God is sovereign and His Word WILL come to pass. God pulls the strings of ALL history. He is in control. HE is the Lord. In the NLT version of Ezekiel, we see the phrase, “Then they will know that I am the Lord” 16 times. We find “message from the Sovereign Lord” 28 times. Do you get the idea that God is doing all this so that the people will finally see that He is WHO HE IS?
Egypt is next in line for His judgment. Let’s dig in…
Ezekiel 29 – A Message for Egypt
On January 7, during the tenth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity (587 BC), 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. 3 Give 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.’
4 I will put hooks in your jaws
and drag you out on the land
with fish sticking to your scales.
5 I 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.
6 All the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord,
for to Israel you were just a staff made of reeds.
7 When 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. 9 The 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,’ 10 I 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. 11 For forty years not a soul will pass that way, neither people nor animals. It will be completely uninhabited. 12 I 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. 14 I 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. 15 It 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
17 On April 26, the first day of the new year (571 BC), 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. 19 Therefore, 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. 20 Yes, 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.”
Ezekiel 29 NLT
Ezekiel 30 – A Sad Day for Egypt
This is another message that came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, prophesy and give this message from the Sovereign Lord:
“Weep and wail
for that day,
3 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.
4 A sword will come against Egypt,
and those who are slaughtered will cover the ground.
Its wealth will be carried away
and its foundations destroyed.
The land of Ethiopia will be ravished.
5 Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all Arabia,
and all their other allies
will be destroyed in that war.6 “For this is what the Lord says:
All of Egypt’s allies will fall,
and the pride of her power will end.
From Migdol to Aswan
they will be slaughtered by the sword,
says the Sovereign Lord.
7 Egypt will be desolate,
surrounded by desolate nations,
and its cities will be in ruins,
surrounded by other ruined cities.
8 And the people of Egypt will know that I am the Lord
when I have set Egypt on fire
and destroyed all their allies.
9 At that time I will send swift messengers in ships
to terrify the complacent Ethiopians.
Great panic will come upon them
on that day of Egypt’s certain destruction.
Watch for it!
It is sure to come!10 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
By the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,
I will destroy the hordes of Egypt.
11 He and his armies—the most ruthless of all—
will be sent to demolish the land.
They will make war against Egypt
until slaughtered Egyptians cover the ground.
12 I will dry up the Nile River
and sell the land to wicked men.
I will destroy the land of Egypt and everything in it
by the hands of foreigners.
I, the Lord, have spoken!13 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I will smash the idols of Egypt
and the images at Memphis.
There will be no rulers left in Egypt;
terror will sweep the land.
14 I will destroy southern Egypt,
set fire to Zoan,
and bring judgment against Thebes.
15 I will pour out my fury on Pelusium,
the strongest fortress of Egypt,
and I will stamp out
the hordes of Thebes.
16 Yes, I will set fire to all Egypt!
Pelusium will be racked with pain;
Thebes will be torn apart;
Memphis will live in constant terror.
17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will die in battle,
and the women will be taken away as slaves.
18 When I come to break the proud strength of Egypt,
it will be a dark day for Tahpanhes, too.
A dark cloud will cover Tahpanhes,
and its daughters will be led away as captives.
19 And so I will greatly punish Egypt,
and they will know that I am the Lord.”
The Broken Arms of Pharaoh
20 On April 29, (587 BC) during the eleventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. His arm has not been put in a cast so that it may heal. Neither has it been bound up with a splint to make it strong enough to hold a sword. 22 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am the enemy of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt! I will break both of his arms—the good arm along with the broken one—and I will make his sword clatter to the ground. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians to many lands throughout the world. 24 I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he will lie there mortally wounded, groaning in pain. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, while the arms of Pharaoh fall useless to his sides. And when I put my sword in the hand of Babylon’s king and he brings it against the land of Egypt, Egypt will know that I am the Lord. 26 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, dispersing them throughout the earth. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 30 NLT
Points to Ponder
- This is an anthology of several prophecies over 17 years.
- 18 years after the fall of Jerusalem, Babylon attacked Egypt.
