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BIBLE
STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday April 5, 2015
EGYPT COMPARED TO FALLEN ASSYRIA
(A warning for Pharaoh)
Ezekiel 31-32
Early in 587 B.C., only months before Nebuchadnezzar’s final
destruction of Jerusalem, and only two months after the prophecy of doom that
was recorded against Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt in chapter 30 (Vs.20-26), Ezekiel
delivers yet another message to the ill-fated leader and his army from northern
Africa.
In chapter 31, verses 1-9, the Lord uses the anthropomorphism of a
“great cedar tree” to depict the characteristics of greatness that was once associated
with Egypt’s former enemy, the fallen nation of Assyria. Here, it is GOD’s way
of showing Egypt, who was not nearly as powerful as Assyria, just how easily HE
could chop them down to size.
Egypt, who was just as proud as Assyria once was, was destined to
fall just as hard as Assyria did. GOD, WHO brought down Assyria using Babylon
as a weapon, was more than capable of doing the same to Egypt, using the same
“instrument of destruction” (Babylon) that HE used to bring Assyria down with. Remember,
Nineveh, Assyria’s capital city, was destroyed by Nabopolassar,
Nebuchadnezzar’a father, in 612 B.C., and now Nebuchadnezzar would finish the
job that his father started, as he would crush Assyria entirely, in 609 B.C.
In this chapter (Vs.10-14), GOD uses Assyria as an example for
Egypt because of their common history with each other, and their common bout
with the sin of “pride”. Assyria was the only Mesopotamian nation to ever invade
the nation of Egypt (see Nahum 3:8-10), where in 633 B.C. Assyria invaded and
destroyed the city of Thebes, when it was Egypt’s capital city. However, the
city had, since that time, been rebuilt by the Egyptians and restored to its
former self, although it was no longer her capital. And so we see that both
nations shared, a common history, and in a short while, both would share a
common fate of destiny in destruction.
Egypt would soon die and descend to the pits of Hell, just as
Assyria had, and all of the other nations that dared to defy the sovereign GOD
of the universe. Pride is always a deal- breaker, as far as GOD is concerned,
and so Egypt would have to fall by the same sword, for the same reason as
Assyria had fell (Vs.15-18).
In Ezekiel 32, verses 1-16, we see the sixth prophecy of Ezekiel
against Egypt. It comes in the twelfth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity in
Babylon, and it is only two months after the destruction of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces in 586 B.C. The news of Jerusalem’s
fall had already reached Babylon and now Nebuchadnezzar’s work slate showed a
vacancy that could be filled by an attack on Egypt.
Egypt had carefully witnessed the fall of Jerusalem, and may have
even felt a sense of pride in her own survival thus far. Here Ezekiel puts a
damper on those prideful feelings as he depicts Egypt as a nation that has
already experienced its own death. And even though they felt confident that her
gods would come to their rescue, GOD’s condemnation, as believers know, would
transcend and overcome their faith in a false religious system that was fueled
only by their own foolishness ingenuity. And so, it is a most appropriate time
for the “funeral song” that is presented here in the opening verses of this
chapter for Egypt.
2 “You think of yourself as a
strong young lion among the nations,
but you are really just a sea monster,
heaving around in your own rivers,
stirring up mud with your feet.
3 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I will send many people
to catch you in my net
and haul you out of the water.
4 I will leave you stranded on the land to die.
All the birds of the heavens will land on you,
and the wild animals of the whole earth
will gorge themselves on you.
5 I will scatter your flesh on the hills
and fill the valleys with your bones.
6 I will drench the earth with your gushing blood
all the way to the mountains,
filling the ravines to the brim.
7 When I blot you out,
I will veil the heavens and darken the stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give you its light.
8 I will darken the bright stars overhead
and cover your land in darkness.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
but you are really just a sea monster,
heaving around in your own rivers,
stirring up mud with your feet.
3 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I will send many people
to catch you in my net
and haul you out of the water.
4 I will leave you stranded on the land to die.
All the birds of the heavens will land on you,
and the wild animals of the whole earth
will gorge themselves on you.
5 I will scatter your flesh on the hills
and fill the valleys with your bones.
6 I will drench the earth with your gushing blood
all the way to the mountains,
filling the ravines to the brim.
7 When I blot you out,
I will veil the heavens and darken the stars.
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give you its light.
8 I will darken the bright stars overhead
and cover your land in darkness.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
9 “I will disturb many
hearts when I bring news of your downfall to distant nations you have never
seen. 10 Yes, I will shock many lands, and
their kings will be terrified at your fate. They will shudder in fear for their
lives as I brandish my sword before them on the day of your fall. 11 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“The sword of the king of Babylon
will come against you.
