#1169 Ezekiel 30 Nebuchadnezzar's Egyptian Vacation

 

The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God:

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’

3 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.

4 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.

5 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.

6 “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.

7 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.

8 Then they will know that I am the Lord,

when I have set fire to Egypt,

and all her helpers are broken.

9 “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!

10 “Thus says the Lord God:

“I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt,

by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

11 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.

12 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.

13 “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.

14 I will make Pathros a desolation

and will set fire to Zoan

and will execute judgments on Thebes.

15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,

the stronghold of Egypt,

and cut off the multitude of Thebes.

16 And I will set fire to Egypt;

Pelusium shall be in great agony;

Thebes shall be breached,

and Memphis shall face enemies by day.

17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,

and the women shall go into captivity.

18 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.

19 Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 “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. 22 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. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 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. 25 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. 26 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 ESV

Ezekiel 30 A Lament for Egypt

i. In context, this was an audacious statement. “Imagine an exile from Judah, a third-rate Palestinian state whose future was very much in doubt, asserting that Judah’s national deity is about to bring an end to Egypt! When Ezekiel spoke these words, Egypt had existed for two and a half millennia. The pyramids, the symbol of the achievements of that great civilization, had stood already for two thousand years. What Egypt did is without parallel in human history, ancient or modern. In the face of this, Ezekiel had the temerity to declare that Egypt, its cities, its rulers, and its people were vulnerable to the judgment of Judah’s God. It was either outrageous delusion or great faith that led the prophet to utter this oracle of judgment against Egypt.” (Vawter and Hoppe)

1-5 The day of the Lord is near - This title will bear great significance in defining a final Day of the Lord which will be prophesied of in Daniel and Revelation, for the end of all worldly systems. What the prophet says here is also in line with previous prophecies from Isaiah and Jeremiah. Assyria has already taken a toll in these places, but now Babylon, the new world power, is coming against the proud.

Isaiah on Cush

Jeremiah 46 Egypt

Isaiah 20 Cush when Assyria led away many Cushites and Egyptians.

6-12 Those who support Egypt shall fall - If God is for me then who can be against me, but if God is against me then who shall be for me? Much of what we warn men against is futility, yet they cling to it anyway, and these shall stick to the dragon and become fish out of water.

“Who are the mingled people? The reference is so general that a positive identification cannot be made. They have been understood to be the foreigners who served in the Egyptian army as mercenary soldiers (cf. 27:10; Jeremiah 25:20, 24; 46:9, 21). Extrabiblical sources confirm the fact that Egypt made great use of hired soldiers from various nationalities. This is a possible, perhaps even a probable, interpretation of Ezekiel’s meaning.” (Feinberg)

It is interesting that she made promises of help to others, was the most ancient of large civilizations and world powers, but was known to be words sometimes which lacked power, and here her mercenaries will become as a fragile reed to her as well.

By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar - As discussed in the last chapter, Egypt becomes the payment to Babylon for the work that they do on behalf of the Lord. They have reached the fullness of the cup in that time, and now God is sending the Chaldeans for judgment.

And I will dry up the Nile - This would be the strength of Egypt, it's commerce, agriculture, life giving water, fishing industry and transportation. It is the richness of their hope. 

13-26 I will destroy the idols - One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord. He is not just the God of the Jews, but God only, for there is no other. Egypt has received much more light than many of the other nations, yet men suppress the truth, even destroy history, gouging their own eyes out.

I have broken the arm of Pharaoh - He has taken away his strength.

“The flexed arm was a common Egyptian symbol for the Pharaoh’s strength. Often statues or images of the Pharaoh have this arm flexed, wielding a sword in battle. A king with great biceps was especially a popular concept under the Saites Dynasty of Ezekiel’s day. In addition Hophra took a second formal title that meant ‘possessed of a muscular arm’ or ‘strong-armed.’” (Alexander)

Put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon - God is letting them know before hand, so that they do not confuse this with more superstition and idolatry. The sane mind should acknowledge that it was not the gods of Egypt, nor their soothsayers that predicted this. It will be of no avail to adopt the gods of Babylon either, for God will reveal Himself to Nebuchadnezzar so that he will eat grass for seven years, and has already predicted the coming of Cyrus against Babylon.

Isaiah 44

Isaiah 45 Cyrus by name

Then they will know that I am the Lord - People say they want to know the truth but do everything they can to avoid it, yet God will make it known, and it is His right as it is His creation. 

