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NOTES for Eze 30:1-26

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1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day
3 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
6 Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.
8 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.
9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.
15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.
16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.
17 The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.
22 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will 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 Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.
25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.
26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
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Egypt's defeat is described in detail, but as we read about the disasters that this country was to undergo, we may ask: why should we delve into warnings intended for an ancient kingdom in centuries long past? Of course, every event mentioned in the Bible can become a lesson for us, but have we not already read enough examples of retribution for pagan impiety?

Yet Egyptian paganism did not fall together with the state itself. Its mysteries fascinated mystics and occultists for centuries and remain attractive to many seekers of “ancient spirituality” even today. But the disasters described in the prophecy befell Egypt precisely in response to the pagan character of its civilization, which was permeated by these very mysteries.

The cultural heritage of every people deserves to be preserved, all the more so that of a people so ancient. But if, instead of genuine cultural treasures, we assimilate the pagan and magical spirit that afflicted entire civilizations, we will also have to accept the fate that befell them as a result of their destructive paths.

Other notes

 
For Eze 30:1-26
1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day
3 For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
5 Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
6 Thus saith the LORD; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.
8 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.
9 In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
12 And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt: and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt.
14 And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No.
15 And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.
16 And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.
17 The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.
22 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand.
23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will 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 Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man.
25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.
26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Hide
Two important points stand out in chapter thirty of the book of the prophet Ezekiel, devoted to Egypt’s fate. First, the Lord speaks of destroying the false gods and idols worshipped by the Egyptians. This thought is expressed in the broader context of the prophecy of Egypt’s spiritual and moral purification, and this fact...  Read more

Two important points stand out in chapter thirty of the book of the prophet Ezekiel, devoted to Egypt’s fate. First, the Lord speaks of destroying the false gods and idols worshipped by the Egyptians. This thought is expressed in the broader context of the prophecy of Egypt’s spiritual and moral purification, and this fact has enduring significance in spiritual history. The reason is that among believers, primarily the Jews, there was a widespread notion that God had destined only a chosen few for salvation and had revealed himself to them. The rest, unenlightened by God’s light and dwelling in the darkness of paganism, were doomed to perish for ever as enemies of God. This was less pronounced in the First Temple era, but in the Second Temple period—this prophecy was delivered half a century before its construction—the notion became the basis of Jewish religious ideology. This is, in particular, why the Lord Jesus Christ’s words about the healing of Naaman the Syrian aroused such anger in the synagogue at Nazareth (Lk 4:21–30). This idea has also often resurfaced in New Testament times. Yet God’s purpose is not like this.

That is why it is so important that the Lord openly and clearly says he will crush the false gods and purify Egypt. Here Ezekiel’s prophecy meets the prophecies of Second Isaiah, Zechariah and Joel concerning the conversion of the Gentiles. Ezekiel points not merely to certain peoples who previously did not know the light of Truth, but to the specific people of Egypt, once an enemy of God and the chosen people, but later one of Christianity’s outstanding centres.

The second important point emerges when we read these words alongside Isaiah’s prophecy about Egypt: “The Lord will strike Egypt; he will strike and heal; they will turn to the Lord, and he will hear them and heal them” (Is 19:22). In today’s passage from Ezekiel, it is above all judgement that is proclaimed, while Isaiah speaks explicitly of healing and conversion. Together, these prophecies help us see Egypt’s destiny in the context of God’s saving purpose for the purification of the world.

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