Ezekiel 29:13

Ezekiel 29:13 says, Yet thus saith the Lord God; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered:  God said that after forty yea rs, He was going to gather the people of Egypt from wherever they were scattered.  They were going to be scattered in other countries for forty years, the same amount of time the people of Israel had wandered in the wilderness after God delivered them from captivity in Egypt years before.  This would correspond with the time that Cyrus became the ruler and seventy years after the people of Judah were taken away captive. Even if a nation, or a person, turns away from God and suffers for it in this lifetime, if they repent and come to Him by faith, it is never too late to be restored.  Of course, the people of Egypt did not turn to God, so their restoration, no matter how long it lasted, would only be temporary.

 Verse fourteen adds, And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom.  God said for those forty years, the people of Egypt, who had once been rich and powerful, would be the lowest of people.  They would be humbled before God and before the rest of the world, but then He would restore them as a nation.  Powerful nations often fall, especially if they are standing against God, and often their fall is great.  

Verse fifteen continues, It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.  God said that once He sent His judgment on Egypt it would then be seen as the basest of kingdoms and would never again rule over other nations.  When God’s final judgment comes on Satan and those who serve them, they will become the basest of beings and will never again rule or even have any power over those who are redeemed by accepting God’s gift of salvation.   

Verse sixteen concludes, And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord God.  God said that when Egypt fell never to be a great power again that the people of Israel would quit looking to them for their strength which caused them to fall into iniquity.  Then, the people would know that God is God.  As followers of Christ, we cannot look to anyone or anything in the world to bring us peace and happiness outside of God’s will, and if we do, it is going to fail.  Then when we realize this, we should once again acknowledge that God alone is God.  

Ezekiel 29:8

Ezekiel 29 :8 says, Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee.  God said that He was going to bring a sword against the people of Egypt and they and their animals would be killed.   I am always reluctant to say that God actually caused the destruction of anyone, but if He knew that they were never going to repent and turn to Him, He may have.  I do know that one day, everyone who has not put their faith in Jesus Christ will be sent away to everlasting punishment, which is much worse than just dying physically.  

Verse nine adds, And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it.  God said that Egypt was going to become desolate, because they had claimed that the river was the source of their power, even claiming that they had made the river. People may claim many things to be their source of power today, other than God, and may even claim that some other gods are responsible for their success, but they will one day find out how wrong they were.   

Verse ten continues, Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. God said He was against the people of Egypt and their rivers, and their entire land was going to be laid waste.  If God is against us today, or I believe more accurately if we are against Him, one day everything we have will be destroyed and we will go away to everlasting punishment. If we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, this will never apply to us though. 

Verse eleven states, No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. God said that no man or beast would pass through Egypt and it would be uninhabited for forty years.  The punishment of the land of Egypt itself was to be for a limited time, but those of her people who died without asking God’s forgiveness would suffer their punishment forever.  Sometimes, a nation may become almost desolate because of their claiming that other gods have made them successful, but the main concern should always be what will happen to the people of that nation who have denied God.  

Verse twelve adds, And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.   God said that Egypt was going to become desolate for forty years and her people were to become scattered throughout the other nations.  When God’s final judgment comes, those who are sent away for their refusal to accept God’s gift of salvation will be sent away to everlasting punishment and it will not matter what happens to their country and their punishment will not be for a limited time but will be forever.

Ezekiel 29:1

Ezekiel 29:1 says, In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Once more, Ezekiel specifies the day that God’s word came to him.  We may not know the exact day that God calls us to do something for Him, but we should at least know for sure that He has.  

Verse two adds, Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:  Ezekiel was now to prophesy against Egypt, the old enemy of the people of Israel who had once enslaved them.  There may not be a country that has enslaved us, but sin does until God sets us free from its power by His gift of salvation.  Once He does, we should never allow sin to have power over us again or look to sinful actions for power in the world.  

Verse three continues, Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.  God’s word was especially for the Pharoah of Egypt, who thought of himself as a great dragon from the river.  The Pharoah believed that the river was his and that it gave him power.  He was going to find out that the river, like all of creation, belonged to God, and that he was powerless against Him.  No matter how powerful a person may believe themselves to be today, for whatever reason, they are powerless before God.   

Verse four states, But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.  God said that He was going to put a hook in the jaws of the Pharoah, who believed himself to be the dragon of the river, and all the fish were going to stick to his sides.  The fish represented all of Pharoah’s servants and really all of his people.  When God brought the Pharoah out of the river by his power, metaphorically speaking, all those who believed him to be all powerful, would fall with him.  No matter what or who we put our faith in, other than God, will one day be defeated and we will be defeated along with them. 

Verse five adds. And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.  God said the Pharoah and all his people would be left in the open fields, cut off from the river that they thought would bring them strength and power.  There, they would become no more than food for the animals of the fields.  One day, those who do not accept Jesus Christ, the Living Water, will be forever cut off from God’s kingdom, and they will suffer an even greater fate than being just physically destroyed.  They will be punished forever in the pits of hell.  

Verse six continues, And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.  God said that when this happened that all the people of Egypt would know that He is God.  Egypt had claimed to be a staff for the people of Israel to lean on for protection but had proven themselves to be ineffective as their protectors.  Anything we lean on for protection other than God will always prove to be ineffective.  

Verse seven concludes, When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.  God said that when the people of Israel leaned on Egypt, that Egypt boke, or failed to protect them, just as anything that we look to keep us safe today other than God will fail us.