Ezekiel Bible Study: January 15, 2025

Last week, you will remember that we talked about the prophecies of Tyre. We were in Ezekiel 27 and most of chapter 28. It was a recap, if you will, of the prophecies of Tyre, which I think is one of the more fascinating prophecies when you see how it all played out. Just an absolute proof of God. The way the the old city of Tyre, that was the coastal city, was abandoned, leveled.

Alexander the Great, you remember, cast everything into the sea there, and then you have this molais that leads out to New Tyre. We didn't get through all the way through chapter 28 last time. We did get through the chapter 28 that compared the attitudes and the spirit that was in the king of Tyre, the pride that was in him, how it all went to his head, everything about Tyre, and how magnificent it was that led to the downfall. God chose that those attitudes are the ones, those same attitudes, of Satan. It was Satan who inspired that. It's Satan who inspires all the pride in the world and how people can get so full of themselves when it really is God who provides everything that we have for us. We didn't get to the prophecy about Sidon. That's at the end of chapter 28, so we'll begin there tonight. Sidon is an interesting place. It is just north of Tyre. You know what the map of Israel looks like? Right above Israel is Lebanon. Tyre and Sidon are in Lebanon. They're on the coastal area there. Tyre is just south of Sidon. Sidon is the father city, if you will. Commentaries say that Sidon has existed since 2000 BC, and out of Sidon came Tyre. Tyre became the greater city, the merchant city of the world that navigated all the Mediterranean Sea and had all those merchants that we talked about last week on there. But Sidon had a reputation as well. One of the things that they were known for was that they had a tremendous proficiency in art. One of the commentaries said that their artistic elegance was proverbial. It was just a beautiful, beautiful city. It, of course, was a city that was known for its pagan gods as well. They didn't recognize God. They worshiped names like we will remember. Ashtaroth, Tammuz were among the gods that they worshiped, and they had an effect on Israel. More of an effect from the idolatry part of it than even Tyre did. Israel and the land of Israel was enamored with Tyre because of all the wealth and everything that they had with them. But the Sidonians, along with the other countries around there, are where Israel looked and they sinned against God by adopting their gods.

Let's go back to Judges. We're going to see Sidon in a little bit in some of the history here in the Bible. It's interesting when you see a nation that God is going to exact his judgment on here at the time that Ezekiel is prophesying and what they did in years before. God, the consequences of sin, the consequences of idolatry and leading people, Australia, and whatever, come to roost. Not always immediately, but Sidon here is going to reap the vengeance of God. If we look back in Judges 16—I'm sorry, Judges 10—the beginning of verse 6, we see this area of Sidon that's kept its name all the way from the time of Judges up until the time of Ezekiel.

And then verse 6, in verse 6 of chapter 10 of Judges, it says, "...then the children again did evil in the sight of the eternal, and they served the Bales and the asterisks, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon." You'll remember the map from last week that we had all those areas up on that map— Moab, Ammon, the Philistines were out toward the sea, but Sidon in that whole area of Lebanon, up there as well, they worshiped the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and they forsook the Lord and didn't serve him.

So those were all those nations. You remember these prophecies that we're in right now? God said He's going to exact vengeance on all of the neighbors, all the neighboring nations of Israel, because of the way they always treated Israel. They were always their enemies. And so we have this idolatry. If we go down to verse—let's drop down to verse—oh, got some people joining us here. For those that joined us, right now we're in Judges 10, and we're going to be looking at chapter 10 as we familiarize ourselves with the history of Sidon. In verse 10 of chapter 10 of Judges, it says, And the children of Israel cried out to the eternal, saying, We've sinned against you, because we have both forsaken our God and served the bales, the foreign gods. So the Lord said to the children of Israel, Didn't I deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from the Philistine? Also the Sidonians and Amalekites and Maenites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I delivered you from their hand, yet you have forsaken me, and you have served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen, let them deliver you in your time of distress. And the children of Israel said to the Lord, We've sinned. Due to us whatever seems best to you, only deliver us this day, we pray. So they did put away the foreign gods from among them and serve the Lord, and you can see His mercy here. I mean, they did. They yielded to Sidon every time, on those nations around them, every time to their God. And God's soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel. So He delivered them again. God is merciful. He is long-suffering. He is patient with us. He does forgive us. But there comes a time when we have to use, this day and age, His Holy Spirit to just absolutely yield to God so that we can overcome these sins that do so easily beset and the proclivities we have to just yield to those. So we see Sidon there. They were enemies of God. They let Israel stay astray. We go forward to 1 Kings 16. We see another famous Sidonian that's in the history of Israel. This is a woman, and she was a complete adversary of God. Her name is renowned in the history of ancient Israel.