- Since God used Babylon to pass judgment on Judah and Jerusalem, He wanted to reward them. Their siege of Tyre, which took 14 years, yielded nothing. The Phoenicians put all their treasures on ships and took them to an off-shore island. Babylon had no naval capabilities. Here, God provided for Babylon’s army with the treasures of Egypt.
- Egypt gets off a bit easier than Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia. Unlike the other nations which no longer exist, Egypt, gets to continue existing.
- Pharaoh claimed to have been the source of the Nile. That is blasphemy. God set Him straight.
- Egypt was not a reliable ally to Israel. Never was and still isn’t. Judah wanted to lean on Egypt for help against the Babylonians, but they failed them. The lesson here is to not put your trust in governments run by humans. Trust God ONLY. Pastor Sandy Adams comments…
In Jerusalem’s final days, despite the warnings of Jeremiah, Judah’s King, Zedekiah, signed a protection treaty with the Egyptians. Her previous kings, Jehoiakim and Hezekiah had made similar treaties. Caught between the two superpowers of Babel and Egypt, the Judean kings waffled back and forth – trying to hedge their bets as to who would prevail. At times they were pro-Babylon. At other times pro-Egyptian. As a matter of fact, for a time Judah had a two-party political system – pro-Babylonian and pro-Egyptian.
In the end Judah was attacked by the Babylonians and abandoned by the Egyptians. Egypt proved to be the unreliable staff. The fragile reed that snapped. Realize just how powerful and relevant Ezekiel’s prophecy was when it was first uttered. The prophet was speaking directly to the current political situation. God’s people had placed their national hope and trust in their former enemy – now a crumbling empire.
And the spiritual lesson here is also obvious. This world is our enemy. And it’s on its way out. When tough times come, don’t turn back to the very things that once let you down and held you in bondage. Don’t renew alliances with old friends, or return to old habits from which you were delivered. This world is a rickety reed, a shaky staff. It’ll splinter, it won’t support. And there’s a lesson here for the politically-minded. Trust in any political party and it will let you down.
Sandy Adams
Prophecy is not an exact outline of future events. Nevertheless, it’s the proclamation of God’s purpose. There are multiple fulfillments. For Egypt, there was a fulfillment right after the semi-fall of Tyre. The Egyptians would be carried off to Babylon and there would be no more Egyptian kings. No more pharaohs.
God had a purpose of Egypt in the 1st Century….
We this see in Matthew 2, when God told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape from King Herod. This fulfilled another prophecy: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt.” (Hosea 11:1)
As we’ll see in the Book of Daniel, the Antichrist will subdue Egypt. Later on, as you can see from the map below, the true borders of Israel extend over to the Nile River taking a good chunk of Egypt.
Egypt Today
- Egypt is #20 in Open Door’s list of countries that are hostile in regard to Christian persecution.
- According to the Joshua Project, Egypt’s largest religion is Islam (86% Sunni Muslim), and 4.5% are Evangelical Christians. Furthermore, there are 25 unreached people groups, who have never heard the Good News of the Salvation of Jesus Christ.
- Voice of the Martyrs considers Egypt “restricted” when it comes to Christian persecution. Their biggest persecutor are the various Islamic extremist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS.
- In 1970, Egypt’s government built the Aswan Dam to control the Nile River. It has both pros and cons. Some of the cons being the loss of the sediment vital to fertilize agriculture. Another is the coastline erosion of the Nile Delta at the Mediterranean. Finally, local ground water has increased salinity. Read more here. See, God, unlike what the Pharaoh claimed, created the Nile to flood and recede seasonally. It had a purpose. Man went and screwed it up.
“Don’t” Lessons
There are several lessons here. Don’t…
- mess with God’s creation or claim that you “made” it for yourself
- think that you’re better or greater than God
- think that you can do it all yourself
- forget that God is Sovereign
- forget that HE IS THE LORD
- ignore His Word and His Good News!
God IS still in control and He IS still pulling the strings of history. Therefore, in whom are YOU going to trust YOUR eternal life to? The ONE TRUE GOD or a man-made religion?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
