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EZEKIEL

Ezekiel 29-32

Please turn in your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 29, as we continue our study through the Word of God. And as we studied last week, we saw the fall of Lucifer, the anointed Cherub, cut down because of his pride. This evening God is going to speak of the fall of Egypt because of her pride. As we conclude these next 4 chapters, we conclude a section that began in chapter 25 and continued through chapter 32, and they have dealt with the judgment coming upon the gentile nations that surrounded Israel. And from chapter 29 through 32 God will speak against Egypt and her leader regarding the pride that flowed from this nation and it’s leader. And the result of pride is a fall, as we will see tonight.

Now these stories are not put here just to tell us of what has transpired in history, which is important. They are placed here so we can learn from them. As I have said before, the thing we learn from history is we don’t learn from history. May that not be the case in our lives. Pride is a destructive monster in the hearts and lives of people and nations, and if we don’t learn from it, we too will fall! So let’s see what God has for us this evening beginning in Ezekiel chapter 29.

EZEKIEL 29

VERSES 1-3

1. The Pharaoh in Egypt at this time was Hophra. This man saw himself as great, like the great crocodile of the Nile River who does whatever he pleases. He is boasting of all his accomplishments, all he has done, how he built this great nation. Red flag’s should be going up! "Danger! Danger!" lights should be flashing! Why? Because God says "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18.

VERSES 4-5

1. If Pharaoh is this monster then the fish are his people. And God is saying that He is going to wipe them out, destroy them and Pharaoh.

VERSES 6-7

1. Judah kept looking to Egypt for help to fight against their enemies, and they were no help at all. Egypt was no support for Israel, they were like the reeds that grew abundantly along the banks of the Nile River, fragile and unable to support any weight, so fragile that even the wind could bend them.

2. In 701 BC, during the reign of Hezekiah, the Assyrians were moving southward towards Jerusalem, having already captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and now moving into the Southern Kingdom of Judah. They already captured 46 cities in the northern parts of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. And the king of Assyria sends the Rabshakeh, his title not his name, and it means chief of staff, to try and get Hezekiah and the people of Judah to surrender. And in Isaiah 36:5-6 we read the Rabshakeh say to them "I say you speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. Now in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? Look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him." Hezekiah tried to make an alliance with Egypt to help in this battle against the Assyrians. But the help never came, as the Egyptians were coming up, the other half of the Assyrian army was on its way down and they defeated the Egyptians, put an end to this alliance before it was ever started. It is as Isaiah 30:1-5 says, "‘Woe to the rebellious children,’ says the LORD, ‘Who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; Who walk to go down to Egypt, and have not asked My advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be your humiliation. For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes. They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them, or be help or benefit, but a shame and also a reproach.’"

VERSES 8-11

1. Because of their pride God was going to bring them into captivity for 40 years. Pharaoh saw himself as a god, in control of his destiny, but God was going to show him there is only one God! And keep in mind the Egyptians had all kinds of gods and goddesses they worshiped. One of them was named Heka, who had the body of a woman and the head of a frog. Can you imagine in Exodus when the plague of frogs came upon the land, they couldn’t kill them, it was one of their gods they worshiped. The foolishness of what they worshiped, it makes you want to croak!

VERSES 12-15

1. This once great nation was going into captivity for 40 years, and when they return, they will never be a world power again. Just look at the nation today, the poverty, the backwardness of its religious practices and laws. All that is left are the great pyramids, the tombs of the past, just as God had said!

2. Many churches and people are the same today. Pride has left them a empty tomb, even though there was much life to begin with. Be careful, pride is very destructive.

VERSE 16

1. As I have said, Israel looked to Egypt for help, but that would not happen because Egypt will be like a reed, fragile, unable to help them now and in the future because they will never rise to power again.

VERSES 17-21

1. Remember last time how we looked at the destruction of Tyre. Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians attacked this sea port city for 13 years, and when they finally broke through the walls, all they found were a few solider’s and empty buildings. They had moved the city by night to an island ½ mile off shore. So the Babylonians received no spoil for all their labor. But God says He will give them Egypt, and that is exactly what took place. The Babylonians captured the Egyptians and their wealth, and placed them in captivity for 40 years. And Israel, in seeing this, will recognize the Lord, that He has done all these things!

