Introduction
In Ezekiel 29:1-32:32, we read about the judgment against Egypt. 587 B.C. Their sin was pride.
Pharaoh’s pride is the cause of its downfall. Ezekiel 29:1-5.
God’s judgment of Egypt. Ezekiel 29:6-9.
Egypt will be destroyed but her restoration is foretold. Ezekiel 29:10-16.
Nebuchadnezzar will conquer and plunder Egypt. Ezekiel 29:17-21.
Day of judgment speedy and complete. Ezekiel 30:1-19.
The Lord will have vengeance on Egypt and her allies. Ezekiel 30:1-5.
Egypt’s supporters will leave her. Ezekiel 30:6-9.
Nebuchadnezzar will be God’s method of vengeance. Ezekiel 30:10-12.
God describes how his vengeance will be inflicted. Ezekiel 30:13-19.
LAMENT FOR EGYPT
‘In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying among your streams. You say, ‘The Nile belongs to me; I made it for myself.’ But I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales. I will pull you out from among your streams, with all the fish sticking to your scales. I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and not be gathered or picked up. I will give you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the sky. Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the LORD. ‘You have been a staff of reed for the people of Israel. When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered, and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke, and their backs were wrenched.’ Ezekiel 29:1-7
This message of Ezekiel was delivered during Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem. Ezekiel dates this prophecy, Ezekiel 19:1. The date was January 7, 587 B.C. It is specifically directed toward the Pharaoh of Egypt, Ezekiel 29:1-2 / Isaiah 31:1 / Jeremiah 9:25-26 / Jeremiah 25:17 / Jeremiah 25:19 / Jeremiah 46:1-26.
Just like the king of Tyre, Pharaoh and Egypt were guilt of pride, Ezekiel 29:3. Because the Pharaohs of Egypt thought that they were the descendants of the gods, they were arrogant and pompous. He was like great monster, probably like a crocodile, lying among their streams, Ezekiel 29:3, because he claimed that he created the Nile for himself, Ezekiel 29:3.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following, concerning the word sea monster.
‘Tannin, a variant spelling of tannim, is translated ‘serpent,’ ‘leviathan,’ and ‘sea-monster’, Genesis 1:21 / Exodus 7:9-10 / Job 9:13 / Job 26:11-13 / Psalms 89:10 / Isaiah 27:1 / Isaiah 51:9 / Amos 9:3. It describes real animals as well as mythological monsters in the Old Testament. In ancient Near Eastern mythology this word referred to the monster of chaos destroyed in Creation. Egyptians believed Pharaoh conquered this chaos-monster, but here God called Pharaoh this monster. Rather than giving God thanks for the Nile as a resource, the king had proudly claimed responsibility for it.’
Herodotus says the following.
‘This was (Pharaoh) Hophra’s (Gr. Apries’) arrogant self-image. Herodotus implied that Pharaoh Apries was so strong in his position that he felt no god could dislodge him.’
Alexander, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In his reign he sent an expedition against Cyprus, besieged, and took Gaza, Jeremiah 47:1, and the city of Sidon, was victorious against Tyre by sea, and considered himself master over Palestine and Phoenicia. This arrogance had also shown itself in an attempt to interrupt Babylonia’s siege of Jerusalem-an attempt thwarted by God.’
The Nile River was the source of food for Egypt, and thus the foundation of their existence. Pharaoh wallowed in the wealth of the Nile, but God would bring him up from the Nile as a fish caught on a hook, Ezekiel 29:4. The crops of Egypt were planted along the silted banks of the Nile, which made it possible for Egypt to have food even in the worst of famines, Ezekiel 29:5.
It was abhorrent to the Egyptians not to be buried, especially for the Pharaoh who would enjoy a great entombment at the time of his burial. Because they would not be buried, animals and birds would eat their discarded bodies, Ezekiel 29:5.
Feinberg, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Hophra (588-569 B.C.) would not receive a royal burial, which was extremely important to the Pharaohs and all the Egyptians. History records that Ahmose II (Gr. Amasis), another Egyptian leader, strangled Hophra and took his place.’
When God did this, they would know that He is the LORD, Ezekiel 29:6. Egypt was a staff of reed, Exodus 2:3, for God’s people, Ezekiel 29:6, meaning they were weak, they didn’t follow up in promising to help God’s people, 2 Kings 18:21 / Isaiah 36:6 / Jeremiah 37:7.
Israel had leaned on Egypt in the past for help, but Egypt crumbled as a staff that was made of flimsy reeds, Ezekiel 29:7. As scales are attached to the fish, the people would cling to the big fish Pharaoh, which would result in all of them being cast into the wilderness, Ezekiel 29:7.
‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast. Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. ‘Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’ therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush. The foot of neither man nor beast will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years. I will make the land of Egypt desolate among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate forty years among ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.’ Ezekiel 29:8-12
Here we read of Egypt’s punishment, God is going to kill both man and beast, Ezekiel 29:8, This is Nebuchadnezzar, Ezekiel 29:17. Egypt would become desolate wasteland, and then they would know that He is the Lord, Ezekiel 29:9.
Egypt would be laid waste by the Babylonians from the small town of Migdol in the north, Exodus 14:2 / Numbers 33:7, to Syene, modern-day Aswan, in the south, Ezekiel 29:10. This was the totality of the heart of Egypt.
This time of forty years Ezekiel 29:11, may be symbolic, taken from Israel’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Numbers 14:33 / Psalm 95:10. It would refer to the time when the Medo-Persian Empire extended into Egypt from 525 to 487 B.C. As Israel was scattered among the nations, so would the Egyptians be scattered during their period in the wilderness, Ezekiel 29:12.
‘Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says: At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were scattered. I will bring them back from captivity and return them to Upper Egypt, the land of their ancestry. There they will be a lowly kingdom. It will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of Israel but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her for help. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.’ Ezekiel 29:13-16
God says when the forty-years has finished, He would gather the Egyptians back to their original land, the land, Ezekiel 29:13-14 / Isaiah 11:11. Only the Egyptians were promised to be restored to their land. All the other nations against whom prophecies were made, were destined to termination. God seems to make this promise to the Egyptians because they were the nation that housed His people during their years of development as a nation.
God said, they would become the lowliest of kingdoms, weak and they will never rule again, Ezekiel 29:15 / Daniel 11:36-45. Though the Egyptians would emerge as a nation, they would not be the dominant and glorious nation that they were in their former years, Ezekiel 29:15.
In her apostasy, Israel turned to Egypt for help, Ezekiel 29:16. But Egypt would never again be a strong nation to which Israel would be tempted to again turn for help. The they would know that He is the LORD, Ezekiel 19:16
‘In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre; every head was rubbed bare and every shoulder made raw. Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre. Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to give Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will carry off its wealth. He will loot and plunder the land as pay for his army. I have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign LORD. ‘On that day I will make a horn grow for the Israelites, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’ Ezekiel 29:17-21
Ezekiel once again gives us the date of this event, Ezekiel 29:17. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege against Tyre for thirteen years, Ezekiel 29:17, and date is a year after that siege, April 26, 571 B.C. Despite every head been rubbed bare and every shoulder made raw, he took little spoil from the city, Ezekiel 29:18.
It was at this time in history that God was using the Babylonian Empire to bring judgment on Assyria for arrogantly striking against the people of God in the northern kingdom, and then against Judah. In order that the Babylonian army to continue to be God’s proxy judgment against the apostate people of God, they needed to survive. For this reason, therefore, God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to conquer Egypt, Ezekiel 29:19.
God was going to pay back an evil king for serving Him, Ezekiel 29:20. Nebuchadnezzar invaded and defeated Egypt about 568-567 B.C.
Barlow, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In all of Nebuchadnezzar’s campaigns, he was unconsciously carrying out the purposes of the Divine will, Jeremiah 25:9.’
The reference to the horn of the house of Israel, Ezekiel 29:21, could be referring to new strength in Israel, 1 Samuel 2:1 / 1 Kings 22:11 / Psalms 92:10 / Jeremiah 48:25, it could be referring to the Messiah, Psalms 132:17 / Isaiah 4:2 / Jeremiah 23:5 / Zechariah 3:8 / Luke 1:69, or it could also be referring to the time when God would open Ezekiel’s mouth once again to speak concerning Israel and her future.
Keil, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The horn in this passage is the Messianic salvation. The words are unquestionably connected with God’s promise to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 24:26-27, that after the fall of Jerusalem, the mouth of Ezekiel will be opened; but they have a much more comprehensive meaning, namely, that with the dawn of salvation in Israel, i.e., in the church of the Lord, the word of prophecy would sound forth in the richest measure.’
At this time, his mouth was closed, for he could speak only concerning the destiny of the nations around Israel, Ezekiel 3:26 / Ezekiel 33:21-22. But when God once again allowed him to speak, Ezekiel 29:21, he would speak of the restoration of Israel, as well as the coming of the Messiah. Then they would know that He is LORD, Ezekiel 29:21.
