Title: The fate of Egypt / Ezekiel 32
The fate of Egypt
Ezekiel 32
1. Lamentations for the King of Egypt (1-16)
① Two aspects of judgment against the king of Egypt (1-10)
The destruction of Egypt is reminiscent of the judgment of the time of the Exodus. To water the land with the blood of the king of Egypt means the first plague that the Egyptian waters will turn into blood, and to darken all the light implies the ninth plague, darkness. In addition, the role of the king of Egypt here and the role of the king of Egypt during the Exodus period are very similar. In other words, the king at the time of the Exodus and the current king are exercising a powerful influence and appear as a decisive hindrance in God's work of salvation. This clearly shows that the essence of Egypt has not changed at all, and that it is still inevitably destroyed as a hostile force to the kingdom of God.
② Destruction of Egypt by Babylon (11-16)
The destruction of Egypt symbolizes the decisive defeat of the powers of the world. The author describes the destruction of Egypt as the death of animals or inhabitants, that is, the cessation of life. In fact, the plagues of Egypt and the Red Sea incident in the book of Exodus are representative events that symbolize the final defeat of the world powers. In this way, the power of Satan, represented by Egypt, will be annihilated by God, and will receive a fatal blow that can never be restored.
2. Lamentations to Egypt (17-32)
① Egypt descends into the underworld and encounters a shameful situation (17-21)
② Prophecy to be with other nations that have come to the underworld (22-23)
While the previous paragraph represents the judgment of Egypt in the history of the world, this paragraph adds to the intensity of the judgment by describing the final state of Egypt as entering the underworld.
The main content of the text is
(1) Ezekiel records the final fate of the proud Gentile nations.
Assyria was the true ruler of the Near East, but it was destroyed by God's judgment, Elam was a Semitic, warlike and had a strong desire to conquer, but it was destroyed by Assyrian Banipal. was destroyed Tubal also gained fame through the development of metallurgy, but it was destroyed. Edom was a nation tormenting Israel, but it was judged by God, and Sidon also gained fame but was judged.
(2) Ezekiel reveals that the root cause of judgment against Egypt and the nations is that they do not acknowledge God.
In the previous paragraph, the cause of Egypt's destruction is revealed by pride, but in this paragraph it is said that it was because of uncircumcision. Combining these two facts, it refers to the state of those who do not acknowledge God, and the state is called pride.
Those who reject God will never prosper, and even if they seem to succeed temporarily, they will only experience failure in the end.
⑶ The Prophet describes that those who do not acknowledge God to the end will eventually fall into Hell.
Lesson
① Just as God defeated the pride of the kings of the world, so He will defeat the proud.
② Believers should live with fear and trembling, knowing that there will be a clear judgment on their lives in this world.
③ A life that acknowledges God is the most valuable life.