A Net in Time

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Ezekiel

Pride, the downfall of Egypt

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The Word of the Lord comes to us this morning from Ezekiel 32.

Continuing our learning from Tuesday. 
God is not done with Egypt and Pharaoh yet.  
Again he attacks his pride: 
 You consider yourself a lion of the nations,
But makes sure that Egypt understands what it really is:
    but you are like a dragon in the seas;
you burst forth in your rivers,
    trouble the waters with your feet,
    and foul their rivers.

And gives a consequence:

3 Thus says the Lord God:
    I will throw my net over you
    with a host of many peoples,
    and they will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 And I will cast you on the ground;
    on the open field I will fling you,
and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you,
    and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you.
And it continues in vv 5-8 with how Egypt will be blotted out, strewn on the mountains and so forth.   God will put a darkness over the land.
The devastation will be so complete that the nations all around will be appalled with the horror of it.  How God branishes the sword at Egypt will make them : tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.
Who will God use to bring about this devastation?

11 “For thus says the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most ruthless of nations.


And do you see it?   Do you see what God’s end purpose shall be?

“They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt,
    and all its multitude shall perish.
13 I will destroy all its beasts
    from beside many waters;
and no foot of man shall trouble them anymore,
    nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14 Then I will make their waters clear,
    and cause their rivers to run like oil,
declares the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate,
    and when the land is desolate of all that fills it,
when I strike down all who dwell in it,
    then they will know that I am the Lord.

That’s always what it is.
God’s desire for people to know that HE is the Lord.  

In the lament all the nations/peoples of Egypt will be lamented
– Egypt delivered to the sword
– Assyria fallen to the sword
– Elam and her multitude, fallen by the sword
– Meshech-Tubal slain by the sword lying with the uncircumcised.
– Edom killed by the sword
– princes of the north and all the Sidonians bearing their shame

IN fact when Pharoah sees it all he will be comforted for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord God.  
32 For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”

Can you imagine it?
It hurts my heart to read this.  To think of all those people suffering.  How pride was such a hard thing.   Pharoah … such a hard lesson for him to learn.

I’ve been seeing that pride you know. We’re reading a book called Tirzah  which is about the Israelites and their journey after they left Egypt.  It’s a fictional story but in the beginning of the book you can really see Pharaoh’s pride portrayed, but you can also see it in some of the Israelites in their complaints and wanting to do the journey their own way. 

Pride is a big deal.. particularly if your pride sets you up as God himself.    Only God is Lord.   He’s the only one, and this example with Egypt and all her peoples is a firm reminder to us of that. 

This is a real call to me to see what pride is doing in my life, and how do I give the glory to God?  It’s not always the first thing on my brain you know?   Like when I complete something and am pleased with the results…how do I give the glory to God?   How do I keep the humility in my life?   Not always an easy thing…   How do you do it?

   You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.

Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon

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Today’s passage is taken from Ezekiel 31.   You can read more in my Ezekiel Studies here and here.

Here is a reading of Ezekiel 31.

The Word of The Lord again came to Ezekiel, this time with a word against the Pharaoh of Egypt.  He is to ask Pharaoh this question

“Whom are you like in your greatness?
He is to then give The Pharaoh the example of Assyria, how it was like a cedar in Lebanon, a great beautiful tree, towering above others, nourished with abundant waters.  It was so beautiful, tall and luxurious that not in the the cedars in the garden of God could rival it.                                       3     Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
                                        with beautiful branches and forest shade,
                                           and of towering height,
                                           its top among the clouds.
                                    4 The waters nourished it;
                                           the deep made it grow tall,
                                             making its rivers flow
                                               around the place of its planting,
                                                       sending forth its streams
                                                   to all the trees of the field.
                                   5 So it towered high
                                     above all the trees of the field;
                                      its boughs grew large
                                       and its branches long
                                          from abundant water in its shoots.

This tree was indeed so beautiful that the other trees envied it, even the trees in the garden of Eden, the ones in the garden of God.
                                    9 I made it beautiful
                                       in the mass of its branches,
                                     and all the trees of Eden envied it,
                                           that were in the garden of God.
It grew to be proud, full of itself, because of all it’s grandeur, so God himself, the one who grew the tree gave it over into the hand of a mighty one from the nations.
This land will deal with it as it’s wickedness deserves.  Pride has caused it to be cast out.
You know.. I read those words and I think… God hates those who are full of themselves, those who forget WHOSE they are.  Seriously.  How often does God condemn the pride of men and nations?
This cedar of Lebanon which is Assyria… so proud of her fame,fortune, good looks… and GOD HATES IT.
He really does.  He sees it as wickedness and so he allows her to be cut down.
 
