Egypt's Destiny
Foreign Nations Judged (Ezekiel 25-32)
The final nation judged in Ezekiel's series of prophecies was Egypt. Seven prophecies are included over the next four chapters, each beginning with the phrase, “the word of the Lord came.” Each prophecy is dated except for the one found at 30:1. They are all dated between January of 587 B.C. and April of 571 B.C. and fall in chronological order except for the second one starting at 29:17. This out-of-order dating was likely to clarify the prophecy given right before the part about Egypt’s being destroyed (29:1). Babylon is named as the destroyer (29:17).
Egypt represented Judah’s last hope for help in their rebellion against Babylon. Ezekiel sought to take the air out of all hope Judah might have in Egypt's help. Some historians have Pharaoh Hophra promising Judah help and then trying to make good on the promise. Nebuchadnezzar responded to Egypt, leaving the wall at Jerusalem and going to put down the Egyptian rebellion. Nebuchadnezzar then returned to the siege and, within months, broke through the walls.
At the delivery of this prophecy, the siege of Babylon against Judah had been in play for one full year.
Egypt’s Indictment (1-3)
Ezekiel was called upon to set his face against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and start to prophesy (1-2). Pharaoh was a huge braggart calling out from the middle of the Nile like a mindless crocodile, claiming personal authorship and outright ownership of the river (3). This is nothing less than Pharaoh claiming to be a deity.
Egypt’s Sentence (4-13)
Pharaoh and Egypt were about to be snagged by the jaw and ripped from their river of safety with fish still stuck in their scales (4). They would be thrown on dry land, unburied, squirming on open ground waiting to be eaten by the wild animals, hook still in the jaw. The fish clinging to the scales would represent all the allies and mercenaries attached to Pharaoh. The king of the water would be dragged to dry land to allow the beasts of the earth and birds of the heavens to consume Egypt like a meal. What Nebuchadnezzar would begin, others would finish off (5).
Such judgment would cause Egypt to know Yahweh was God. Egypt, at best, was a staff made of reeds. They appeared to be able to bear Judah’s weight, but when Judah leaned on Egypt for help, the “staff” snapped and maimed Judah. When Judah leaned on Egypt for help against Babylon, all Egypt did was further injure them (6-7).
Yahweh in clear speech announced that a war (sword) was coming to Egypt. The war would kill man and beast; it would destroy the land, leaving what the Egyptians had built a heap of waste. Yahweh warned Egypt of what He was going to do so Egypt could listen and come to know Him.
Yahweh was bringing judgment on Egypt because they claimed the Nile as their own and themselves as the Nile's creator (8-10).
Yahweh was against the freshwater streams of the Nile and made Egypt an utter waste. From border to border, Egypt would be affected—from the Delta Lower-Egypt Region (Migdol) to the Aswan Upper Region (Syene) to the border of what is present-day Sudan and Ethiopia (Cush).
Ezekiel went on to prophesy that Egypt would cease to be a civilized place. It would become difficult to pass through and would sit uninhabited for 40 years. The land and the cities would lie waste, with nothing of value growing, nothing thriving, and no commerce happening. The aristocracy of Egypt, like Israel, would be scattered among the nations for 40 years (11-13).
Indeed, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt and laid the nation waste (Jeremiah 43:8-13; 46:1-25).
A clay tablet known as the Nebuchadnezzar Inscription mentions Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Egypt in his 37th year. We are fairly certain that Nebuchadnezzar left the siege to confront Egypt, and it would seem that some two or more years after Ezekiel prophesied, Egypt was invaded again.
Egypt's Restoration (14-16)
At the end of 40 years, like the people of Judah, the Egyptians would have been allowed to return to their homes.
Yahweh would turn their fortunes, and while they would never again be a world-class kingdom, they were allowed to reestablish themselves as a lowly kingdom. Pathros would have been in the Upper Region (southern area) where Egyptians seem to have first settled and where they would begin to resettle (14).
They were to be the lowest of the world-class kingdoms restored. They would never again seek to be exalted among the nations, never demanding first-class international status. They would never again become a world ruler (15).
Second, they would never again be a people Israel would seek out and rely on for help. Egypt would become a symbol of turning from God to look for aid from human strength. When the name Egypt was mentioned, then Israel would recall the folly of trusting in human or Egyptian strength for power (16).
Egypt’s Judgment (17-20)
In April of 571 B.C., on the day of the 27th anniversary of Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of Yahweh once again came to Ezekiel regarding Egypt (17).
For 13 years, Nebuchadnezzar had besieged the island fortress of Tyre. The army had worked tirelessly, carrying heavy timber and stone and every head was made bald from rarely removing their fitted helmets (18). After 13 years, while the old city was ravaged and destroyed, the island city remained walled and unconquered. The objective for Nebuchadnezzar's army lay in the treasures of Tyre’s island city. Ezekiel had prophetically given the old city, the mainland city of Tyre, to Nebuchadnezzar (26:7-11) but had withheld the island city for others, specifically Alexander (29:12-14). The way this prophecy was written, it would seem Nebuchadnezzar had laid siege to Tyre at the encouragement of Ezekiel’s prophecy.
Ezekiel then boldly declared to Nebuchadnezzar that God had given Egypt to the Babylonian army to carry off the wealth of Egypt as reward and payment for the hard work against Tyre (19-20).
Restoring Prophetic Honor (21)
On the day Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt, Yahweh was going to open up Ezekiel’s prophetic voice in a new way. A fresh authority was going to come upon Ezekiel as they watched some of his immediate words come to pass.
Horns were symbols of power, so a fresh power and a fresh word were going to come upon Ezekiel to give to Judah as they waited in Babylon. Once Egypt was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar, Judah was going to see Ezekiel’s prophetic authority in a new way and know Yahweh as their God (21).
Parental Proverbs (1:8-9:18)
Third Discourse: “The Effects of Gaining Wisdom” (2:1-22)
In chapter one, Solomon urges his children to pursue wisdom; in chapter two, Solomon teaches his children how to pursue wisdom. Three words are used again and again in Proverbs, and defining each word is essential to comprehending what the book is seeking to impart.
Wisdom is the ability to comprehend the effect a skill, behavior, or act will have on the future.
Understanding is the ability to comprehend how facts and details interrelate and what they really mean.
Knowledge is the ability to understand how things came to be and how life works.
Chapter two begins Solomon's third discourse: “The effects of gaining wisdom.” In this discourse or teaching, Solomon tells his children how to search for wisdom.
They are to listen with their hearts (1).
They are to collect and guard what they have heard in their memory (2).
They are to determine to understand wisdom (3).
They are to make wisdom their highest priority, even over amassing wealth (4).
Next, Solomon lays out all the benefits of attaining wisdom (5-8): a transcendent encounter with God (5), a deep sense of being personally cared for (6-8), and finally, coming to know true God-righteousness, justice, and equity (9-11).
Lastly, wisdom is seen as keeping the soul from evil and dangerous people (12-22). Wisdom will keep a person from those of perverted speech who are devious in their ways (12-15), and wisdom will keep children from the forbidden, immoral, covenant-forgetting woman (16-19). Wisdom will teach Solomon's children the methods, character, and destiny of immorality, and if they avoid immorality's pitfalls, they will live in complete security (20-22).