Ezekiel 30:6

Ezekiel 30:6 says, Thus saith the Lord; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord God. God not only pronounced the fall of Egypt, but of those who supported her as well.  If we have put our faith in some powerful person or nation today that does not put their faith in God, when they fall under God’s judgment, so will we, unless we repent and turn to God for deliverance.  Of course, once His judgment comes, it will be too late to do so.   

Verse seven adds, And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.  God said that these countries that put their faith in Egypt instead of putting their faith in Him would be desolate along with Egypt, which would be desolate.  Whether big or small in the eyes of the world, either as nations or as individuals, we will all one day be sent away to the desolation of hell if we do not accept God’s gift of salvation.   

Verse eight continues, And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.  God said that when all the helpers of Egypt were destroyed after He had set fire to Egypt that the world would know that He is God.  This doesn’t mean that everyone left would put their faith in Him, but only that they would know that He is God.  Just acknowledging that God exists does us no good if we refuse to put our faith in Him.  

Verse nine concludes, In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.  God then said that messengers would go forth to Ethiopia and tell them about what had happened to Egypt and they would also be afraid of what might happen to them.  Seeing the rich and powerful of the world fall because of their refusing to obey God should make us afraid if we likewise are not acknowledging and obeying Him by accepting His gift of salvation. 

Ezekiel 30:1

Ezekiel 30:1 says, The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,  Ezekiel didn’t specify exactly when God’s word came to him this time, only that he knew that it was God’s word.  We may not be able to say exactly when God’s word comes to us, but we should always be able to say that we know that it did. 

Verse two adds, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!  Ezekeil was to prophesy by howling woe to the people of Egypt.  Though we may not howl about the woe that unsaved people will feel when God’s judgment comes, we need to strongly advise them about it at the least.   

Verse three continues, For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.  Ezekiel was to tell the people of Egypt that the day of God’s judgment, which was referred to as a cloudy, or dark day, was near.  They still had time to repent if they would, I believe.  We know that the day of God’s judgment is near, even if it doesn't happen for many, many years, and for some people it will come today if they die.  That is why we need to accept Jesus Christ while there is still time, which should bring an urgency to reaching out to people with the gospel.   

Verse four states, And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.  God said that the sword was going to fall on Egypt and that there would be great pain there, and those who didn’t die would be taken away captive.  Those who die before Christ’s return who  haven’t put their faith in Him will die a captive of sin and death, just as those who are alive and haven’t accepted Him as their Savior and Lord will one day.   

Verse five adds, Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.  Ethiopia was mentioned in the last verse, but is also mentioned here as well, along with Libya and Lydia, nations that were aligned with Egypt.  We can be sure that all those who are aligned against God will one day face everlasting suffering.   

 

Ezekiel 29:17

Ezekiel 29:17 says, And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Once more, Ezekiel states the exact time that God’s word came to him.  This was sixteen years after his last prophecy and the twenty-seventeenth year of his captivity.  God was still speaking to and through Ezekiel, but his circumstances had not changed.  He was still captive in another land.  No matter our circumstances, God will still speak to and through us if we are obedient to Him.

Verse eighteen adds, Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it:  God told Ezekiel thar Nebuchadnezzar had served a great purpose for God by defeating Tyrus, but he did so without any reward for it.  It was now time for Ezekiel’s prophecy to be against Egypt.  God has already given us His word about what is going to happen when Jesus Christ returns in victory, but it may not happen in our lifetime.  It is still no less sure to happen.

Verse nineteen continues, Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.  God said now that He was going to give Nebuchadnezzar victory over Egypt and that he would take both the people and their wealth as spoils for his army. Though Nebuchadnezzar had not profited from defeating Tyrus, he was going to do so from defeating Egypt.  If those who are not Christians triumph over another group of people today who are not Christians, their reward will always be an earthly reward.  Of course, this is also true if they triumph over Christians, but in this case, Egypt was not a part of God’s kingdom.  

Verse twenty states, I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God.  God said that He had given the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar because he had served in defeating Tyrus.  Still, this was but a temporary reward and not an everlasting one.  God can still work through those who are not His people to bring about His purpose, but if they are rewarded, it will be but a temporary reward.  

Verse twenty-one adds, In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.  God said that when Egypt was destroyed that the people of Israel would bud forth once again.  This happened when Daniel and his fellow believers began to be favored by those in power.  God’s people were once again rising to power.  We as followers of Christ might be imprisoned or even under the authority of a country that denies God, but our hope should still be budding out, since it is in Jesus Christ, Who is already victorious.

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.