Read More

#1168 Ezekiel 29 Bending Reeds and Broken Hips

 

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; 3 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.’

4 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.

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.

6 Then 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, 7 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 shake. 8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and 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,’ 10 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. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 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.

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, 14 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. 15 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. 16 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.”

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. 19 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. 20 I 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.” Ezekiel 29 ESV

Ezekiel 29 Prophecy Against Egypt

…15For by this time I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the earth. 16But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth. 17Still, you lord it over My people and do not allow them to go.… Exodus 9: 15-17

1-6 Set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt - God has already had Ezekiel speak against the prince of Tyre and the king of Tyre, against Ammon, Moab and Seir, such as were under this world's system and the present ruler of this darkness. This is the most ancient of relations with Israel, for it is here that the twelve tribes grew, and from here that they were called out under the leadership of Moses. 

Isaiah against Egypt

The great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams - The Nile is famous for it's crocodiles, and the serpent of the OT, Satan, is also elevated from serpent, a creature of cunning in the garden, to dragon in the NT, a creature more feared. Pharaoh is a lesser type of dragon, not like the sea dragon, Leviathan, but fearsome none the less, yet men will be sent to capture him.

“Pharaoh was compared to a ferocious crocodile, guarding the waters of the land—the Nile and all the canals—and attacking anybody who dared to challenge his claims.” (Wiersbe)

…3Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth. 5And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.… Revelation 12: 3-5

…8But the dragon was not strong enough, and no longer was any place found in heaven for him and his angels. 9And the great dragon was hurled down— that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God.… Revelation 12: 8-10

My Nile is my own, I made it for myself - What a deranged statement, like Lucifer looking upon his beauty, and thinking it originated from himself, as though he was not the creature, the glory belonging to another. Pharaoh is also mad in that Egypt was great before him, God made the Nile which is the source of it's greatness. The Nile river's banks flood over every year, bringing nutrients into the surrounding land, much like deltas in other places, it is full of nutrients. The fish and crocodiles move up through the marshes, into the flooded fields, and everything is revived with minerals and fertilizer. As the water recedes the farmers plant crops in the rich soil, and also dig canals and aqueducts to irrigate even more land during the dryer times. When the river waters draw back down it is also the easiest time to fish, since everything is more concentrated. This land produces so well that Joseph was able to take a percentage of the crops for 7 years to get Egypt and its neighbors through the next 7 years of famine. 

“The Nile was the source of Egypt’s greatness. It provided rich alluvial soil along its banks, beyond which was desert. It provided a continuous supply of water to irrigate the land and to slake the thirst of the Egyptians and their animals. It provided a means of transportation that made it possible for Egypt to bring its bountiful harvests to market. There would be no Egypt without the Nile.” (Vawter and Hoppe)

Note, Worldly carnal minds please themselves with, and pride themselves in, their property, forgetting that whatever we have we have only the use of it, the property is in God. We ourselves are not our own, but his. Our tongues are not our own, Ps. 12:4. Our river is not our own, for its springs are in God. The most potent prince cannot call what he has his own, for, though it be so against all the world, it is not so against God. But Pharaoh's reason for his pretensions is yet more absurd: My river is my own, for I have made it for myself. Here he usurps two of the divine prerogatives, to be the author and the end of his own being and felicity. He only that is the great Creator can say of this world, and of every thing in it, I have made it for myself. He calls his river his own because he looks not unto the Maker thereof, nor has respect unto him that fashioned it long ago, Isa. 22:11. - Matthew Henry

I will put hooks in your jaw - This also made fun of Egypt's god, Sebek, the crocodile god, for the real God will put a hook in his mouth, and the more humiliating thing will be that God will send another king to do it, another man that thinks himself a god. If you have ever watched Swamp People then you get  a picture of this, with strong cord, a hook and some rotten chicken, only God would probably not consider Pharaoh a "twee Shakah". 

Fish of your streams that stick to your scales - The people of Egypt, those who revered the Pharaoh.

6-9 Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel - A staff is supposed to be strong; it promises support, but when they grabbed it pull themselves up, it caused them to tear their shoulders, and when they leaned on it, it would not support their weight. Now, it is interesting too, that Israel had been warned by God, through His prophets, not to go back to Egypt, not to put their trust in them, yet God will punish both. The one who promises to protect you, says they are a god, a deliverer in time of trouble, and the one who believes such a spirit of antichrist, both will receive their reward. Assyria knew of Egypt's boasting back when they came against Judah, but it was God who delivered Jerusalem then, and God Who warned Israel's kings not to go back that way. 

