The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Wail, ‘Woe to the day!’
For the day is near,
Even the day of the Lord is near;
It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
The sword shall come upon Egypt,
And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt,
And they take away her wealth,
And her foundations are broken down. (Ezekiel 30:1-4)
Egypt was one of the most advanced civilizations of the day. Ezekiel was an exile living in a foreign land; his own homeland under foreign rule. In such circumstances to openly declare that God was bringing Egypt into judgement required great faith.
“Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.” (Ezekiel 30:5)
The judgment of God would not only come against Egypt, but also against those allied with it.
“Who are the mingled people?
These are probably foreigners who served in the Egyptian army as mercenary soldiers.
(Jeremiah 25:20) Some extra biblical sources confirm the fact that Egypt made great use of hired soldiers from various nationalities.
Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. (Ezekiel 30:25)
Even as God weakened Egypt and made Pharaoh defenseless, God would also strengthen Nebuchadnezzar and even give him the sword of God’s judgment. This only proves that no matter how mighty the nations may seem, they are all in the hands of the Almighty.
Chapters
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 29
- Chapter 30
- Chapter 31
- Chapter 32
- Chapter 33
- Chapter 34
- Chapter 35
- Chapter 36
- Chapter 37
- Chapter 38
- Chapter 47
- Chapter 48