Ezekiel 30

Read Ezekiel 30

God called Ezekiel to be a “son of man” who would speak “the Word of the Lord” as His ambassador. The Lord's message was a further indictment against Egypt and her allies. He warned them that the “Day of the Lord” was near. “A sword shall come against Egypt.”

The judgment of God first came into the world in Genesis 3. Since the time of Adam's sin, the Lord's wrath has always been imminent. In the days of Ezekiel the curse of the Almighty would come upon the nation of Egypt through the agency of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Eventually a much larger time of reckoning would be poured out upon the entire earth. Peter wrote about that final moment of divine justice in 1 Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is at hand.” Only foolish scoffers would dismiss the seriousness of God's anger against sin.

Jehovah's actions concerning ancient Egypt would produce collateral damage for all those nations who were united behind her leadership. When God eventually “set fire to Egypt,” all her “helpers” would also be “broken.” The Lord would “put an end to the wealth of Egypt,” and every group in league with that empire would feel the pain.

It was a serious miscalculation to form an alliance with a powerful and evil nation that defied the living God. The Lord would “dry up the Nile,” and the “idols” and “images” of Egyptian worship would be demolished. In addition to the spiritual verdict that would come down against the entire corrupt culture, “young men” would surely “fall by the sword,” and the women would be taken away “into captivity.” This is how God would treat the once great land of Egypt and her supreme leader. “Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

We have no desire to have common cause with the powers of this world. Their destruction is swiftly approaching. All who trust in them will have profound regret concerning their close connections with the devil and his host. Not only will the powers of death be eternally decimated, so will all who have refused the merciful entreaties of the Lord of Life (Revelation 19:20, 20:10, 20:15). It is the joy of the elect that we are forever related to the Commander of a perfect and permanent kingdom of holiness.

Pharaoh had a sword of military power in his day, but it would soon “fall from his hand.” The sword of Jesus is His eternal Word, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

O Lord God Almighty, when will the Day of the Lord come? We know that we are to consider it near. We have been told that we shall not know the day or the hour. Help us to be ready for that Day. Our only hope is in Your Son. When anguish comes upon all the people of the world, we shall rejoice in Jesus Christ forever. Desolation is coming against the earth, but we will be rescued. What will it be like when there is no more sin in us or among us? What will it feel like when we are with You and with each other in resurrection life forever? You will put every foe far away from us. No longer will we be harassed by an unseen enemy bringing turmoil upon our souls. On that great Day, we will surely know that You are the Lord.