#1171 Ezekiel 32 Polluted Waters

 

In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

“You consider yourself a lion of the nations,

but you are like a dragon in the seas;

you burst forth in your rivers,

trouble the waters with your feet,

and foul their rivers.

3 Thus says the Lord God:

I will throw my net over you

with a host of many peoples,

and they will haul you up in my dragnet.

4 And I will cast you on the ground;

on the open field I will fling you,

and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you,

and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you.

5 I will strew your flesh upon the mountains

and fill the valleys with your carcass.

6 I will drench the land even to the mountains

with your flowing blood,

and the ravines will be full of you.

7 When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens

and make their stars dark;

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

and the moon shall not give its light.

8 All the bright lights of heaven

will I make dark over you,

and put darkness on your land,

declares the Lord God.

9 “I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known. 10 I will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when I brandish my sword before them. They shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.

11 “For thus says the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most ruthless of nations.

“They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,

and all its multitude shall perish.

13 I will destroy all its beasts

from beside many waters;

and no foot of man shall trouble them anymore,

nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.

14 Then I will make their waters clear,

and cause their rivers to run like oil,

declares the Lord God.

15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate,

and when the land is desolate of all that fills it,

when I strike down all who dwell in it,

then they will know that I am the Lord.

16 This is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord God.”

17 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:

19 ‘Whom do you surpass in beauty?

Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’

20 They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes. 21 The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

22 “Assyria is there, and all her company, its graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, 23 whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

24 “Elam is there, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. 25 They have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are placed among the slain.

26 “Meshech-Tubal is there, and all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living. 27 And they do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living. 28 But as for you, you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.

29 “Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

30 “The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

31 “When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord God. 32 For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.” Ezekiel 32 ESV

Ezekiel 32 Lament Over Pharaoh and Egypt

1-8 You consider yourself a lion of the nations - He stalks, and likes to see himself as other men see themselves, those that say "perception is reality", but he is not roaming about the nations like his master. If or when men rightly see themselves, it is a humbling thing, for until then we are the hero of our own stories, and we think that things can be fixed with words, saying the right thing for every circumstance.

But you are like a dragon in the seas - You need the mighty Nile more than she ever needed you. It is how you get around, how you have, where you lay in wait to tax those who come to drink. Meanwhile your industry fouls what was once clear and pristine. You turn your home into a toilet. 

I will throw my net over you - He says, "with a host of many people", so a great force will be used by God, an army of Chaldeans, who will remove Pharaoh and his armies.

And will cause all the birds of heaven to settle on you - Like the cedar of Assyria in the previous chapter. This would not go over well with any of the Pharaohs, for they were a people who put much thought into the afterlife, misguided as they were, they had many rituals surrounding death. No Egyptian would want to be left above ground as food for the vultures. Look at the pyramids, embalming, and the massive preparations for funerals.

Put darkness on your land - This was not the first time, but it will come with less warning, no building up to it with other signs and plagues. God turned the Nile into blood in Moses day and also brought complete darkness, but this time the blood is their own.

This reminds us of the ninth of the plagues that came upon Egypt in Moses’ day, darkness for three days over the whole land (Exodus 10:21-29). God had judged Egypt before and would do it again. God exalted Himself over the idols of Egypt and would do it again.

i. When I put out your light: “The term kaba, which is used concretely of snuffing out a wick or a lamp, is occasionally used figuratively of death.” (Block)

ii. “It would be as if ‘a great darkness covered the land’ (vv.7–8), demonstrating that Egypt’s great sun gods were impotent to help.” (Alexander)

9-15 Kings shall bristle with horror because of you - Remember, she was Judah's hope against God's warning. She was known to be puffed up, a promise breaker, yet people still trusted against reality. For other kings comes the realization, that Egypt, who they thought strong, even stronger than their own armies, was destroyed by Babylon. Will Nebuchadnezzar look at my kingdom next? 

16-31 Who do you surpass in beauty - Which rotting corpse is prettier to you?

“How little does it signify, whether a mummy be well embalmed, wrapped round with rich stuff, and beautifully painted on the outside, or not. Go down into the tombs, examine the niches, and see whether one dead carcass be preferable to another.” (Clarke)

When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted - Probably some sarcasm here, but their is a cliché, yet true saying, that misery loves company. Your enemy is always glad of your demise, unless he has something to gain by your success, as in a battle with someone he hates more than you. Pharaoh will see Assyria, Edom and so on in the pit. Interesting, not the comfort of friends, but of enemies.

“This is the only consolation Pharaoh can find. He is in the company of every kind of fallen greatness.” (Wright)

ii. “Pharaoh also, who said he was a god, shall be found among the vulgar dead.” (Clarke)

iii. “The prophet’s declaration that ‘Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted,’ is appalling, as it reveals that the only comfort that can come to him is the profound sense of the operation of infinite justice in the punishment of all, himself included, who have been guilty of the abominations which have issued in the judgment of Jehovah.” (Morgan)