Ezekiel 31:10

Ezekiel 31:10 says, Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;  God now said that Egypt had become like Assyria was at the height of her power. Egypt believed herself to be more powerful than any other nation and therefore incapable of falling.  We should always beware of thinking that we by our own abilities are better than anyone else but should always give God the credit and praise for anything that we are blessed with.   

Verse eleven adds, I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.  God said that because of the arrogance and self-pride of the people of Egypt, that He had delivered them into them into the hand of a great heathen nation. Egypt was going to fall just as Assyria had.  God can work through even those who are not His people to bring about His will.   

Verse twelve continues, And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.  God said that the people of Assyria had been deserted by all other nations, some of which may have been viewed as friends.  This was also going to happen to Egypt.  What happened to Assyria and what was going to happen to Egypt was caused by God and was due to the sins of each nation for which they did not repent.  If we go away to everlasting destruction, it will be God Who sends us there because of our own sins that we have refused to accept His forgiveness for by accepting His gift of salvation.   

Verse thirteen states, Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches: God said that when the people of Assyria fell that the birds and animals remained.  The referring to Assyria in the past and to Egypt as a great cedar that fell didn’t affect the rest of God’s creation.  We may fall as people of a great nation, but the rest of creation in our land may just continue as though nothing has happened.   

Verse fourteen continues, To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.  God said that none of the other trees exalted themselves as the mighty cedar had, because they had seen it go down into the pit.   This was still an analogy to Assyria and Egypt.  When other nations saw them fall, they would mourn their passing but would not immediately try to elevate themselves to the same heights that these two nations had attained.  As followers of Christ, even if we see powerful nations that defied God fall, we should never aspire to be like them and take their place in power outside of God’s will. 

Ezekiel 31:5

Ezekiel 31:5 says, Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.  These next few verses compare the cedars of Lebanon to other fruit bearing trees.  The cedars were viewed as being of greater value than fruit bearing trees, even though they could bear no fruit. Ezekiel said that because Assyria was blessed with many natural resources and could produce many things because of it that she was exalted above all other nations.  We often exalt those who are very rich and even envy them even instead of exalting God and wanting to be more like Hiim.   

Verse six adds, All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.  God said that the fowl of the air were plentiful because of the trees that they could nest in and that the animals were plentiful because they could bring forth their young under the shade of the trees.  These were still all natural things that God was responsible for and had nothing to do with the cedars of Lebanon themselves.  Likewise, because of her great natural resources, Assyria had become a great nation that others felt was more important than any other nation.  No matter how great a nation may become today, we should never put it ahead of God.   

Verse seven continues. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.  God said that like the cedars of Lebanon among trees, Assyria had been a great nation that no other nation could compare to.  Assyria towered over them like a great cedar that none of the other trees could compare to.  This had led to self-pride on the part of Assyria, leading them to believe they were indestructible.  Some nations today, many who not only do not follow God’s laws but also even deny His existence, believe themselves to be indestructible, but like Assyria, when God’s judgment comes, they will fall completely. 

Verse eight states, The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.  Still comparing Assyria to the trees of Lebanon, God said that Assyria was viewed as more beautiful than any other country, just as the cedars of Lebanon were viewed as more beautiful than even the trees in the Garden of Eden, which was a place of perfection.  We should never start to think that as a nation or as an individual that we are powerful of our own merit but should always acknowledge that we owe everything to God, and even if the world holds us in great esteem, we will never be of everlasting power outside of God’s will. 

Verse nine adds, I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.  Like the cedars of Lebanon, God said that He was the One Who had made Assyria great and that He was also the One Who had caused their fall.  Once more, we should always give God credit for everything that we are blessed with today, and if we don’t, we should be ready for a fall. 

Ezekiel 31:1

Ezekiel 31:1 says, And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Ezekiel once more specifies the time and date that God’s word came to him, and at times we may be able to specify a time and date when God’s word came to us calling us to a specific task, but more importantly, we should always hear what God has to say to us every day.   

Verse two adds, Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?  Ezekiel was to ask the Pharoah what he was like in greatness, or whom he would compare his greatness to.  People often like to compare their greatness or success to other past rulers or even people who are rich and powerful to see how they would rate when compared to these others.  They also often like to think that they are the greatest ever and are filled with self-pride.   

Verse three continues, Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.  God then begins to speak about Assyria and how great and powerful she had been.  This would be a good example of someone that the Pharoah might want to compare himself to.  If we rate ourselves for greatness, we should always base it on comparing ourselves to someone else who was truly great, but the ultimate comparison would be to Jesus Christ, and we will always fall very short.  Anyone who would say that they are equal to Him is a fool.  All others, no matter how great, either have fallen or will one day fall. 

Verse four concludes, The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.   God said that natural things had made Assyria great, such as the rivers giving water to the crops.  This was due to what God had provided and not due to any particular greatness of the king of Assyria.  We need to realize that whatever success we have in the world today is always due to what God has provided, since He is the Creator of everything, so we should never be filled with self-pride if we have more than others.  I think that we should give thanks to God for our success and use what He blesses us with to help others who are less fortunate.