SEPTEMBER 3

 

Egypt has the dubious distinction of being singled out among the nations as an example of the forces of evil. Ezekiel first brings a lament for Egypt, then assigns her a place of burial in the same grave with the hordes of evil, including Meshech and Tubal. :

 

LAMENT FOR EGYPT. Ezk. 32:1-10

In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month on the first day, the. word of the lord came to me: "Son of man, take up a lament concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him:

 

" 'You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas thrashing about in your streams, churning the water with your feet and muddying the streams.

" 'This is what the Sovereign lord says:

 

" 'With a great throng of people

I will cast my net over you,

and they will haul you up in my net. I will throw you on the land

and hurl you on the open field. I will let all the birds of the air settle on you

and all the beasts of the earth gorge themselves on you. I will spread your flesh on the mountains

and fill the valleys with your remains. I will drench the land with your flowing blood

all the way to the mountains,

and the ravines will be filled with your flesh. When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens

and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, '

and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens

I will darken over you;

I will bring darkness over your land,

declares the Sovereign lord. I will trouble the hearts of many peoples

when I bring about your destruction among the nations,

among" lands you have not known. I will cause many peoples to be appalled at you,

and their kings will shudder with horror because of you

when I brandish my sword before them. On the day of your downfall

each of them will tremble

every moment for his life.

 

Ezk. 32:11-16

" 'For this is what the Sovereign lord says:

 

" 'The sword of the king of Babylon

will come against you. I will cause your hordes to fall

by the swords of mighty men—

the most ruthless of all nations. They will shatter the pride of Egypt,

and all her hordes will be overthrown. I will destroy all her cattle

from beside abundant waters no longer to be stirred by the foot of man

or muddied by the hoofs of cattle. Then I will let her waters settle

and make her streams flow like oil,

declares the Sovereign lord. When I make Egypt desolate

and strip the land of everything in it, when I strike down all who live there,

then they will know that I am the lord.'

"This is the lament they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign lord."

 

GRAVES OF EVIL Ezk32:17-32

 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the Word of the  lord came to me: "Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign to the earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, with those who go down to the pit. Say to them, 'Are you more favored than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircum­cised.' They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let her be dragged off with all her hordes. From within the grave0 the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, 'They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.'

"Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword.

"Elam is there, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. All who had spread terror in the land of the liv­ing went down uncircumcised to the earth below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. A bed is made for her among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword. Because their terror had spread in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain.

 

"Meshech and Tubal are there, with all their hordes around their graves. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword because they spread their terror in the land of the living. Do they not lie with the other uncir­cumcised warriors who have fallen, who went down to the grave with their weapons of war, whose swords were placed under their heads? The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, though the terror of these warriors had stalked through the land of the living.

"You too, O Pharaoh, will be broken and will lie among the uncircum­cised, with those killed by the sword.

 

"Edom is there, her kings and all her princes; despite their power, they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

"All the princes of the north and all the Sidonians are there; they went down with the slain in disgrace despite the terror caused by their power. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

"Pharaoh—he and all his army—will see them and he will be consoled for all his hordes that were killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign lord. Although I had him spread terror in the land of the living, Pharaoh and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign lord."

 

As a messenger of the eternal destruction to come, Ezekiel sees that God has made him personally accountable — not for the response of his hearers, but for his own faithfulness in preaching the word. His role is that of the watchman seeing the approach of danger.

 

 

WATCHMAN'S ACCOUNTABILITY. Ezk. 33:1-9

 The word of the lord came to me: "Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: 'When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.'

 

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for!1 his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.

 

The response from those he is warning is predictable: they demand to know what right God has to bring punishment against Israel. Although Ezekiel has already answered their arguments, he insists one last time that, although God hates the punishment which must come to the wicked, it must neverthe­less come (and furthermore, that no one is in a position to argue the matter). Yet the promise is equally sure that even the wicked can be saved through sincere and righteous repentance.

 

GOD HATES PUNISHMENT. Ezk. 33:10,11

"Son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you are saying: "Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because 0(1 them. How then can we live?" ' Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'

 

REPENTANCE CAN SAVE. Ezk. 33:12-16

 "Therefore, son of man, say to your coun­trymen, 'The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.' If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done. And if I say to the wicked man, 'You will surely die,' but he then turns away from his sin and does what is just and right—if he gives back what he took in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen, follows the decrees that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will sure­ly live.

 

GOD IS JUST. Ezk.33:17-10

"Yet your countrymen say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But it is their way that is not just. If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, he will die for it. And if a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live by doing so. Yet, O house of Israel, you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' But I will judge each of you according to his own ways."