…20You claim to have a strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me? 21Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 2 Kings 18: 20-21

…15you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers. 16But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ 17He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.… 

10-21 As far as the border of Cush - Cush would be an area comprising modern day Ethiopia and then some. 

Land of Pathros - 

…10On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious. 11 On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.… Isaiah 11:11

Never again exalt itself above the nations - Egypt would never be a world power again, and it is actually gracious of God both on Egypt's account that He restored, but for Israel that Egypt was diminished. Think of the rich for whom it is more difficult to come to God then for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, he trust in his riches. God took Israel's crutch, their temptation of misplaced trust, this superstitious land, with it's leaders that thought themselves gods, and He turned the staff to splinters. 

Wright explained his understanding of this promised and limited restoration: “The restoration of Egypt came under Greek rule, and Alexandria especially became an important centre of Judaism and Christianity, thus probably fulfilling Isaiah 19.19-25.”

iii. The lowliest of kingdoms: “Egypt did suffer from Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion, and its rule over the nations was broken and never regained. They declined under the Persians, the Ptolemies and Rome. Egypt has been a weak country in the centuries since except for a momentary revival of power during the Middle Ages.” (Feinberg)

Every shoulder was rubbed bare - Nebuchadnezzar and his army worked hard to bring down Tyre, worked themselves to the bone so to speak. Tyre is two parts though, one a city on the mainland and the other a fortified island. When Babylon put them under siege they were probably able to take most of their wealth to the island and then ship much of it away as well, for Tyre was well loved among the nations, with many allies in commerce. 

“The 1st-cent. a. D.Jewish historian and apologist Flavius Josephus stated that the Babylonian siege of Tyre lasted for thirteen years (Antiquities x. 11.1). Tyre consumed its treasures in its own defense or otherwise made them unavailable to the Babylonians.” (Vawter and Hoppe)

Because they worked for me - This again expresses God's sovereignty in history. The Babylonians did what came naturally to them, and did not see themselves as the ministers of this Hebrew God, yet He accomplished His purposes through them. Just like Israel paid for trusting in Egypt, Egypt paid for their unbelief in the true God, the Pharaoh for his pride, and so will Babylon for her arrogance and excess, yet right now God is rewarding them for their work in removing the stumbling block of Egypt. 

I will open your lips among them - They will have seen fulfillment of many prophecies at that time, Isaiah's, Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's, which should give them ears much more inclined to hear. All their hope in rescue from Egypt will be gone, which had been told them all along. 

“This seems to mean that the skepticism of the captives regarding Ezekiel would be removed and they would come to regard him as a true prophet.” (Smith)

Read More

#1167 Ezekiel 28 Part 5 Briers and Thorns

 

The word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her 22 and say, Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,

and I will manifest my glory in your midst.

And they shall know that I am the Lord

when I execute judgments in her

and manifest my holiness in her;

23 for I will send pestilence into her,

and blood into her streets;

and the slain shall fall in her midst,

by the sword that is against her on every side.

Then they will know that I am the Lord.

24 “And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.

Israel Gathered in Security

25 “Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.” Ezekiel 28: 20-26

Ezekiel 28: 20-26

13Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades!… Luke 10: 13-15

20-24 Set your face toward Sidon - Now Sidon and Tyre are often stated together, and in earlier passages we see that they provided labor to Tyre, and that Sidon was a close neighbor, tied to Tyre's trade. 

Sidon “was a great city in Joshua’s time, Joshua 11:8, 19:28, and built by Sidon, Canaan’s son, Genesis 10:15 1 Chronicles 1:13; a famous mart full of merchants, like Tyre, and as full of sin as riches.” (Poole)

ii. “In Ezekiel’s day, Sidon was not a very important state. In comparison with Tyre, its neighbor 40 km. (15 mi.) to the south, Sidon was insignificant though once it had been a formidable power.” (Vawter and Hoppe)

And I will manifest My glory in your midst - God is sovereign above all the universe, so how much more above something as small as our planet or minute as one of it's cities. In the past passages we have looked at individuals, Lucifer in particular, who would try to rob God of His glory, but let's examine the effect of these upon God's glory.