EZEKIEL 30

VERSES 1-5

1. Historically this is what happened as the Babylonians came down upon Egypt and the surrounding nations.

2. Now there is a phrase that should key us to a future fulfillment, "The day of the LORD." And you can read of this time in the Scriptures in Isaiah 13, Joel 1-3, Zechariah 14, Zephaniah 1, in the New Testament in I & II Thessalonians, II Peter 3, and the book of Revelation, besides other places. And the day of the LORD begins with the 7 year tribulation period and continues on through the millennial reign of Christ. And even during the tribulation period, as lowly as this nation might be, destruction is coming upon it. You can read of this in Daniel 11:40-43, which says that the Antichrist, "At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels."

VERSES 6-9

1. God is going to bring down Egypt and all those nations who have sided with her.

VERSES 10-12

1. As the Babylonians defeated various nations, they would take their captives and place them into their armies, make them slaves. And they would use them to defeat other nations, like Egypt.

VERSES 13-19

1. All their pride, all their idols, all their gods were going to be brought down to the ground, they would not stand. And God says that the strength of Egypt was "Sin." But God was going to pour out His judgment upon Sin. That is no different today. Look at the boasting of people today who are living in sin - they see it as their strength. The lying, stealing, cheating, sexual perversions, immorality and-so-on. And they say "No" to God, but God says He will split "No" open and pour out His fury upon Sin. Make no mistake about it, if you don’t know that He is the Lord, you will!

VERSES 20-26

1. It is very hard to defend yourself in battle if you don’t have any arms to hold your sword. God is going to bring down Hophra the Pharaoh of Egypt because of His pride. He thought he was a god but he found out he was only a man!

2. We can look at what God is saying here, and think "How foolish they were!" But don’t miss the point, God is spending 4 chapters discussing the fall of Egypt and its leader because of their pride so that we might learn the lesson and apply it to our own lives. Maybe you have heard of the story of the frog that lived in a pond that was drying up. And he tried to figure out a way to rectify the problem before the pond dried up and it was too late. One day a couple of ducks landed beside him in the pond and he said to them, "You know, it must be great to fly above the land, what a view you must have! The things you see, it must be great! Do you think you can place a stick in your mouths and show me the land, the things that only you can see? Then, maybe when you are done, you can place me in a pond that has an abundant water supply!" The ducks agreed to the frogs proposal and picked up a stick, put it between them in their mouths, and began to flap their wings. As they did the frog opened his mouth and grabbed hold of the stick tightly with his mouth. And soon they were off flying over the land. A farmer walking by and seeing this frog flying above the land, being held by a stick between two ducks, marveled and said, "Who thought of such a wonderful idea?" And the frog opened his mouth and said "I diiiiiiiii........." Pride comes before the fall, be careful!

EZEKIEL 31

VERSES 1-2

1. We are now going to see the fall of Pharaoh. He thought of himself as being so great, as a god. So the true God is asking him who he would compare himself too, but before he can answer that question, God is going to answer it for him.

2. Who do you want to compare yourself to? A movie star? A rock star? Bill Gates or some other rich person? Or some brilliant person? Maybe Billy Graham? And I guess the question is "Why do you want to be that person?" Think of it this way, and I hope you will then have a proper perspective of the situation. God created you like you are. Now there is nothing wrong with desiring to be all that God wants you to be, but not to be something that God did not intend you to be. That is pride!

VERSES 3-9

1. God likens Pharaoh to the great nation of Assyria. They were powerful, ruthless, strong and the only nation in Mesopotamia to invade Egypt and destroy its capitol city, Thebes in 633 BC. And God likens them to a mighty tree, the cedars of Lebanon. But as big and strong as this nation was, God cut them down by the hands of the Babylonians. The city of Nineveh fell to Nabopolassar king of Babylon in 612 BC, and he was the father of Nebuchadnezzar. And the rest of the nation of Assyria was taken by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians in 609 BC.

