May 13, Ezekiel 29
“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt; the great dragon that lies in the midst of his stream; that says, 'My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’” - Ezekiel 29:4
We sometimes read the word dynasty in history books, as well as in reports about sports. When a nation or a sports team holds onto its power over opponents for a long time, we call that country or team a dynasty. The ancient world was controlled by a succession of dynasties in the days of Ezekiel. Egypt had been one of those world powers for a long time.
After four chapters about Tyre and a few lines about Sidon, God turned to address Pharaoh and Egypt in oracles that stretched across four chapters. The dragon or crocodile is a symbol for Egypt. God said the Egyptians, along with their clinging fish (allies), were doomed because Pharaoh exalted himself as God. They deceived Israel into making an alliance with them after God had forbidden them to have any relationship with Egypt. Pharaoh boasted of his self-sufficiency. He imagined (or at least boasted) that he himself had made the Nile River that sustained the nation. Pharaoh thought in his vanity that he and his nation were powerful and wealthy enough to take care of themselves.
But after Jerusalem and Tyre were subdued and destroyed, Nebuchadnezzar turned to Egypt. God gave the king of Babylon the rich nation of Egypt as a payday after the long siege and destruction of Tyre yielded little spoil for the Chaldean forces. Nebuchadnezzar’s forces would level Egypt. Pharaoh and his army would fall in battle and their bodies would be left to feed the scavenger birds and beasts. That was especially distressing news to Egyptians who placed a high priority on proper, dignified burial of the dead. The land would be emptied, and lie desolate for 40 years. After that time, Egypt would be regathered and reestablished as a nation. But they would be small and would never again be a world power. In Egypt’s new diminished status, Israel would never be tempted to think that the Egyptians could be a useful ally to them.
God’s promise to Israel seems to be dual. Perhaps some part of it would be fulfilled soon. But the rest looked ahead to the day when the New Age of Messiah came.
God never restored the horn of power to the house of David in any renewed kingdom of national Israel. God's ultimate promise to his people was not just relief from the misery of bondage, or the restoration of the old Davidic kingdom. But the people of Israel could be reconciled to God through Jesus, the Messiah the direct descendant of David. Jews and Gentiles would be gathered together in the kingdom of Christ. All the promises of God are ultimately fulfilled in Christ and the eternal rewards he will give to those who turn to him.
God’s message to Pharaoh reminds us (again) that pride and self-exaltation leads to a downfall. None of us are God. No one can claim independence or self-sufficiency, regardless of how much our pride longs for and imagines such lofty things. As God announced his judgment to Israel and to the nations around them, he punctuated the grim prophecies with the line, “Then they shall know that I am the
LORD.” That’s a baseline lesson that we should never forget. It keeps us from thinking that we are God, that we are our own masters. It reminds us of his sovereign power over us and the world around us. It emphasizes the importance of listening to him and doing what he says. Think how many of our problems and decisions would be simplified if we always thought and behaved as if we knew this baseline lesson about God.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—May 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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