Ezekiel 29:1-21 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Ezekiel 29:1-21. Let’s go!
Ezekiel 29:1 (NIV)
1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the LORD came to me:
On verse 1: Scholars have calculated this date to be January 5, 587 B.C., about 11 months after Nebuchadnezzar began besieging Jerusalem (see Ezekiel 24:1-2).
Ezekiel 29:2 (NIV)
2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.
On verse 2: Here the Lord begins His message to Pharaoh king of Egypt. According to scholars, that would have been Pharaoh Hophra, who reigned in Egypt from approximately 588 B.C. to 569 B.C.
Ezekiel 29:3-6a (NIV)
3 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 is mine; I made it for myself.”
4 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.
5 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 air.
6 Then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the LORD…
On verses 3-6a: What sea monster is the Lord comparing Pharaoh king of Egypt to in verse 3? Scholars say that most likely it is a crocodile, since back then crocodiles were captured by placing hooks in their jaws and pulling them out of the water (v4). The Lord compares Pharaoh to a captured crocodile that will be left for dead in the desert and given to wild animals for food (v5).
Why does the Lord compare Pharaoh to a captured crocodile? As it was with the ruler of Tyre (Ezekiel 27:1-2), the Lord’s issue with Pharaoh king of Egypt here is pride. Pharaoh said, “The Nile is mine; I made it for myself” (v3). Pharaoh is wrong on at least two counts. First, the Nile River is not Pharaoh’s; the Nile belongs to God. Second, Pharaoh did not make the Nile; God did. Though Pharaoh was worshiped as a god by his people, the Lord would soon make clear who the real God is.
What can we learn from this? Pride makes us think we did more than we actually did. Pride makes us think that we are more entitled to things than we actually are. Pride makes us think it’s all about us when it’s actually not.
Also, when we are prideful, God opposes us (1 Peter 5:5). Whether it was the Lord’s message for the king of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:1-2, or the Lord’s message to Pharaoh here, an ongoing theme in the book of Ezekiel is that God works against leaders who are prideful.
Ezekiel 29:6b-7 (NIV)
6 …”‘You have been a staff of reed for the house of Israel.
7 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.
On verses 6b-7: The Lord calls Egypt a “staff of reed” (v6) that splinters, breaks and injures the one who leans on it (v7). This is because Israel looked to Egypt for help against the Babylonians, but Egypt proved to be an unreliable help to Israel (see 2 Kings 18:21).
What can we learn from this? Do everything you can do avoid gaining the reputation of being someone who is unreliable. Whether in business, in ministry, with friends, or in your relationships at home, almost nothing is worse than being seen as someone others cannot count on. So do your absolute best to keep every promise you make. Be fast and humble about fixing mistakes when they happen. Be the most responsible person you know. Then you’ll be known as someone others can count on. See also Proverbs 25:13.
Ezekiel 29:8-16 (NIV)
8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will bring a sword against you and kill your men and their animals.
9 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,”
10 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.
11 No foot of man or animal will pass through it; no one will live there for forty years.
12 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.
13 “‘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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 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.'”
On verses 8-16: In verses 8-12 the Lord describes the extent of the devastation that the Lord would allow to come on Egypt, turning the land into “a ruin and a desolate waste “ (v10) and scattering the Egyptians among the nations (v12). In verses 13-16 the Lord says that eventually Egypt would be restored, though Egypt would not return to its former glory and power but would be a “lowly kingdom” (v14).
Ezekiel 29:17 (NIV)
17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month on the first day, the word of the LORD came to me:
On verse 17: Scholars identify this date as April 26, 571 B.C.
Ezekiel 29:18-20 (NIV)
18 “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.
19 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.
20 I have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts because he and his army did it for me, declares the SovereignLORD.
On verses 18-20: When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Tyre, Tyre gave Nebuchadnezzar a good fight that lasted 13 years. The result was that Nebuchadnezzar did not conquer Tyre to the extent that he hoped – “[y]et he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led against Tyre” (v18). Saying that Nebuchadnezzar and his army “did it” (that is, the siege of Tyre) “for me [i.e. the Lord]”, God announces that He will give Egypt over to Nebuchadnezzar as “a reward” for being used by God to attack Tyre (v20).
What can we learn from this? When God closes one door, don’t be surprised if He opens another one.
Ezekiel 29:21 (NIV)
21 “On that day I will make a horn grow for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
On verse 21: Here Ezekiel makes a short prophetic statement about how one day a horn, that is a king and likely a reference to the Messiah, will grow for the house of Israel and that through this king the Israelites would know who the Lord is. The rising up of this horn would ultimately be fulfilled when Jesus Christ came.
Jesus, I praise You for being so incredibly humble. Whereas prideful men like Pharaoh King of Egypt and the ruler of Tyre wrongly assumed that they were gods and were brought down by the one true God, You are the Son of God and yet You humbled Yourself as a human being and were lifted up by our Heavenly Father. Praise You for being the One who opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. May I always stay humble before You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
