2nd January 2024 – Ezekiel 29:1-21

Tue 2 Jan 2024

1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3speak, 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.’

4I 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.

5 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.

6Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord.

“Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, 7when 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 shake. 8Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ 10therefore, 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. 11No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12And 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.

13“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, 14and 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. 15It 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. 16And 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.”

17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18“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. 19Therefore 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. 20I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.

21“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.”

---

The judgment to be visited on Egypt was different from that which befell Tyre. Tyre was destroyed forever, but Egypt was not to be destroyed without remedy, and 13ff speaks of a restoration. This, however, was something very limited: they were to be 'a base kingdom' (14, 15). This has also surely been fulfilled in a remarkable and impressive way. From being a proud and considerable empire in those days, Egypt became increasingly, and has continued till the present day, an insignificant people politically, militarily, financially and economically - a broken reed indeed. One has only to think of the humiliation it has suffered in modern times at the hands of present-day Israel to see the dramatic truth and fulfilment of Ezekiel's prophecy. In 17ff, the point of the reference with regard to Tyre is that Nebuchadnezzar waged a war of attrition for about 13 years, and in the end won little spoil. As 18 puts it, neither he nor his army received wages for their trouble. In contrast, however, Egypt was to be given to Nebuchadnezzar as spoil and as 'wages', because, as 20 puts it 'they wrought for me, saith the Lord God'. This is surely an impressive testimony to the fact of the divine sovereignty at work among the nations. It was His will that was being worked out and fulfilled in these movements in the balance of power in the ancient world.

J Philip Bible Readings

2nd January 2024 – Ezekiel 29:1-21

1st January 2024 – Ezekiel 29:1-21

31st December 2023 – Ezekiel 28:11-26

30th December 2023 – Ezekiel 28:11-19

29th December 2023 – Ezekiel 28:1-10

28th December 2023 – Ezekiel 27:1-36

27th December 2023 – Ezekiel 26:1-21

26th December 2023 – Ezekiel 26:1-21

25th December 2023 – Christmas or Xmas

24th December 2023 – The Hiddenness of Christmas