12 I will destroy your hordes with the swords of mighty warriors—
the terror of the nations.
They will shatter the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 I will destroy all your flocks and herds
that graze beside the streams.
Never again will people or animals
muddy those waters with their feet.
14 Then I will let the waters of Egypt become calm again,
and they will flow as smoothly as olive oil,
says the Sovereign Lord.
15 And when I destroy Egypt
and strip you of everything you own
and strike down all your people,
then you will know that I am the Lord.
16 Yes, this is the funeral song
they will sing for Egypt.
Let all the nations mourn.
Let them mourn for Egypt and its hordes.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (NLT)
will come against you.
12 I will destroy your hordes with the swords of mighty warriors—
the terror of the nations.
They will shatter the pride of Egypt,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.
13 I will destroy all your flocks and herds
that graze beside the streams.
Never again will people or animals
muddy those waters with their feet.
14 Then I will let the waters of Egypt become calm again,
and they will flow as smoothly as olive oil,
says the Sovereign Lord.
15 And when I destroy Egypt
and strip you of everything you own
and strike down all your people,
then you will know that I am the Lord.
16 Yes, this is the funeral song
they will sing for Egypt.
Let all the nations mourn.
Let them mourn for Egypt and its hordes.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (NLT)
Even though Pharaoh Hophra viewed himself as being as powerful as
any of the “Davidic Kings” (lions of Judah) of Israel, including David and
Solomon, here in verse 2 GOD says that HE is more like the “sea monster”
(Leviathan – the demon “Envy”) who was jealous of the Jewish kings. GOD says HE
will send Babylon’s army on a “crocodile hunt” and pluck him out of his muddy
(Nile) river (out of his element), kill him, and leave him on dry land to be
consumed by the wildlife of the earth (Vs.2-6).
In verses 7-8, GOD makes reference to the Egyptian’s main god, “Ra”,
or “Osiris” the sun god. Here GOD says that HE will blot out the sun that they
worshipped so dearly, and neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, would
shine over Egypt in the day of their demise. Ra would not be able to save them
from destruction, nor would he be able to show himself to their demented minds.
Many nations that had confidence in Egypt and her gods, would be
disturbed and disappointed at the shellacking that GOD puts on the idolatrous
nation, at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces. Egypt’s pride
would be shattered, and all of her allies would be destroyed also (Vs.9-12).
All the animals and livestock would die on the banks of the Nile, the source of
most of Egypt’s idol gods (v.13a). Afterwards, when all of the demons that
received worship from the people are removed from the Nile, the waters would
become calm again (v.13b-14).
In the seventh and final prophecy against Egypt (Vs.17-32), also
coming during the twelfth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity in Babylon, the
prophet Ezekiel prophesies of the descent of the nation of Egypt into the pits
of Hell (Sheol), where other nations who rebelled against GOD already resided.
Here we see that GOD’s judgment of Egypt, as it is for all who
defy HIM, had already been sealed, and her appointment or “reservation” to the
grave was already made. Her arrival in Sheol would be mocked by those prideful
armies who had previously fallen by the sword of GOD (Babylon), and were
waiting for her to join them in death.
Among the host of outcasts in Sheol (Vs.22-30) were;
·
Assyria, the conqueror of northern Israel in 722 B.C. They themselves
were conquered and destroyed by Babylon in 609 B.C.
·
Elam, who was subdued by Assyria and later destroyed by the sword of
Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army.
·
Meshech and Tubal, tribes of two of the descendants of Japheth (1
Chronicles 1:5), the son of Noah. They were located somewhere in the area that
is now eastern and central Turkey. This passage states that “they once struck
terror in the hearts of all people, but were now outcasts and victims of the
sword”. They were not buried in honor like the fallen heroes of the other
outcast nations who died, and were buried without their weapons and shields
(Vs.26-27).
·
Edom was also there in Sheol with its once mighty kings and princes,
all who had been slain by the sword of Babylon.
·
Sidon who was once a terror, also now lies in shame, a victim of the
sword of Babylon, the instrument of GOD’s judgment.
In verses 31-32, Ezekiel says that when Pharaoh Hophra arrives in
Hell he will be relieved to find that he was not alone, and he relished in the
fact that he had taken a multitude of people to Hell with him (v.31).
As Christians, we need to be very careful about whom we choose to
hang out with, or follow in this world. There are some among us, including
spiritual leaders, who do not have our best interest at heart. They only want
us to live to satisfy their own desires, and to Hell with what happens to the
souls of others, in the process. Stay tuned.
A Sunday school lesson by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website
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