In 1 Kings 16, verse 30, it says, Now Ahab, you remember King Ahab, right? He was the man who was remarried to Jezebel, and the whole event with Elijah and the prophets of Baal, and how after Elijah, after God, I answered Elijah's prayer and sent fire down and consumed the sacrifice, the prophets of Baal were killed, and Jezebel said, I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you, Elijah. Ahab, verse 30, The son of Abraham did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, he took his wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethebael, king of the Sidonians, and he went and served Baal and worshipped him. So here we have Jezebel, right? Renowned in Israel history for hating God, not even yielding to him when it was clear that he had made his presence known to them. And she was from Sidon, and of course she and Ahab led Israel astray. We go to the New Testament. New Testament, Tyre and Sidon, people from Tyre and Sidon actually came to listen to Jesus Christ. So let's turn to Mark. Mark 3.

Mark 3 and Mark 4. Verse 6. We'll pick it up. You get the context here. The Pharisees are upset with Christ. They're looking to see how they can stop him. Verse 6. It says, The Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against him how they might destroy him. Verse 7, But Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed him from Judea and Jerusalem and Edomiah, which is Edom. We saw that on the map, and beyond the Jordan, and those from Tyre and Sidon. A great multitude. When they heard how many things he was doing came to him. So we had people who came over from those areas, Tyre and Sidon, who listened to Jesus Christ. In Luke 10. Is it Luke 10? Luke, yeah, Luke 10. In verse 13, Christ, um...

Luke 10 verse 13.

Christ actually talks about Tyre and Sidon. They were evil cities. Sidon, you know, at the time, of course, the Christ was alive. Sidon had been punished. We're going to be looking at this prophecy in Ezekiel and what God did to them. But he talks to cities that were there in modern day, then modern day Judea. Woe to you, Corazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which they weren't, right?

If they had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable, Christ said, for Tyre and Sidon, at the judgment than for you. So quite a statement to the people of Judah and those cities there that day who just simply rejected Jesus Christ. And he said, you know, if the works that were done there, if that had been done in Tyre and Sidon, as evil as those areas were, they would have repented, he said.

They would have listened, but the people of Christ's time weren't. And I think that's something that we can think about and make sure that we're not taking God's word for granted. We certainly live in a world where people disregard God, and no matter what warnings he sends, no matter what message goes out, they just kind of forget about him and want to put him out of their minds altogether. But you and I can never do that.

And we always have to kind of remember—not kind of, but remember to just follow him and yield to him completely. So with all that in mind about Sidon, which is, I think, the fifth country that surrounded ancient Israel, let's go back to Ezekiel 28 and see what God says about Sidon here in this prophecy. And we have now some background of why God has the pronouncement and the judgment on him that he does.

So we are in Ezekiel 28, and in verse 20, it says, The word of the eternal kingdom he's saying, Son of man, he's speaking to Ezekiel, set your face toward Sidon and profit of sight against her, and say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O Sidon. I will be glorified in your midst, and they will know that I am the Lord. Again, over and over we see that phrase in the book of Ezekiel.

Then they will know that I am the Lord. Punishment comes to nations. Punishment comes to God's own people so that they recognize him and so that they come to the knowledge of him. They shall know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her. They'll know the power of God. They'll understand what it is that has happened to them. For I will send pestilence upon her, and blood in her streets. The wounded shall be judged in her midst by the sword against her on every side.

Then they will know that I am the Lord, and there shall no longer be a pricking briar or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all those who are around them, who despise them. So he's saying, here's the one against Satan. This is the last of those neighboring nations who have always been, as he says, thorn in the side of Israel. They were always their adversaries, always leading Israel astray. They allowed themselves to be taken astray by that. God says that won't be anymore. That won't be anymore. There will be no more pricking briar or painful thorn. From among all those who are around Israel who despise them, they shall know that I am the Lord God.

Thus he says, when I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, this is a future time, then they will dwell in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. So again, we go back to when Jesus Christ returns, the scattered nations, the scattered people of Israel will be brought to their land that God originally promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they will dwell safely there. They will build houses. They will plant vineyards. Yes, they will dwell securely when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them.

Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God. So you can see the judgment that God had put on all these nations. And you know, when we read as we have in Isaiah and earlier, well, I guess it was mainly in Isaiah, but also in Ezekiel, when Israel repents before God, when they recognize what they have done, how they've turned against God, and they have that genuine repentance that God says, it is so deep that they will be an example to all the nations around them, and they will never again turn away from God. And so the nations, the other nations, they see the power of God.

They recognize Israel, and they're seen as God's people when God brings them back, and Jesus Christ returns, and everyone dwells safely together. So you have this punishment, but always in God's eyes there is the positive at the end of it, the blessing at the end of it, the unity, the peace, the joy, the knowledge of God that everyone will enjoy at that time. And sometimes, and unfortunately most times for humans, it takes pain in order to come to the realization who God is and to see how weak, frail, and miserable, miserable we are.

So at the end of chapter 29, then, we complete that section on those five—maybe it's six, I should have counted them up—nations around Jerusalem, around Israel, that God is exacting judgment on. We come to chapter 29, and then God turns his attention on Egypt. Egypt is not our neighboring nation, and the way it is is right across what we call today the Suez Canal from where Israel is. But we know that Egypt was an ancient enemy of Israel as well. And for the next four chapters, God talks about Egypt and what he's going to do to them.

It gets maybe a little bit repetitive as we look to chapter 29 and 30, and we'll try to get through those two chapters today. But to just refresh our minds on something we read back 12 chapters ago, let's go back to Ezekiel 17 for a moment. And we see where God is with Egypt. Of course, we know in ancient times when he brought Israel out of Egypt that his people were there in slavery in Egypt. But we go back to Ezekiel 17, and we come to the time, if you'll remember, where King Zedekiah is sitting on the throne in Judah. And Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon is besieging Judah, and God tells Zedekiah at that time just live with them. And Zedekiah makes an oath to support Nebuchadnezzar. And then he breaks that oath. He goes out and he talks to Egypt, and he talks to other people around them, kind of trying to do things behind Babylon's back. And you remember that God chides Zedekiah tremendously. And we learn when we make an oath, we make an oath, God expects us to keep it, to be people of our word. So if we look at chapter 17 here, and let's look at verse 12. Just a few verses here to remember that whole situation of what God was talking about, Zedekiah. And remember Zedekiah, God said, you're going to be taken to Babylon. He was going to see his sons killed in front of him, and he was going to lose his life there, too. So in verse 12 of Ezekiel 17, it says, Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, Indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem, and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon. And he took the king's offspring, remember the sons, and he made a covenant with him, and put him under oath. He also took away the mighty of the land, that the kingdom might be brought low, and not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.

But he rebelled against him, Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Will he prosper, God says? Will he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant, and still be delivered? As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, with him in the midst of Babylon, he shall die. In verse 17, he says, Nor will Pharaoh, with his mighty army and great company, do anything in the war, when they heap up a siege mound, and build a wall to cut off many purses, since he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, etc. So Egypt was part of that, breaking of the covenant. They were going to go against that, and God has issues with Egypt. Now, we learned in Ezekiel 29 that Egypt wasn't a very strong ally to Israel, even with that. And as we go through chapter 29, you know, I don't have to do a whole lot of extra reading here, because it's pretty straightforward to go with God, as saying. We'll fill in some of the blanks here, but we'll see some of how Egypt was as an ally.

They weren't strong as we get through this chapter. But let's go back to Ezekiel 29 then, and we'll look at verse 1 there. And God gives us a timeline there. Now, looking at the commentaries in our UCG Bible commentary, it tells us that in the 10th month on the 12th day, this was the time. This was the time when, the time before, right before Jerusalem fell, and Egypt came up to oppose Babylon. So we're right in that time when it's just about the time for Jerusalem to fall. That's the time, time, time that we're in. So God, the word of the word, came to Ezekiel, saying, Son of Man, set your face against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. We'll get to verse 3. Speak and say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt, O great monster, wow, O great monster, who lies in the midst of his rivers, who has said, My river is my own. I've made it for myself. So here again, we see something that God detests, and that's this enormous pride that people can have. Here's a Pharaoh. We all know that the Nile River is pretty much the lifeblood of Egypt, and Pharaoh is claiming it as this is his. You know, that this is all about him. Not giving God any credit at all. No man can claim a river, right? But apparently this Pharaoh at this time has this prideful, prideful position about him, who has said, My river is my own. I've made it for myself. God says he will defy people. He will bring those low. Over and over in the Bible, read, Those who are prideful will be brought low. And God says, I'll put hooks. I'll put hooks in your jaws. I'll cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales. Now, don't remember if it's the UCG commentary or another commentary, but you read those things. And of course, God's using the analogy of rivers here.