1. When sin entered the world it showed or revealed God's otherliness, the glory of His holiness, for He never wavered, never stepped down from righteousness. His holiness was eternal, infinite, and now contrasted by evil.

…21Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use? 22 What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction? 23What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—… Romans 9: 21-23

2. When God judges sin it is to the glory of His justice, that what He calls sin He remains infinitely opposed to. This applies to everyone who sins, those who have received light and not, let our words match our deeds.

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. Romans 2: 1-5

3.When God forgives sinners, it is to the glory of His mercy. 

He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality. Romans 2: 6-11

…12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Matthew 9: 12-13

…15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”… Romans 9: 15-17

4. When sinners come to God for forgiveness it is to the glory of His grace, and it shows Him sovereign in salvation. It is the greatest miracle, new birth, the gift of faith. It is to His glory that sinners receive this gift of repentance. 

…6Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”…John 3: 6-8

…7in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast.… Ephesians 2: 7-9

5. When He punishes sin it is justice, yet when shows mercy He does not expel justice. It is to the glory of His great love that He furnishes such a way to hold both His holiness in tact, and yet redeem the elect, and this all in the sacrifice of His Son. This is the glory of redemption. That history has not ended all rests upon the righteousness of Christ, and the predicted sacrifice of Him for our sin, which sacrifice He fulfilled at the cross.

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;… Romans 5: 1-3

…20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. 21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5: 20-21

…4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. 6In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.… Hebrews 10: 4-6

Then they will know that I am the Lord - The God that cursed the world after the fall of Adam and Eve, those He had put over the earth, it's representative heads, human kind, when they fell it took all of Creation with them. Now this God has done so against that parasite called sin, that which is beneath His glory, deluded and against His perfect order, He has promised to rid the world of it. When God comes to judge then they will know why and Who He is, for it is given to all to die and then the judgment. Oh that we would look upon His judgments in history and repent. 

12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. 13But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.… Hebrews 3: 12-14

Brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them - Now some will insist that this has already been fulfilled in the predicted return from Babylon, but any student of the Bible will recognize that they were still agitated by the people of the land. This looks forward to a time of perfection, of Messianic rule, when Christ brings peace. Israel's neighbors are still a thorn to them to this day, but miraculously they are a nation once again, though Tyre is no longer a great port or power. Now many that insisted upon this were initially before the time of modern Israel, and yet even now their replacement theology has gained popularity once again. God is not done with the nation of Israel, and one day He will remove both the threat and the ungodly influence of her neighbors.

25-26 When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered - This was predicted back in Moses time, when they were heading in to the promised land, after their deliverance from the Egyptian captivity. They went under Assyrian captivity in the north, Babylonian, Persian and Roman, yet in these modern times they have come back to Israel from all over the world, to be recognized once again.

…2and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey His voice with all your heart and all your soul according to everything I am giving you today, 3then He will restore you from captivity and have compassion on you and gather you from all the nations to which the LORD your God has scattered you. 4Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there.… Deuteronomy 30: 2-4

…2Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD. 3Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply. 4I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.… Jeremiah 23: 2-4

They shall dwell securely - History has proven that there is no long term security for any nation as a whole, not under any system designed and ruled by fallen creatures. This looks forward to a Millennial Kingdom ruled by Christ. 

…23How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 25There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves.… Luke 21: 23-25

1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.… Revelation 20: 1-3

…9They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water. 10 On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious. 11On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.… Isaiah 11: 9-11

God’s glory will be shown on the last day when He executes final judgment. On that day, the whole world will see His righteousness as everything is set right and the wicked get the justice they deserve. Let us give glory to God for His justice and pray that the day on which that justice is fully revealed comes quickly. - Ligonier Ministries

Read More

#1166 Ezekiel 28 Part 4 A Narcissist's Mirror

 

You were blameless in your ways

from the day you were created,

till unrighteousness was found in you.

16 In the abundance of your trade

you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;

so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,

and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub,

from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;

you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

I cast you to the ground;

I exposed you before kings,

to feast their eyes on you.

18 By the multitude of your iniquities,

in the unrighteousness of your trade

you profaned your sanctuaries;

so I brought fire out from your midst;

it consumed you,

and I turned you to ashes on the earth

in the sight of all who saw you.

