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. 

Ezekiel 28:20

Ezekiel 28:20 says, Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  

Verse twenty-one adds, Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it,  Ezekiel was now to prophesy against Zidon.   

Verse twenty-two adds, And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.  Ezekiel was to tell the people of Zidon that He was God and that He would be glorified in the midst of them.  God will be glorified in the midst of the world today, whether people believe Him or not. This is because His glory is not dependent on whether people believe in Him or not.  The people of Zidon were to be punished because they didn't believe in Him, just as everyone who doesn’t believe in Him and put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will one day be punished.  

Verse twenty-three continues, For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the Lord.  God said He was going to send pestilence on them and that their enemies would cause their blood to run in the streets. This would be because God was executing His judgment on them. God said that when this happened, they would know that He is God.  If we do not accept God's gift of salvation, one day we will face His judgment and know that He alone is God.   

Verse twenty-four states, And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God.  God compared these nations that opposed Israel to a prickling brier in the house of Israel.  They were of no real power against Israel because they were God’s chosen people.  God also said that there would be no more grieving amongst the people of Israel. Of course, this depended on the covenant relationship He had with the people of Israel and their obedience to that covenant relationship and not just on the fact that they were born in Israel.  It is only when we enter into a covenant relationship with God that we are His people forever and no force on earth will ever stand against us, and one day we will go home to heaven where there will be no more grieving.  When God’s final judgment comes, everyone will know that He is God.  

Verse twenty-five adds, Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.  God said that He was going to gather the people of Israel from wherever they were scattered into the promised land once more, and they would be sanctified in the sight of the heathen.  I believe this would be those who truly put their faith and trust in God.  One day, all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and enter into a covenant relationship with Him will be sanctified in the sight of the lost people of the world.  

Verse twenty-six continues, And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.  God said when He gathered the people of Israel once together more, that they would build houses and plant vineyards in peace because God had executed His judgment on all their enemies.  I am not sure exactly what we will do in heaven, but I am sure that we will live in peace, whether we go there after we die or when Jesus Christ returns in victory. 

Ezekiel 28:11

Ezekiel 28:11 says. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  God had even more to say to the people of Tyrus.

Verse twelve adds, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God;  Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.  Ezekiel was to say to the king of Tyrus that he had thought himself to be sealed up in power by his wisdom and good looks.  By the king, it could refer to the whole royal family and not just one man.  We do know that when Adam fell, he not only got himself kicked out of the garden of Eden, but by allowing sin to take root in the world, he got all other people who came after him kicked out of God's kingdom as well, until they accept God’s gift of salvation. 

Verse  thirteen continues, Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.  This verse refers to Adam and the garden of Eden.  He was placed in a place of perfection and yet he still turned away from God.  Likewise, the king of Tyrus may have thought everything in his life was nearly perfect, but he was also going to fall due to his sin.  No matter how perfect our life may seem, if we have not accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, one day everything will be taken away, and we will go away to everlasting punishment.  

Verse fourteen states, Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. God said that Adam looked like an incarnate angel in his glory and that he walked up and down the holy mountain of God on stones of fire, which Matthew Henry says refers to the precious stones that glittered.  No matter how ornate we may make our life today, it will one day all crumble away if we are not living under the authority of God.  

Verse fifteen adds, Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.  This could refer to the angel who rebelled against God, to Adam and Eve, or to the king of Tyrus when he was born or Matthew Henry says until he ascended to the throne.   I personally believe that that this could refer to all three, but in the case of the king of Tyrus, I believe that it refers to the time he was born until he was old enough to choose to rebel against God, just as I believe that every person is born perfect in God’s view and continue to be so until they choose to rebel against Him.  

Verse sixteen continues, By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.  Once more, this could have referred to the angels who fell or Adam and Eve, but since it speaks of being cast out in the present or future tense, it would refer to the king of Tyrus.  He was going to be judged for his sinful actions.  We are not going to be judged by the sins of anyone in the past but are going to be judged for our sins alone.  If we have profaned the things of God without confessing our sins and asking for God’s forgiveness, we will one dsy be cast out of His kingdom forever. 

Verse seventeen states, Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.  God said that the king of Tyrus was to be destroyed because of his self-pride and his failing to acknowledge God as the source of his power and wealth.  There are many people today who are so full of self-pride that they refuse to acknowledge God, but one day, like the king of Tyrus then, they will be brought down to the pits of hell if they do not repent and accept God's gift of salvation.  

Verse eighteen adds, Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.  God said that since the king of Tyrus had defiled his land with his self-glory that he was to lose it all.   No matter how rich and powerful a person may be in the world today, it will all be done away with one day if they do not acknowledge God as the source of all their riches.  It all belongs to Him to start with.  

Verse nineteen continues, All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.  God said that everyone who knew the king of Tyrus would be astonished at his fall.  Though it may not happen in this lifetime, one day everyone will be astonished at the rich and powerful people who have denied God that will be sent away to everlasting punishment.