But as you look at the history that's here, it says, I'll put hooks in your jaws, okay? And you catch a fish, right? You catch a fish when you have a hook in their jaws. I'll cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales. So he says this is the analogy of common people, because there's going to be something happen to this Pharaoh who's going to be, he's going to be betrayed.

I'll cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales. Your common people will come against you. I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, and all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales. They will be against you. I will leave you in the wilderness. You and all the fish of your rivers. You shall fall on the open field. He shall not be picked up or gathered.

I have given you as food to the beasts of the field and to the birds of heaven. We look at verse, so basically Pharaoh fails, right? His pride brought him low. Verse 6 then, God begins to show that, you know, likely because of the pride, maybe, you know, I mean Israel went to Egypt thinking, or King Zedekiah, not Israel, Judah, went to Egypt. You know, we'd like to—Allah, if we could maybe, if we join with you, Babylon, you know, we can go against Babylon.

Thought they were, thought they're a mighty nation. Turned out not such a good ally at all. God confounded that plan there. Verse 6 it says, then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord. Oh, we know something's going to happen. God is going to teach a lesson here of who he is, that he is involved in the affairs of man, and that people need to pay attention. All the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

So when you look, you'll remember whether the Nile River and the reeds that grow along the Waddanile River, they're just plants that grow out of the river. They're very weak. If you touch them, they bend over. There's no strength to them at all. And so God is using this analogy to show Egypt was no help at all. Zedekiah pretty much sacrificed his life, broke an oath, angered God, lost everything, relying on Egypt, relying on Egypt and not keeping his promise with God. And Israel and Egypt became a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

They were weak. They weren't able to accomplish anything that Israel wanted them to do. Israel trusted in them, and because of all these things that happened to that pharaoh, whatever the detail of all that is, they were unable to do anything. They were confounded. Nothing that they bargained for when they trusted outside of God did it come about.

Because Egypt has been a staff of reed. Just as soon as you touch them, it bends over. There's no strength, no stability, nothing that you can count on in there. That's what it's describing there in verse 6. Egypt was of no help at all. When they took hold of you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders. When they reached out to you, all you had to do was touch them. They were so weak, and you could break all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and made all their backs quiver.

He's got a picture here of why would you ever rely on that? In Israel or Judah, Zedekiah should have learned quite a lesson. Egypt shouldn't have participated in this either, but God confounded what was going on there. Judah and us, when we look for strength in someone other than God, when we trust and rely on someone else, especially when we've made a covenant with him, as God reminds us in Ezekiel 17, you rely on him. You don't look elsewhere and trust them. God can confound those things, and this is what happened here in chapter 29 with Egypt.

Again, this is began. Ezekiel, say this, prophesy against Pharaoh of Egypt. He doesn't have the strength that he thinks he has. Pride was his fall. Verse 8, therefore thus says the Lord God, surely I will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast. He's talking about Egypt again. There's a price to pay here. This is a punishment for pride. I'll bring a sword upon you and cut you off from man and beast, and the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste. We just did a thing today for this weekend where God talks so many times in the Bible about lands being laid waste, cities being laid waste. There's a warning from God when these things happen. Here it was. The land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste. It was a rich for land with that river running through it, but because of evil, God lays it waste. All that fertility, all that produce that was there became nothing. God said, I did that. Then they'll know that I am the Lord. Why? Because that Pharaoh said the river is mine. I made it. I mean, he makes it pretty clear. Pride could be any of our downfalls if we ever let it get a hold of us and think that we, that God needs us, or that we did all these things, or whatever things we do.

It says in 1 Corinthians, stand there. Whatever you do, do it to the praise of God, as in Proverbs 3 verse 5 as well. They suffered all these things because of the pride of their leader. Verse 10, indeed, therefore I am against you, God says, and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate from Migdol to Cyrene as far as the border of Ethiopia. Now, Migdol to Cyrene, that Migdol was in the very north. Today, the commentary says we know where the Suez Canal is, the very north of Egypt, from Suez all the way down to the Eswandam, down from north to south, Migdol to Cyrene. God says the entire land of Egypt is going to be waste and desolate because of the pride of that man and this interaction that was there.