19 All who know you among the peoples

are appalled at you;

you have come to a dreadful end

and shall be no more forever.” Ezekiel 28: 15-19 ESV

Ezekiel 28: Cast Out 

…9I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.… John 10: 9-11

16 In the abundance of your trade - The earthly king of Tyre was a wicked man just like the Babylonian king addressed in Isaiah 14, both had big empires and traded with lots of other kingdoms, but the real power behind them was Satan. We are commanded in scripture to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, to lean not on our our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him. We are commanded to love our neighbor as our self, but pride is at enmity with reason, and it seeks to dethrone God and smash His image in our neighbor. The earthly kings dealt not only in goods but in people, and what God said was of little concern to them, they openly rebelled with unjust weights and immorality. Their reasoning was twisted, and the voice they followed was the one that wanted to steal what belongs to God, His glory, and to rob Him of His sovereignty. Satan moved from there to kill humanity, and those that follow him are also quick to shed blood. From his fall to this very day, he has tried to destroy God's purpose in redemption. 

This connection between Tyre and Satan shows that the devil can be in business just as much as in armies and war. “Tyre’s strength and influence were commercial rather than military, and it is interesting and suggestive that in this connection we find the most graphic and illuminating portrayal of Satan to be found in the whole Bible.” (Morgan)

…8Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.… 1 Peter 5: 8-10

You were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned - What was the violence? Iniquity was found in him, we are told in verse 15, and it is the sin of pride, which we can see from the 5 I's of Isaiah 14. "You said in your heart", that is where it originated from, not from God, but from Satan's own mind, and a place off limits to us, but not to God. He knows where sin originates from because nothing is veiled to Him, not even your thoughts which give birth to sin. Note, remember, God did not apologize to Adam for making Eve, nor does He apologize for making women beautiful or attractive, yet He holds men accountable for their sin. It starts in your heart, and that is where the battle is either fought or lost, for good or evil. 

27You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5: 27-28

13 You said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;

above the stars of God

I will set my throne on high;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

in the far reaches of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14: 13-14

Isaiah 14

The commentator from Enduring Word puts together an interesting thought with Satan's violence towards mankind:

This violence against humanity is perhaps explained by the idea that Satan rejected God’s plan to create an order of beings made in His image (Genesis 1:26), who would be beneath the angels in dignity (Hebrews 2:6-7a; 2 Peter 2:11), yet would be served by angels in the present (Hebrews 1:14; 2:7-8; Psalm 91:11-12) and would one day be lifted in honor and status above the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3; 1 John 3:2). Satan wanted to be the highest among all creatures, equal to God in glory and honor, and the plan to create man would eventually put men above angels. He was apparently able to persuade one-third of the angelic beings to join him in his rebellion (Revelation 12:3-4, 7, and 9).

ii. If this is the case, it explains well Satan’s present strategy against man: to obscure the image of God in man through encouraging sin and rebellion, to cause man to serve him, and to prevent the ultimate glorification of man. - E Word

When he says, "above the stars of God", this speaks of the angels, and he no longer sees himself as in a position where God placed him, to bring and reflect God's glory back to God. It is no longer enough for him to be a leader in worship, but he wants to be the object of worship from the other angels. Humans, who are made a little lower than the angels, are not to worship angels, and neither should angels. 

…9Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” 11Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war.… Revelation 19: 9-11

8I am the LORD; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols. Isaiah 42:8

I will set my throne...I will sit on the mount of assembly - Here is the violence, an uprising, and we are not unfamiliar with this in history. There have been military coups, violent rioting, even satanically referred to as "peaceful protest", all when someone wants power. Now, there are times when men have stood against evil, and have used violence to defend themselves against others, but this is against good, against logic and reason; Satan is trying to take the throne of God. It is insanity to entertain such, for there is nothing like God, none to take His place, for through Him everything was made. The creaturely always looks up to the Creator.

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds - I think and believe, as many commentators, that this reference to the clouds is not the clouds that we see in our atmosphere, but the Shekinah glory. He would rise above God's glory in this reprobate phantasy, so that his glory would exceed the glory of the Most High. As the last I states, "I will make myself like the Most High", a title reserved to God alone. 

…16and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop in the eyes of the Israelites. 18Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.… Exodus 24: 16-18

So I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God - This is the highest that anyone has ever fallen from, the place of the covering angel, facing the glory of God on His throne, a place of great honor, and it all happened very rapidly. 