 12 Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. 13 On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field. 14 All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man, with those who go down to the pit.
I read how Assyria is to be cut down and thrown into the pit and I think OH GOD.. let me not be a proud person.  Looking only to my own achievements.  Let me give the praise to God and show rightly that everything I am is his own doing.
Let me NOT be used as an example to others having them to be clothed in doom and mourning.
Look what happens to the church today when one of our “lights” is brought down.   How it makes the whole church look bad and people mourn the loss.
I am not one of those bright lights that people look…(to the larger Christian community).   But I still don’t want to be caught up for pride. And in God’s anger at it cause myself to be disciplined and others saddened because of it. 
 

So just as Egypt is challenged by the fall of Assyria….so I am challenged.
18 “Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.
“This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”

Are you challenged as well?   What do these words speak to your heart?

God’s Chooses to Weaken Egypt

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20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 21 “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. 22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and 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 the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And
I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them
throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

I have to admit, i don’t get what’s going on here. 

We already learned from the previous 19 verses that God was going to execute judgement against Egypt for her treatment of Israel.   So when they talk in this section about breaking Egypt’s good arm and also breaking her broken arm again, I don’t get it.

I understand the end result of what God wants.  He wants Egypt to see that he is the Lord.  That none of their ‘gods’ is God ONLY he is.

I guess the point is, when I stop and think about it some more is this.   God could have just let Babylon come in and fight and eventually defeat Egypt.

What God did though is he weakened Egypt.   He weakened her in such a way that Pharaoh was groaning about it.  

It tells me that God strengthens those he will strengthen and weakens those he will weaken.
God is Lord.
It is very apparent to me in these verses, God is Lord.  

He used a nation that was evil in the sight of God to discipline another nation that had treated his people badly.  In that process he weakened Egypt so that Babylon could wreak devastation upon her.

Egypt: Alas the day

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Today’s Devotional is based off Ezekiel 30:1-19.
 God’s word against Egypt continues.

God tells the people to prepare for 

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
3     For the day is near,
    the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword shall come upon Egypt,
    and anguish shall be in Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    and her wealth is carried away,
    and her foundations are torn down.

A time of hardship is coming for the people of Egypt, a time of doom and the sword, for her wealth to the carried away.

It won’t be just Egypt who falls but all who support her as well. 

Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

6 “Thus says the Lord:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and her proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
    they shall fall within her by the sword,

All these nations and cities will be devastated.
So that they will know that “I AM THE LORD” (says the Lord God).
Egypt and all her helpers will be broken … so that folks will know this fundamental truth.   God is the Lord, there is none other. 

The Lord will allow Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babyton 

  • to destroy the land
  • draw swords against Egypt
  • Fill the land with the slain

God will

  • dry up the Nile
  • sell the land in to the hands of evildoers
  • bring desolation upon the land and everything in it
  • he will do this using the hands of foreigners.
  • destroy the idols
  • put an end to images in Memphis
  • no more princes of Egypt
 14 I will make Pathros a desolation
    and will set fire to Zoan
    and will execute judgments on Thebes.
15 And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and cut off the multitude of Thebes.
16 And I will set fire to Egypt;
    Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
    and Memphis shall face enemies by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
    and the women shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and her proud might shall come to an end in her;
    she shall be covered by a cloud,
    and her daughters shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.

 The Lord has spoken.
It will be as he has said.

And so Egypt will know that the God is the Lord.
The Lord God is so specific in his judgements against Egypt.  Spelling out what will happen to her and her allies. 

Egypt, the land that Israel turned to time and again for help.   Who in the Old Testament first treated Israel well and then led to a time of horrid captivity.  The land to which eventually Joseph would feel with his young family when warned by angels to do so.

Egypt with its many gods needed to learn a fundamental truth.   The same truth we all need to learn.

GOD IS THE LORD.   

Not the Nile, not Ra, Not the pharoahs, nothing else.  Nothing that we make out as important.  Not traditions, tv, blogging, family, life, health, work etc.  NOTHING.

ONLY God is the Lord.

Recognize that fundamental truth. 
Learn from the mistakes the Egypt made.

Discipline, Protection, Promise

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Ezekiel 29 is all about a judgement being proclaimed against Egypt.

My son and I are in the midst of reading a book about Egypt, so having this prophecy against Egypt just kinda fits.  🙂    We’ve been brought to awareness how vast Egypt was and how poorly she treated Egypt.  We know this from the bible, but sometimes reading it in a story just brings those facts more to life, gives an awareness not previously seen.


The prophecy is in particular against the Pharaoh but also against the whole of Egypt.

God is very direct with the people, telling them that

“Behold, I am against you,
    Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great dragon that lies
    in the midst of his streams,
that says, ‘My Nile is my own;
    I made it for myself.’

It’s that nasty pride creeping in  you know… that “I did this”, without considering who REALLY made it.

So God will treat them like the fish of the Nile, hooking them up and dragging them out.   He will cast them out into the wilderness where they will be scattered by the beasts of the field, not able to be gathered up again.

