EGYPT'S END

“Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small they cannot rule over the nations.” (Ezekiel 29:15 HCSB)

There were seven wonders of the ancient world. The Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Of all these, the Great Pyramid is the only one that remains today. It was the oldest of those architectural marvels, built around 2500 B.C., and an enduring testament to the Egyptian empire that once was.

It is the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu—often called by the Greek name Cheops. How fitting such a monument! It is after all a massive grave. The dreams of an ongoing dynasty are dashed, dead in the desert sands. The power of the Pharaohs has been reduced to ancient ruins—the mummified remains of a greatness that was, but is no more—nor ever will be again. This is a confirmation of God’s Word. It is the evidence of God’s wrath.

In this section of his prophecy, Ezekiel speaks to the end of Egypt. While his message focused on his own people, the Jews, the fall of Jerusalem and the exile and enslavement of its inhabitants at the hand of the Babylonians, these visions touch on the surrounding nations, as well.

The prophet speaks of A TRUST THAT WAS SHATTERED.

“When Israel grasped you by the hand, you splintered, tearing all their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you shattered and made all their hips unsteady. Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to bring a sword against you and wipe out man and animal from you. The land of Egypt will be a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because you said, 'The Nile is my own; I made [it],' therefore, I am against you and your Nile. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins, a desolate waste from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush.” (Ezekiel 29:7-10)

God would judge Israel for their folly of trusting in an alliance with Egypt to save them rather than trusting in the Lord. He would bring down Egypt that they might learn to trust in Him and not in a pagan people. But, in so doing, God would also show His glory to the Egyptians who exalted themselves. Israel rejected the deliverance that could only be found in God and the Egyptians wanted the glory that only belonged to God. The Lord put an end to both.

As a consequence, the ambitions of the Egyptians came to an end. Their empire would crumble as they would be conquered. Never again would Egypt rise to a place of world prominence. The land would be desolate—and it still is today—its greatness and glory departed forever. Today it is a bit player on the world’s stage, just as Scripture predicted.

The man of God reinforces the message with A TERROR THAT WAS SHARED.

“The word of the Lord came to me:

‘Son of man, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says:

Wail: Woe for the day! For a day is near; a day belonging to the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time [of doom] for the nations. A sword will come against Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush when the slain fall in Egypt, and its wealth is taken away, and its foundations are torn down. Cush, Put, and Lud, and all the various foreign troops, plus Libya and the men of the covenant land will fall by the sword along with them. This is what the Lord says: Those who support Egypt will fall, and its proud strength will collapse. From Migdol to Syene they will fall within it by the sword. [This is] the declaration of the Lord God. They will be desolate among desolate lands, and their cities will lie among ruined cities.

They will know that I am the Lord when I set fire to Egypt and all its allies are shattered.

On that day, messengers will go out from Me in ships to terrify confident Cush. Anguish will come over them on the day of Egypt's [doom]. For indeed it is coming." (Ezekiel 30:1-9)

The terror of the invader would slaughter the soldiers of Egypt. That anguish would be shared among her allies. The kingdoms of North Africa—Cush, Put, Lud and Libya would be swept away in battle, along with the Egyptians. Their longing for greatness would be supplanted by a lamentation of glory gone forever. Though these people endure today, and we still recognize the names of nations like Libya and Egypt, they are wastelands. Were it not for the oil fields of Libya and the strategic location of Egypt, there would be fewer headlines than they even garner in today’s news. Despots rose—men like Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt—and they sought prominence and secured possessions as they seized power. Where are they now? These tyrants are deposed, dead and their bodies decomposing in the desert.

The region has been a place of terror—a staging ground for terrorism. Through the ages those lands and peoples have been subjugated by the Greek and Roman empires, overrun by the Muslim Arabs, under the sway of Germany and Italy for a time, and now beneath the sphere of influence of the West—and perhaps soon will again be bent to do the will of the Russians as in they did in the Cold War era. In the meantime, there is a strife and bloodshed. There has been civil war. Economies are in a shambles. The military is puny. Egypt is a shadow of what it once was—deteriorating along with the Sphinx, and other relics of antiquity.

Next the prophet portrays Egypt as A TREE THAT WAS SHEARED.

“In the eleventh year, in the third [month], on the first [day] of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:

‘Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:

Who are you like in your greatness? Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and shady foliage and of lofty height. Its top was among the clouds. The waters caused it to grow; the underground springs made it tall, directing their rivers all around the place where the tree was planted and sending their channels to all the trees of the field. Therefore the cedar became greater in height than all the trees of the field. Its branches multiplied, and its boughs grew long as it spread [them] out because of the plentiful water. All the birds of the sky nested in its branches, and all the animals of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade. It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its limbs, for its roots extended to abundant water. The cedars in God's garden could not rival it; the pine trees couldn't compare with its branches, nor could the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with it in beauty.

I made it beautiful with its many limbs, and all the trees of Eden, which were in God's garden, envied it.

‘Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height, I determined to hand it over to a ruler of nations; he would surely deal with it. I banished it because of its wickedness. Foreigners, ruthless men from the nations, cut it down and left it lying. Its limbs fell on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth's ravines. All the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it. All the birds of the sky nested on its fallen trunk, and all the animals of the field were among its boughs.

[This happened] so that no trees [planted] beside water would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and so that no [other] well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the underworld, among the people who descend to the Pit.

‘This is what the Lord God says: I caused grieving on the day the cedar went down to Sheol. I closed off the underground deep because of it: I held back the rivers of the deep, and [its] abundant waters were restrained. I made Lebanon mourn on account of it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it. I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I threw it down to Sheol [to be] with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, all the well-watered trees, the choice and best of Lebanon, were comforted in the underworld.

They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.

‘Who then are you like in glory and greatness among Eden's trees? You also will be brought down to the underworld [to be] with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his hordes’--the declaration of the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 31:1-18)

The prophet paints a metaphorical picture of Egypt as a mighty tree that God will cut down. He speaks of Assyria, which had recently become a world empire, but that was, nevertheless, chopped to the ground. Their vaunted military might could not deliver them. Neither would Egypt be spared. They would be severed to the roots.

I am led to reflect on the warning of Scripture, “So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall.” (1 Cor.10:12) That prideful spirit which marked Egypt can be found in nations, in churches and in individuals—what about in your life? Does the hand of God hold the ax, ready to strike today?

Concerning Egypt, Ezekiel next offers a dirge and A TEAR THAT WAS SHED.

“When I make the land of Egypt a desolation, so that it is emptied of everything in it, when I strike down all who live there, then they will know that I am the Lord.

‘This is a lament that will be chanted; the women of the nations will chant it. They will chant it over Egypt and all its hordes.’ [This is] the declaration of the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 32:15-16)

Pity is expressed for Pharaoh. Empathy is extended to the Egyptians. They are facing the judgment of God. For those who encounter it, there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

“Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and bring Egypt and the daughters of mighty nations down to the underworld, [to be] with those who descend to the Pit…” the Lord tells his messenger (32:18).

The death of a nation is a sad thing. Nations are comprised of men, women and children—and the carnage of being conquered is grievous.

Did you notice the plural in verse eighteen, “nations”? It would not just be Egypt and her allies, not only Assyria, not even the Babylonians, but all the nations that reject God are cast into the Pit. Which one will be next? Might it be America?

May God have mercy upon us! We can shed tears in repentance and be delivered or we can shed tears of regret amid being destroyed—which will it be?