Beth Shemesh that are in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire." ' "
God is against Pharaoh, Egypt and the Nile. When He speaks of Migdol to Syene, He is saying the entire country from Migdol in the north to Syrene in the south, even to their border with Ethiopia. Israelites would say from Dan to Beersheba to say the same thing, we would say from Maine to California. It signifies the whole land, from the top to the bottom. The New International Version says from Migdol (in the north) to Answan (in the south).
This desolation will last 40 years. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in 586 B.C. and fulfilled this prophecy.
Ezekiel 29:13-16 (NKJV) 13 'Yet, thus says the Lord God: "At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore. 16 No longer shall it be the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God." ' "
When the 40 years is over the Lord will again show His Divine Mercy. He will gather the scattered Egyptians to their land and permit them to re-establish their kingdom, however, their kingdom would not regain its former power, influence, prestige and glory – it would become a “base kingdom”. “They shall know that I am the Lord” is repeated 3 times in this message (vv. 6, 9, 16) and is used 60 times in the Book of Ezekiel.
EZEKIEL 29:17-21 (NKJV) 17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,' says the Lord God. 21 'In that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.' "
The Wages Are Paid. This 2nd oracle, given on April 26, 571 B.C., is the latest mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel. It was put here because it pertained to Egypt. All the servants of the Lord deserve their pay and Nebuchadnezzar was a servant of God (Jeremiah 25:9; 27:6 and 43:19), however, he didn’t get his just pay for doing the Lord’s work. When he attacked Tyre he expended a great many resources and it took him 13 years to destroy the city. During this time the rulers of Tyre moved all of their wealth via their large navy to other safe havens. Egypt was one of the countries that helped Tyre resist Nebuchadnezzar and one of those safe havens. What Nebuchadnezzar received when he finally entered Tyre didn’t “pay” him enough for his efforts, so the Lord is using Egypt to make up the difference. In verse 21 we have a promise to the Jews promising them that a time of restoration would come to them and He would give them a new strength (“spring forth” – budding) for their new challenges. After the Medes and Persians conquered Babylon (539 B.C. – Daniel 5) Cyrus issued an edict permitting the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1). Whatever the other nations may do, the Lord makes sure that His people preserve their witness and achieve the work that has been assigned to them on earth. Christians are His people, as well as the Jews, and we will accomplish our work on this earth.
Verse 21 indicates that when this prophecy came true and the remnant returned to the land – they would respect Ezekiel’s words and profit from them. The Jews in Babylon didn’t take Ezekiel’s words seriously (33:30-33), however, the day would come when the Lord was going to prove him right (verse 21)
Ezekiel will return to the monster theme in chapter 31:1-16.
Ezekiel 30:1-5 (NKJV) 1 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 "Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Wail, 'Woe to the day!' 3 For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles. 4 The sword shall come upon Egypt, And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia, When the slain fall in Egypt, And they take away her wealth, And her foundations are broken down. 5 "Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword."
The Storm Is Announced. This oracle in chapter 30 isn’t dated but probably was delivered about the same time as the previous one. In this chapter a great storm is pictured in the judgment of Egypt and it shakes the very foundations of the land. Verses 1-5 tell us the storm is coming. Verse 3 “the day of the Lord” is a Biblical phrase that describes any period of Divine judgment. It refers especially to the time of Tribulation in the last days when the Lord will punish the nations (Isaiah 65:17-19; Joel 1-3; Zephaniah 1-2; Revelation 6-19)
Isaiah 65:17-19 7 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.
It doesn’t matter if this judgment is local, as here with Egypt, or global, as in the last days, it is still the Lord’s work and no one can prevent it nor control it. The New Living Translation puts 30:3 as “ for the terrible day is almost here— the day of the Lord! It is a day of clouds and gloom, a day of despair for the nations.”
Judgment would fall on Egypt and her neighboring allies, including: [1] Ethiopia (Cush, the upper region of the Nile (vv. 5, 9) [2] Put (an African nation) [3] Lud (Lydia) [4] The Arabian nations [5] Cub (Libya) [6] “the people of the covenant” (NIV verse 5) who are probably Jews serving as mercenaries in the Egyptian army.
