Ezekiel
25 – 30
As we read these chapters you will notice a theme, God asks
Ezekiel to prophesize to each of these nations. Each one he project doom and
gloom. Verse 25:2 is the basic theme to each segment:
Tell them to listen to the word of
the Eternal Lord:
(to Ammon) Because you delighted in
the desecration of My sanctuary, because you rejoiced when Israel became a
wasteland, and because you cheered when the Judeans went into exile,
Do harm to Israel and face dire consequences. These nations
all were mighty and powerful in their day yet only God protected Israel. All
the other nations are only found in history books, they no longer exist.
Chapter 25 sees the prophecies against Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia.
Chapters 27 & 28 are dedicated to Tyre only while 29 & 30 focus on
Egypt. Both were great nations which God lays to waste because of what they did
to Israel.
Verse 28:2 is God’s message to Tyre concerning their pride:
Son of man, go to the prince of
Tyre, and give him this message. This is what I, Eternal Lord, have to say:
Your heart
is swollen with pride—
a pride that says, “I am a god.
I sit on a divine throne in the
heart of the sea.”
But I assure you, prince, you are
nothing more
than a mortal man—a
man of mortal destiny.
Even though you have the self-confidence of a god,
you are made entirely of
flesh and blood.
A consistent theme
in the Bible is God’s handling of people with “pride”. The Bible over and over
again shows the problem of pride. It’s a common point in my writings because
it’s something that bothers me when confronted and makes me feel like a
hypocrite when I am boastful. Pride separates us from God because it makes our
focus inward and not outward. Tyre was focused on themselves and getting all
they can, much like many nations today.
Verses 29:13 &
14 shows why Egypt is the only nation still around:
13 After
40 years have passed, I am going to gather the Egyptians from the nations where
I scattered them. 14 I will restore their fortunes
and lead them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their ancestors. There,
Egypt will begin again, but this time as an insignificant
kingdom.
Interesting how
Egypt was the only nation spared and are not the power they once were. They still exist today and have risen a tad
in power, but only because of the Suez Canal. They control the flow of commerce
between Europe and America and the southern Middle East, which is where the
majority of our energy comes from these days. In reading this it is not real
clear on the reason why God spared Egypt from total annihilation. So say
because they originated near Pathros and because of this God showed mercy.
You look at the
lineage of Noah’s son Ham, his son Mizraim settled in this region and
intermarried with the people. That showing the nation of Egypt has Jewish
roots. This is a logical reason for God’s mercy.