FRAMEWORKS:
Ezekiel 29: Prophecies,
Parts 1 & 2 against Egypt
Context
Part
5b Egypt
Ch.29
– Prophecies,
Parts 1 & 2 against Egypt
Ch.30
– Prophecies,
Parts 3 & 4 against Egypt
Ch.31
– Prophecy,
Part 5 against Egypt
Ch.32
– Prophecies,
Parts 6 & 7 against Egypt
[Preliminary
Comment : The next FOUR chapters turn the focus on Egypt
with seven prophecies beginning with the familiar, “the
word of the Lord came to me”. The first two in this chapter first
denounce Pharaoh's pride and then his failure to support Israel
and then they go on to declare that the Lord will use Nebuchadnezzar
to humble and bring down Egypt for forty years. Note that although
we refer to seven prophecies they were mostly sequential
– see the dating in 29:1, 29:17, 30:20, 31:11, 32:1, 32:17 There
was no dating for the 3 rd prophecy which means we assume it was
at the same time as the 2 nd one which appears to come seventeen
years later than the first one. 4-7 seem to flow on chronologically
from the first one. See the Introduction to Ezekiel for notes
on timing.]
v.1,2
Start of the FIRST Word against Egypt
v.1
In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the
twelfth day, [1]
the word
of the Lord came to me:
v.2
‘Son
of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt
and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
[Notes:
The
year is probably 587BC the year of the fall of Jerusalem. The
Lord is calling Pharaoh and all Egypt to account.]
v.3-6a
First two complaints about Egypt – pride
v.3
Speak
to him and say: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
‘“I
am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
you great monster lying among your streams.
[i] You
say, ‘The Nile belongs to me;
[ii] I
made it for myself.'
v.4
But I will
put hooks in your jaws
and make the fish of your streams stick
to your scales.
I will pull you out from among your streams,
with all the fish sticking to your scales.
v.5
I will leave
you in the desert,
you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open field
and not be gathered or picked up.
I will give you as food
to the beasts of the earth and the birds
of the sky.
v.6
Then
all who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.
[Notes:
Because
they made such a thing of the Nile [a god], Pharaoh is portrayed
as a river monster who God will pull out from its safe environment.]
v.6b-9a
Third complaint – you failed to be a support to Israel
[iii]
‘“You have been a staff of reed for
the people of Israel.
v.7
When
they grasped you with their hands, you splintered and you tore
open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their
backs were wrenched.
v.8
‘“Therefore
this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against
you and kill both man and beast.
v.9
Egypt
will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am
the Lord.
[Notes:
Moreover,
even when Israel should have turned to the Lord for their support
but instead turned to Egypt for support, they were still God's
people and Egypt did not support them accordingly.]
v.9b-12
First two complaints reiterated and condemnation – desolation
[i
& ii] ‘“Because you said, ‘The
Nile is mine; I made it,'
v.10
therefore
I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the
land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan,
as far as the border of Cush.
v.11
The
foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will
live there for forty years.
v.12
I
will make the land of Egypt desolate among devastated lands, and
her cities will lie desolate for forty years among ruined cities.
And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter
them through the countries.
[Notes:
Because
of their pride [and robbing God of His glory as Creator?] the
Lord would humble them by bringing them down for a forty-year
humbling period.]
v.13-16
Although the Lord will restore them after forty years they will
be humbled
v.13
‘“Yet
this is what the Sovereign Lord says: at the end of forty years
I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered.
v.14
I
will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt,
the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
v.15
It
will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself
above the other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never
again rule over the nations.
v.16
Egypt
will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of Israel
but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her for help.
Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”'
[Notes:
They
will be exiled for forty years to do this, but then the Lord will
have them returned to their land – weak and humbled.]
v.17-21
The SECOND Word – Nebuchadnezzar will come
v.17
In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month
on the first day, [2] the
word of the Lord came to me:
v.18
‘Son
of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon drove his army in a hard
campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare and every shoulder
made raw. Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign
he led against Tyre.
v.19
Therefore
this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am going to give Egypt
to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth.
He will loot and plunder the land as pay for his army.
v.20
I
have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts because he and
his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.
v.21
‘On
that day I will make a horn grow for the Israelites, and I will
open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the
Lord.'
[Notes:
In
the second word that comes to Ezekiel about Egypt, the Lord declares
that He will use Nebuchadnezzar to bring them down. Note that
if the dating is right, this prophecy came seventeen years later
than the previous one. We should see these four chapters as simply
a collection of the prophecies that Ezekiel brought at various
times against Egypt.]
Continue
to Chapter 30