Ezekiel 30:6-9 (NKJV) 6 'Thus says the Lord: "Those who uphold Egypt shall fall, And the pride of her power shall come down. From Migdol to Syene Those within her shall fall by the sword," Says the Lord God. 7 "They shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries, And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste. 8 Then they will know that I am the Lord, When I have set a fire in Egypt And all her helpers are destroyed. 9 On that day messengers shall go forth from Me in ships To make the careless Ethiopians afraid, And great anguish shall come upon them, As on the day of Egypt; For indeed it is coming!"
Egypt is to be desolate. Both Egypt and her allies will fall.
Ezekiel 30:10-12 (NKJV) 10 'Thus says the Lord God: "I will also make a multitude of Egypt to cease By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 11 He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations, Shall be brought to destroy the land; They shall draw their swords against Egypt, And fill the land with the slain. 12 I will make the rivers dry, And sell the land into the hand of the wicked; I will make the land waste, and all that is in it, By the hand of aliens. I, the Lord, have spoken."
God’s work will be done by Babylon. God had appointed Nebuchadnezzar as his servant to punish the proud Egyptians; his army was merciless and would fill the land with corpses. In addition to that, the Lord’s judgments would affect the rivers making them dry, this would be a great catastrophe for such an arid land.
Ezekiel 30:13-19 (NKJV) 13 'Thus says the Lord God: "I will also destroy the idols, And cause the images to cease from Noph; There shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt; I will put fear in the land of Egypt. 14 I will make Pathros desolate, Set fire to Zoan, And execute judgments in No. 15 I will pour My fury on Sin, the strength of Egypt; I will cut off the multitude of No, 16 And set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall have great pain, No shall be split open, And Noph shall be in distress daily. 17 The young men of Aven and Pi Beseth shall fall by the sword, And these cities shall go into captivity. 18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall also be darkened, When I break the yokes of Egypt there. And her arrogant strength shall cease in her; As for her, a cloud shall cover her, And her daughters shall go into captivity. 19 Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt, Then they shall know that I am the Lord." ' "
God’s wrath will not allow anything to escape. Note the “I wills” in this section – “I will also destroy…”, “I will put fear….”, “I will make….”, “I will pour ……”, “I will cut off….”, “I will execute judgments on Egypt…..”. The Lord’s judgments would cover the land and He mentions: (1) Noph, Memphis and lower Egypt (2) Pathros, upper Egypt (3) Zoan is Rameses (4) No is Thebes (5) Sin is Pelusium.
It appears that nations will never understand that the Lord is serious concerning what happens to His people Israel.
Notice in verse 13 “idols”. The Hebrew term is literally “round things” and probably refers to dung. The Lord is stating that the Egyptian idols are but dung.
Ezekiel 30:20- 26 20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 "Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and see, it has not been bandaged for healing, nor a splint put on to bind it, to make it strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Surely I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall out of his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man. 25 Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; 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. 26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.' "
This oracle was delivered on April 29, 587 B.C. and refers to the Lord crushing Egypt’s military power. The arm is a symbol of power, the Lord is saying here that he will break both of Pharaoh’s arms leaving Egypt helpless. “They shall know that I am Lord” is repeated twice in this section.
The 1st breaking took place at Carchemish in 605 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho (2 Kings 24:7; Jeremiah 46:2)
2 Kings 24:7 7 And the king of Egypt did not come out of his land anymore, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the River Euphrates.
Jeremiah 46:2 2 Against Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
The 2nd breaking occurred when Pharaoh Hophra tried to help Judah when Nebuchadnezzar was attacking Jerusalem.
With both arms broken Egypt would be unable to lift a sword and that would put an end to the battle. Pharaoh Hophra had a second title “The Strong-armed” but that title wouldn’t apply anymore. While the arms of the Egyptians were being broken, the arms of the Babylonians were being strengthened.