5 And I will cast you out into the wilderness,
    you and all the fish of your streams;
you shall fall on the open field,
    and not be brought together or gathered.
To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens
    I give you as food.

WHY?
For the same reason as always.  God wants them to know that HE is the Lord.

Israel leaned on Egypt for help and Egypt mistreated her.  “Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, 7 when
they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders;
and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to
shake.

Therefore the Lord will bring troubles to Egypt, the sword will come against her. Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. 

Egypt will KNOW that God is the LORD.
Their pride in the Nile is their destruction.  They forgot who made the Nile.  God’s anger at them in great for he will make them a wasteland for 40 years and scatter her peoples. behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 And
I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated
countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities
that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries.

 But at the end of those 40 years, the people of Egypt shall again be gathered up.  Egypt will have her fortunes restored and she shall be the lowliest of peoples and never rule over other nations again.  Israel will NEVER be able to rely on her again.   And Israel to shall know that God is the LORD. 
And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.

 I have to admit..I thought that was cool.  Even in the midst of his anger against Egypt God didn’t forget his people.  Part of his chastisement of Egypt is his goal that his own people learn and remember that HE IS GOD.  Only he is the LORD.

The source of the destruction, God’s immediate tool, will be the land of Babylon with king Nebuchadnezzar at it’s head.  This king and his people shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army.

God was very clear.   What Nebuchadnezzar did was work for him.  I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.  In essence, Egypt and her wealth was his reward for a job well done.

I have to admit, I don’t quite understand this last line.  It sounds like a word of promise, like a word that would point to Christ…. this “horn” that will spring up.   Because of this horn Israel will know that God is the Lord.   
21 “On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Wasn’t this an interesting passage?   I certainly thought so.
God’s focus is on helping people realize who he is.
Egypt is corrected for hurting his people.
God’s tool was rewarded.
And a promise given.  A horn will spring up in Israel.

Just interesting.  🙂  Discipline.  Protection.  Promise. I like it. 

And They Shall Know…

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25 “Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”
Ezekiel 28:25-26

These are the last two verses of Ezekiel 28.  

God has a promise for his people Israel.   “when I gather the house of Israel…. they shall dwell in their own land….and dwell securely”

Think about that.   

God is going to gather his people together.  His people that are scattered.
He will do this in the sight of the nations.

Remember what God has been doing?   How he has been executing judgements against them?

God will gather his people together.
In doing so, his holiness will be made manifest.. folks will know that he is doing the gathering.
And the end result… you know what it is….

THEY WILL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD THEIR GOD.

Always, always God comes back to that.
He wants his people to know that he is the Lord THEIR GOD.

Sometimes I wonder…. have we forgotten this?
Have we believers forgotten just who we profess to love?
This God of ours who can bring down kings and nations.
This God who doesn’t tolerate his people being mocked.
This same God who keeps out universe running so we have oxygen to breathe.

Is the same God that we fail to pray to before meals or journeys.
The same God that we fail to thank or praise for the various things happening in our lives.
The same God who is mindful of our aches and pains and we neglect to thank him for all that he’s prevented from happening in our lives or the medicines we are able to take.

So do we really remember that this Lord God who has gathered us into families and churches and denominations and more… Do we really truly know that HIS IS OUR LORD GOD?   Do we?

Sidon, be warned

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The Lord God is finished dealing with Tyre, today it’s Sidon’s turn to be warned.
Destruction is headed her way so that they will know that GOD is the Lord God.
“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,
I have to admit, I find this line interesting.    God is against Sidon BUT his plan is to manifest his glory in their midst.  
 
    and I will manifest my glory in your midst.
 So that they will know that HE is the Lord.
 
And they shall know that I am the Lord
This way when judgement comes there will be no excuse. They will simply know that it is from the Lord God himself.
 
    when I execute judgments in her
    and manifest my holiness in her;
23 for I will send pestilence into her,
    and blood into her streets;
and the slain shall fall in her midst,
    by the sword that is against her on every side.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.
 The end result… For the House of Israel there will be left no thorns in the side, no nation that will treat her with contempt.

24 “And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
I read those words and I feel amazed. It’s more that I am partly stunned.  These nations did wrong in the eyes of the Lord.   Setting themselves up as the best, the brightest, worshipping themselves, false Gods, money and the like.
But they also did something else.
They picked on Israel.  A bunch of little bully nations picking on the kid.
God wants that stopped.
So he disciplines the nations around Israel for their various faults.
But he also tells his people… see.. all that bullying will stop.    No thorns in your side will be left untouched.
This is what God does for his people.   He minds them, he watches over them, he sees what others do to his people, and though he doesn’t always take immediate action HE WILL.   It’s written down for us here in Ezekiel.
So take comfort the besieged among us believers.  Know that God will act.  He will stand for us.  He won’t let us be bullied for ever.  So stand strong and firm in your faith.  STAND.