We read of the final end of the Egyptians in today’s reading. May you see the supernatural in the working out of your prayers and witness today.
Ezekiel 32: A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt
1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
2 "Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: "You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers.
3 Thus says the Lord GOD: I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples, and they will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 And I will cast you on the ground; on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you, and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you.
5 I will strew your flesh upon the mountains and fill the valleys with your carcass.
6 I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood, and the ravines will be full of you.
7 When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord GOD.
9 "I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known.
10 I will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when I brandish my sword before them. They shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.
11 "For thus says the Lord GOD: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you.
12 I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most ruthless of nations. "They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt, and all its multitude shall perish.
13 I will destroy all its beasts from beside many waters; and no foot of man shall trouble them anymore, nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14 Then I will make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, declares the Lord GOD.
15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate, and when the land is desolate of all that fills it, when I strike down all who dwell in it, then they will know that I am the LORD.
16 This is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord GOD."
17 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
18 "Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:
19 'Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.'
20 They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes.
21 The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: 'They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.'
22 "Assyria is there, and all her company, its graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword,
23 whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.
24 "Elam is there, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
25 They have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are placed among the slain.
26 "Meshech-Tubal is there, and all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living.
27 And they do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living.
28 But as for you, you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.
29 "Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.
30 "The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.
31 "When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord GOD.
32 For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD."
Things to think about…
1. Egypt’s days as a superpower were over. It is March 585BC. Jerusalem has been destroyed and now the nation that Judah had held its hand out to for support would also be destroyed. Let’s make sure our trust is in the One who will never fall.
2. Look at all the “I wills” in this chapter. In the NT in John we see a lot of ‘I Am’s’ regarding Christ. Here the ‘I wills’ refer to what the Lord will do in judgement. Egypt will be destroyed. If God says it, it will be done.
3. The “I wills” are accompanied by many “slain by the sword” phrases in Ezek 32. The Lord does all His holy will. We must get rid of the God of our imagination and reform our thinking to know and understand the God of the bible, who is angry with sin and acts accordingly. If He would slay His own Son who became sin, why would He not slay us because of sin? Embrace the sacrifice of the Son so you can be set free from sin and eternal death. God took the firstborn of Egypt at one point, here He says they will be slain by the sword, never to rise as a superpower again.
4. If there was any doubt about what would happen to Egypt, all Egypt had to do was look at the judgement God had said He would send on the other nations. The Babylonians were used to destroy Elam, Edom, Meshech, Sidon, including Assyria, Ezek 32:22-30. Jesus said to those who doubted Him, if you don’t believe in Me at least believe in My works. God’s character is shown by the Lord doing what He says He will do.
5. Pharaoh would be laid to rest, Ezek 32:32, but not in peace, he will be slain by the sword. Woe to those who try and come to the aid of those who are being punished by the Lord. What do you think about helping those whom the Lord is disciplining? How do you discern the difference between helping and hindering the Lord’s work. Should we help everyone? Did Jesus help everyone? No He didn’t. Some were punished. May God give us the discernment to know the difference and to act accordingly.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “thought it would never happen” – Reading Ezek 24:1-14
1. Ezekiel is told to put a cupper pot on boil and fill it with the choice meats. Who were the choice meats and why were they in the pot?
2. When leaders pull down truth, everyone suffer. We saw this last week with the Victorian premier speaking out against biblical Christianity after sacking of the newly appointed Essendon AFL coach. What should our response be?
3. Discuss your understanding of the promises of God. Refer to Deuteronomy 28.
4. Pray for each other and the outreach of the gospel.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for the leadership of our country.
2. Pray for the people of Iran. There is horrible oppression of women who are being beaten and killed by a corrupt government, simply for refusing to wear a head covering.
3. Pray for Ukraine and the final defeat of Russian aggression.
4. The right choice for a full time Youth and Young Adults Pastor to start Jan 2023 and the finances to support them.
5. Health of Ross Goltz, Zac - sciatica
6. More young families and youth into the church.
7. Ministry leaders within the church.
8. Our One for Israel ministry.
9. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
10. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. The marriage of James and Kirstine Smith.
2. Visitors to church on Sunday.
3. Some returning back to church after a while away.
4. Worship on Sunday – thankyou Suzy, Gina, Ashley. Bec on Words and Doug on sound. Thankyou. Suzy and Maddison in café always do a stellar job. Thankyou for those who welcomed at the door.
5. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members Meeting – AGM 6th November after the service.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