17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” 18So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.… Luke 10: 17-19

17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty - Now we get a little closer look at the steps. He was made beautiful, but He was also made intelligent and rational. This is a difficult concept for our depraved world, for we worship beauty rather than the Creator of the beauty, and we think that's a good thing. I know I wanted to look differently for a long time, it seemed that those with exceptional looks had a notably greater advantage in this world. Now my motives for it were not pure, for they seemed to need very little game, girls just came to them. People picked them for jobs even when they weren't as experienced. In fact, there was a whole line of jobs that were built around this particular talent they had, of being pretty. There were beauty products so other people could look like them, hair implants, breast augmentation, and then as the demands of beauty changed, well then their was butt augmentation and even Groucho Marks style eye brows, still haven't figured that one out. Satan jumped a step, saying, because I look like this, I deserve to be worshiped, rather than saying, I look like this because God made me, so if you find me beautiful, well then the credit belongs to Him, and you know what, that would have made Lucifer even more beautiful than his outward appearance, because it would have been the perfection of reason and his assignment. The prince of Tyre and Babylon obtain this worship through wealth, and some use the massive intellects that God gave them to do the same. Our world is obsessed with billionaires, super models, rock stars, divas and the like, but they are all walking a very short plank. Beauty fades, money doesn't come with you after you die, and it is only as good as you spend it here. Quit justifying vain thoughts, fight it.

You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor - You knew better, but you deceived your own self for the sake of pride, for self worship that then violently hungered for the worship of others, desiring their corruption as well. 

Let me put it to you simply. God is not responsible for evil; His creatures are. God is not responsible for evil; His creatures are. Everything, listen to this carefully, that God created was very what? Good. Everything. This is affirmed throughout the Scripture. In Habakkuk chapter 1, “God is of purer eyes than to approve evil or behold evil. He cannot look on wickedness.” Habakkuk chapter 1 verse 13. First Corinthians 14:33 says, “God is not the author of confusion.” Confusion is a product of sin. First John 1:5 says, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” James 1:13 says, “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts He any man.” First John 2:16 says, “All that is in the world,” all evil categorically, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father.” Psalm 5:4, “You are not of God who has pleasure in wickedness, neither will evil dwell with you,” Psalm 5:4. In fact, on a positive note, Isaiah 6, the antiphonal cry of the angels was that God was holy, holy, holy.

You see a glimpse of that, of course, when Jesus came into the world, God in human flesh. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. God is not evil. God does not do evil. He cannot be tempted to do evil. He never tempts anybody else to do evil. God is not responsible for evil. The source of evil, the source of sin is outside God. When God created angels and God created humans, He gave them intelligence, He gave them reason, and He gave them choice. - J Mac

I exposed you before kings - Satan will not always remain behind the scenes, but his works will one day be exposed. He was defeated at the cross, and one day everyone will acknowledge this fact when every knee is bowed and they will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Satan will be far more like the human prince of Tyre than the God he tried to usurp. The other kings and traders thought Tyre was forever because of it's position in the sea, it's greatness in commerce, wealth that could buy armies and people, yet this world's system comes to an end. These passages are very helpful in dealing with the eschatology of later books from Daniel all the way to Revelation. Some think, and I am of the mind, that the relationship between Satan and the king of Babylon mentioned in Isaiah 14 points to the antichrist of Revelation. The pattern is the same, he is the ruler of this world, and that will come to an end. It is also interesting that the anti Christ will publicly display his defeat of the two witnesses in the end, but like the king of Tyre, his defeat will also go on public display.

He was exposed to contempt and disgrace, and trampled upon by his neighbours: "I will cast thee to the ground (v. 17), will cast thee among the pavement-stones, from the midst of the precious stones, and will lay thee a rueful spectacle before kings, that they may behold thee and take warning by thee not to be proud and oppressive." - Matthew Henry

…10And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them. 11But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them. 12And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them.… Revelation 11: 10-12

And I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you - 

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20: 7-10

This was true of literal Tyre, and already fulfilled. “Instead of being an object of adoration thou shalt be a subject of horror, and at last be destroyed with thy city, so that nothing but thy name shall remain. It was entirely burnt by Alexander the Great, as it had been before by Nebuchadnezzar.” (Clarke) It will also one day be true of Satan, the power and influence behind Tyre.

Read More