Ezekiel devoted three chapters to what would happen to the city of Tyre. He also devotes four chapters to what would happen to the Egyptians. Here are chapters two and three of that discourse. Go in Christ’s grace and strength.
Ezekiel 30: A Lament for Egypt
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 "Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Wail, 'Alas for the day!'
3 For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Cush, when the slain fall in Egypt, and her wealth is carried away, and her foundations are torn down.
5 Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
6 "Thus says the LORD: Those who support Egypt shall fall, and her proud might shall come down; from Migdol to Syene they shall fall within her by the sword, declares the Lord GOD.
7 And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries, and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.
8 Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have set fire to Egypt, and all her helpers are broken.
9 "On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom; for, behold, it comes!
10 "Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land, and they shall draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.
12 And I will dry up the Nile and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers; I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it, by the hand of foreigners; I am the LORD; I have spoken.
13 "Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis; there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt; so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make Pathros a desolation and will set fire to Zoan and will execute judgments on Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the multitude of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium shall be in great agony; Thebes shall be breached, and Memphis shall face enemies by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword, and the women shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark, when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt, and her proud might shall come to an end in her; she shall be covered by a cloud, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the LORD."
Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
21 "Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand.
23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries.
24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded.
25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then 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.
26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD."
Ezekiel 31: Pharaoh to Be Slain
1 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:
2 "Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: "Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade, and of towering height, its top among the clouds.
4 The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall, making its rivers flow around the place of its planting, sending forth its streams to all the trees of the field.
5 So it towered high above all the trees of the field; its boughs grew large and its branches long from abundant water in its shoots.
6 All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth to their young, and under its shadow lived all great nations.
7 It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down to abundant waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor the fir trees equal its boughs; neither were the plane trees like its branches; no tree in the garden of God was its equal in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful in the mass of its branches, and all the trees of Eden envied it, that were in the garden of God.
10 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height,
11 I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out.
12 Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it.
13 On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field.
14 All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man, with those who go down to the pit.
15 "Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day the cedar went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.
16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the world below.
17 They also went down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were its arm, who lived under its shadow among the nations.
18 "Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword." This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD."
Things to think about…
1. Egypt was once an ancient superpower for many centuries. But her time had come. Egypt was a wicked distraction for Israel to lean upon instead of the Lord. Therefore the Lord was about to “break his arms”, Ezek 30:21-24. The Babylonians were to be the instruments of judgement. In Ezek 30 it describes all her famous cities – Thebes, Memphis, Tehaphnehes, Pelusium, etc would fall. Even the cities of the Nile delta would be overrun. The reference to the two broken arms, vs 25 probably refers to an assault by land and water. The Judeans were not going to get help from Egypt. We are never to trust earthly strength for a spiritual problem. Christ is the only answer.
2. Ezekiel 31 speaks about the Pharaoh being slain. Pharaoh Hophni was called upon to help the Judeans in Jerusalem. He was soundly defeated in 586BC by the Babylonians along with Jerusalem, Ezek 31:1,2.
3. Ez 31:3ff speaks of Assyria who once had beautiful branches and gave forest shade. It grew proud even exalting itself above the trees of Eden, Ezek 31:8,9. This was symbolic of the Assyrians who exalted themselves even above God – who planted the garden of Eden. Assyria was destroyed by the Babylonians between 612-609BC. Just as Assyria was destroyed, Egypt would also be destroyed.
4. The Lord will bring low every high and exalted thing, Ezek 31:15-18. They would be cast down to Sheol (death). The eternal Sheol of course is hell. The phrase “the trees of Eden” is used a number of times in Ezek 31. Satan exalted himself in Eden and Jesus said that He saw him fall like lightening. Satan has been defeated. Let’s continue to live and rejoice in this fact and never go back to empowering ourselves with earthly strength.
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.
