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.