When we read about cities being laid waste, when we read about the cities of Revelation, when we read about the prophecies that God makes against people that sin against him, take notice. The pride gets broken down, and the pride of the land is God who created the land, it's God who created the soils, God who created all those miracles of those things that get grown in there. When we start thinking it's all about us, God reminds us it's all about him. It's all about him. He provides everything and the blessings that we have there.

We look at verse 10 and hear, Egypt suffers this period of time. In verse 11, it says, Neither foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years. I will make, verse 12, I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and among the cities that are laid waste, her city shall be desolate forty years, and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. I'm going to put up something here from the UCG Bible commentary here in a second. As I'm reading it here, you will see that there is no record of that forty years. When that forty years happens, where all these things happen in Egypt, we may learn something about those forty years. But let me put up what our UCG Bible commentary says about those forty years here. They say it better than I can repeat it, so I'll just kind of read what we have here. Indeed, it might be that—well, I'll just read what it has here. It says commentary on verses 11 to 14, when God says they're going to be carried away, they'll be scattered. And then he says in verse 14, I'll bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. So, our commentary says, there is no secular—that means independent—confirmation of this period of scattering. Indeed, we would not expect an admission of such a massive defeat in the Egyptian records, and it would be a defeat of massive proportions to have the country laid waste for forty years, have the people scattered everywhere, and then be brought back. However, the commentary says, a Babylonian chronicle suggests that Egypt was conquered by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar around 568 BC. Forty years after this date, the Persians, having overthrown the Babylonians, instituted a policy of resettlement for many of the peoples who had been dispersed by Babylon. It was the custom, you know, of ancient nations. When they conquered one, they would take everyone out of the country and settle them in a new land. They didn't want them to be part of the land that they were there anymore. So, it appears that this did happen when you look at the Persian records, resettle the people who had been dispersed by Babylon. Pharaoh Haphra was executed at the time of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion, not long after a coup by Haphra's own generals Amasis and Amos, who replaced him as Pharaoh. Amos, too, remained on the throne as a Babylonian vassal and continued into the Persian period, dying a year before the Persian invasion of 525 BC. So, indeed, you know, when we look at verses 11 to 14, that's quite a pronouncement that God made there, you know, Egypt. This is what you're going to do for you're the pride of your nation. I mean, Tyre suffered all those military attacks. Remember from from Nebuchadnezzar, he didn't complete the conquest of Tyre. It was Alexander the Great, a few hundred years later, that came in and finally completed that mole that we talked about. And the city that was on the coastal on the coast was completely decimated, and the new city of Tyre out on the island was there. They were under siege for hundreds of years and under attacks. But here's Egypt for 40 years. We have this period of time, and history apart from what the researchers here have come up with hasn't had that. It does make you wonder if maybe there's a future fulfillment of verses 11 to 14 here as well. Does everyone have their microphone off? David, can you help me get the garbage out tonight? Can you do it? Hold on.

The garbage has to go out tonight. Okay, don't grab your microphone on. Got it. Okay, the garbage will get out. Okay, 11 to 14. Okay, let's go on to 15. Maybe if someone else has some more information on 11-14, you know, that's quite a pronouncement that God made here. In verse 15, he says, it shall be the lowliest of kingdoms. That means it's never going to have the power that it was before this.

It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms. It shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore. And indeed, when you see this Pharaoh, Haphra, and Amos, or the other name there, they were the last pharaohs. They never became such a powerful nation. Again, even today, you know, they're there in the Middle East, they're a factor in the Middle East, but they never have had the power again that they had back then.

It'll be the lowliest kingdoms. God says, I will be the one, he will be the one who diminishes them. No longer, verse 16, shall it be the confidence of the house of Israel.

Meaning Israel won't look to Egypt again for any power. You know, they may have that time violated their oath against Nebuchadnezzar, and God took it that they violated an oath that against him. He said, never again. You won't look to his Egypt again. And isn't that an interesting statement that all down through the time here, they're not the power that they were back at that time. It'll no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, but it will remind them of their iniquity when they turn to follow them.

Well, today I would say the people of Israel, the descendants of Israel, and even the little nation of Israel over there, isn't thinking about those things, times. But they will. They will realize one day that Egypt isn't that. And, you know, as the nations learn their sins against God and everything, how that will be, it will remind them of their iniquity when they turned from God to follow them.