VERSES 10-14

1. Just like the Assyrians fell, so too will Egypt, and their final destination will be the pit of Hell itself.

VERSES 15-18

1. How do you think of yourself? Do you see yourself better than others? Do you see yourself as head and shoulders above the rest? Are you doing it your own way? Are you the master of your destiny? Do you think you can really pull it off? If you do, watch out! With that much pride there is no room for God, and you will be brought down, not only in this life, but in the life to come you will be cast into Sheol, or outer darkness. And I will guarantee you this, in Hell you won’t be jockeying for position to be the most important person in Hell! You see, everyone loses there and you will have an eternity to think about all your glory that you received on this earth, and how it is nothing now.

EZEKIEL 32

VERSES 1-2

1. Pharaoh saw himself as strong as a lion, able to devour anyone he wanted. He saw himself as this powerful crocodile swimming in the Nile River. And because of his strength, because of his power, he did as he pleased. He stirred up all kinds of trouble, moving back and fourth, doing what he wanted. And it does sound impressive, and I’m sure he terrified many people and nations. But what man see’s as strong, powerful, invincible, God see’s as nothing, as we shall see.

VERSES 3-5

1. This powerful monster was no match for God. It is like a fishing trip for God, as He gets out His net and captures Pharaoh and all his people like it was nothing. And as God casts them into captivity, before other nations, many will be destroyed.

2. I think at times, as we look at the things that are happening in this world, the evil that is spreading like wild fire, and we can lose heart, become discouraged. We see this terrible monster and think there is no hope. And God is saying to us, "I will spread my net over them. I am in control." But we say, "But..." Folks, understand this, we know the end of the story, Satan loses, God wins! If you are a betting person, go with God, you can’t lose! That should be a great comfort to us as black as things might look right now.

3. In Revelation chapter 5, beginning in verse 1 we read "And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?’ And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’ And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne." Revelation 5:1-7.

As Jesus takes the title deed of the earth back, telling us He is getting ready to restore this earth back to its goodness, beauty, as righteousness fills the land, all of creation breaks forth in worship of Him. The moral of the story, be anxious in nothing - God wins! God wins! Rest in Him.

VERSES 6-8

1. God is going to destroy Egypt and bring the people into captivity.

VERSES 9-16

1. All those nations that looked to Egypt for help, all those nations that sided with Egypt, sending them mercenaries to fight with them, all those nations that were close to Egypt, when Egypt fell to Babylon, their hearts sank. They knew that it was only a matter of time before Babylon came upon them and destroyed them.

2. Prior to their captivity the waters were muddy as they trampled back and forth doing as they pleased. But now the land is desolate. The people are in captivity and the rivers are running crystal clear because there is no one left to disturb them.

VERSES 17-19

1. Here was a people and a nation who saw themselves as beautiful. But their beauty could not save them, they were going to Hell.

VERSES 20-21

1. Not only is Egypt going to be found there, but many other people, many other nations! And now God is going to list all those nations who will be cast into Hell with her people.

VERSES 22-32

1. What a list of nations; Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, the princes of the north, the Sidonians, and of course Pharaoh. What brought all these nations down, all these people down? PRIDE! And of course, the middle letter in the word "pride" is "I" and that will always get you in trouble. They refused to acknowledge the Lord, they had an "I" problem, and now they are in the pit of Hell with a great company of people who felt as they did.

2. How can you know if you have pride in your life? There are two important indicators. The first is that you are not thankful. It is an attitude that you deserve these things, it is your right to have them. Many in America feel this way, and it truly is sad. You see, the reality is the very breath we breath is a gift from God, it is not our right. Be thankful for all that God has blessed you with. Each day you wake up, thank Him for that!

The second thing is having a life that is absent of prayer. The idea is you can do it on your own. You can get by without His help or anyone else’s help. A life filled with prayer shows that you are dependant upon God for everything. That in these bodies of flesh we can do nothing on our own, for we have no strength.

And pride can cause people to become anxious because they are trying to hold onto something that is not theirs in the first place. They become confused in their thinking because their minds are so puffed up with the things of self there is no room for God, there is no room to allow the things of God to come into their lives. Learn the lesson about pride, or you will learn it the hard way. Let me leave you with this thought from Paul in Philippians 4:4-9. He said "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-- meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." May we apply that to our lives and grow in the Lord!