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 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.
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.
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