Ezekiel 29:1-21

Ezekiel: “They shall know that I am God”

God’s Plans for *Israel and the Nations

Ezekiel Chapter s 25 to 39

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 29

*Prophecy against Egypt – Ezekiel 29:1-16

v1 It was the 12th day of the 10th month. This was in the 10th year during our *exile. The *LORD spoke to me. v2 ‘*Son of man, look toward the king of Egypt. *Prophesy against him and against all the nation called Egypt. v3 Tell him this message: “This is what the *LORD the King says to you. I am against you, king of Egypt. You are like a great *crocodile that lies in the river. You say, ‘The River Nile is mine. I made it for myself.’ v4 But I will catch you by your mouth as a man catches fish. I will make the fish from your rivers stick to you. I will pull you up out of your rivers and all your fish with you. v5 I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish from your rivers. You will fall onto the ground. Nobody will pick you up or bury you. I have given you as food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the air.

v6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the *LORD. The *Israelites came to you, Egypt, for help. As they leaned (depended) on you, you were like a weak stick. v7 They grasped you with their hands. But you broke, and you tore open their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke. As they did this, they damaged their backs.

v8 Therefore, the *LORD the King says to you. I will cause an enemy to attack you. He will kill your people and he will kill their animals. v9 The country called Egypt will become an empty desert. Then they will know that I am the *LORD. You said, ‘The River Nile is mine. I made it.’ Therefore, I will do this to you. v10 I am against you and I am against your rivers. I will destroy the country called Egypt. I will make it an empty desert. This desert will be from Migdol to Aswan and as far as Cush. v11 No person or animal will walk through it. Nobody will live there for 40 years. v12 I will ruin the country called Egypt so that it will be like a desert. It will be worse than all the nations. I will ruin its cities for 40 years. I will spread the *Egyptians among the nations. I will scatter them through the countries.

v13 But the *LORD the King says this: After 40 years I will bring back the *Egyptians. I will gather them from the nations where I scattered them. v14 I will bring them back from their *exile. I will cause them to return to southern Egypt. This is where they came from. They will become a weak *kingdom there. v15 It will be the weakest of all *kingdoms. It will never again be great among the nations. I will make it so weak that it will never rule again over the nations. v16 The *Israelites will never depend again on Egypt for help. The *Israelites will see Egypt’s situation. And then the *Israelites will remember their *sin when they turned to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the *LORD their King.” ’

Verses 1-5 The *Lord here spoke to Ezekiel in January 587 *BC. This was before Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 *BC.

This *prophecy is against the king of Egypt and his nation. This message is against King Hophra. He ruled from 588 *BC to 569 *BC. He was the grandson of King Neco who had killed Josiah at Megiddo (2 Chronicles 35:20-27). Zedekiah had asked Hophra for help against Babylon. At first, the *Egyptians did come and the *Babylonians left Jerusalem. Then the army of Egypt returned to their own country. When Nebuchadnezzar came again to Jerusalem, the *Egyptians did not support Zedekiah.

The *Lord describes King Hophra as a large *crocodile. To the *Egyptians, the *crocodile was the god Sebek. Hophra was a proud man. He felt that he was strong. He thought that no god could defeat him. He imagined that he owned the River Nile.

God would punish Hophra as men catch the *crocodile. Because he was proud, God would pull Hophra from his position. With him would be his ‘fishes’. This meant the *Egyptian people. God would leave them as food for the animals and the birds. This means that people would not even bury the dead bodies. God would use Babylon to achieve his purposes against Egypt.

Verses 6-7 As a nation, the *Egyptians had neglected to help the *Israelites. They had promised so much but they did not help. They were like a stick that would break. They seemed to be strong. But when *Israel needed them, they were too weak. God would punish them because of their failure to help his people.

Verses 8-16 The *Lord would punish the king and all Egypt. The *Babylonians would come. They would attack Egypt. They would kill people and animals. And they would send many of the people into *exile in other countries.

At a place called Cyrene, Hophra lost the battle. We do not know who the enemy was in this battle. His people took his crown from him. Then an *Egyptian named Amasis murdered him in 569 *BC. Ahmose II became king of Egypt in 568 *BC.

Because Hophra was so proud, the *Lord ruined all Egypt. Migdol and Aswan were the northern and southern borders of Egypt. Cush was the ancient Nubia, which is now in modern Ethiopia.

Egypt would be a desert where few people would live for 40 years. Then, after that time, the people would return. The *Babylonians destroyed Egypt in the year 586 *BC. At the end of the 40 years, the Persians (people from Persia) overcame the *Babylonians. It seems that the Persians sent the *Egyptians back to their country.

Never again would Egypt be a great nation. Egypt would become a weak *kingdom. It would not rule other nations.

*Israel would learn that it must never depend on Egypt again for help. They would remember their *sin. They had trusted Egypt instead of the *Lord. But *Israel will know that the *Lord is God.

God rewards the king of Babylon – Ezekiel 29:17-21

v17 On the first day of the first month of the 27th year during our *exile, the *LORD spoke to me. v18 ‘*Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army fight hard against Tyre. They struggled until they all had bald heads and sore shoulders. But he and his army gained nothing from the fight with Tyre. v19 Therefore, the *LORD your King says: I will give the country called Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will ruin it and he will rob it. He will carry away all its wealth. With this, he will pay wages to his army. v20 I have given him Egypt as a reward. In what he has done, he worked hard for me. This is what the *LORD your King says.

v21 At that time, I will make *Israel to become strong again. You will speak to them. Then they will know that I am the *LORD.’

Verses 17-21 The *Lord gave this *prophecy to Ezekiel in April 571 *BC. So, it is not in date order. Usually, Ezekiel records his *prophecies in the order of their dates.

It took 13 years for the *Babylonians to defeat Tyre. Tyre gave in to the *Babylonians in about 573 *BC. By that time, not much wealth remained in Tyre. There were few valuable things that the *Babylonians could take as a reward for their efforts.

Egypt, under King Hophra, had become friends with Tyre. It could be that Tyre was stronger because of help from Egypt. *Egyptian ships could have taken away much of Tyre’s wealth.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was God’s agent in the fight against Tyre. So, God promised to give Egypt to him as his reward. He would get more than enough wealth to pay his army.

The *Babylonians attacked Egypt in about 568 or 567 *BC. The king of Egypt was then Ahmose II.

The *fall of Egypt would encourage the *exiles from *Israel. They would see that these *prophecies were true. What God said, by Ezekiel, did happen. The *prophecies of their return to their country would happen too. Then they would know that the *Lord is God.

Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
exile ~ When people have to live in a foreign country they are in exile. Such a person is called an exile.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.

'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
prophesy ~ to speak a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
crocodile ~ a very large animal that lives in and by water.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Egyptian ~ a person from the nation called Egypt or anything that has a relationship with Egypt.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules.
sin ~ Sin means the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because of their sins.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
fall ~ when enemies destroy a city or a country; when a person dies suddenly.