God says again, then they'll know that I am the Lord God. They will know we should have trusted God. Always we should have. He is the only God. He is the only true God. And it came to pass. So we have that, right? So we have that happening in the 10th month, the 10th month of the 10th year.

And then in verse 17, it's like we fast forward for 17 years. All these things God pronounced on Egypt. And in verse 17, it says, it came to pass in the 27th year, that's 17 years later, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, saying, Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar. This is a very interesting section as well. I mean, remember what God is doing here.

Egypt has been punished from the time for what they have done. And then God has such an interesting section here, the remaining verses of chapter 29, because God is showing, I am in charge. I am in charge. What happens in the world, I am involved in. When he says things will happen, when we read that in Isaiah 45 or 55 and those chapters, it really does happen exactly the way he said. So he says, Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. You'll remember from last week, it was like 13 years, 13 years that siege was.

It was God who led Nebuchadnezzar to Tyre. They were going to be his judgment on them for the pride that they had and how they positioned themselves in the world. For 13 years, his army labored strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder rubbed raw. Yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre for the labor which they expended on it. They worked hard doing what God wanted them to do, but he didn't conquer it. He didn't get the riches of Tyre. They worked, but it was hundreds of years later when Alexander the Great came in that it was finally accomplished.

Nebuchadnezzar did his part, but here God says, but he really never got anything out of it. For 13 years they did this. Therefore, though, says the Lord God, surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage, and that will be the wages for his army. So, you know, that happened. Nebuchadnezzar did conquer Egypt. They did conquer Egypt and lay it to waste.

God says, I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor because they worked for me, says the Lord God. Just an interesting way that God makes us aware. Nebuchadnezzar knew who God was, never yielded to God, but they did God's will because God led them to that. He says, I've given him the land of Egypt because they worked for me, says the Lord God. I thought that was just a very interesting way God does that to remind us, too, that whatever happens in our world around us, while we see these things happen, it is God who is orchestrating those things.

It is the minds of man that lead them to him. He knows exactly what's going on, but as we've read through Ezekiel's or read through Isaiah, you see these armies. You see God uses Syria to punish nations, and then it's all full of themselves. They get themselves thinking they're high and mighty and everything, or in some cases, they take glee. We've seen that where they just are absolutely gleeful and celebrating over the demise of Israel, and God punishes them for that because you don't party over your adversary's demise.

And so we see God orchestrating events. As we go through the time between now and the rest of our lives—Jesus, Christ's return, whatever comes first—we remember and we look at this world around us, and we see the various things happening as we watch the changes in power. We watch this, we watch that, we see things happening. God prophesied. God's in control. Things will lead to the return of Jesus Christ exactly the way he said. And so many times, as we're going to read in verse 21, we're going to learn that those prophecies came about after the fact. Then we'll look back and say, oh, that's exactly what God said. Verse 21, in that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth. Now, when we read of the horns, it can be a mouthpiece.

Some of the commentaries say it can be kind of a symbol of power. And that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your mouth to speak at their midst.

What the commentary is when you kind of put that all together, I think our UCG commentary comes to the same conclusion. It's like, after the fact, we're going to know what goes on. God will say, this is what happened. It's like, oh, that's exactly what went on there.

And so you see sometimes prophecies after they come to fast, you think that's exactly God was there all along. And then you know, he is the Lord. He did it. He's God. Look at my notes here, because I saw another note that I wanted to kind of just read as well.

Apparently I didn't write that down, but oh yeah, I did put it in my Bible here.

The other, there is a commentary out there that you'll remember that in Ezekiel, I think it was in Ezekiel 17, two chapters in Ezekiel, we talked about the transfer of power from the upper house, Judah, to the lower house, Israel, and how at the time of Zedekiah when his sons were killed and the daughters were taken and the kingdom was moved from Jerusalem to England, the British Isles over there. We talked about that. This could also be talking about, since a horn represents power, right, kingdoms, that this is a transfer of power from Jerusalem at Egypt's fall in that day of Jeremiah. So it might be when you look at that, in that day, I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your mouth to speak of their midst. But I think most likely it is prophecy will be revealed at that time, and people will see what God had done, and they will glorify God, and just like we sometimes see the prophecy after the fact that it's come down, and we glorify God and say that's exactly, exactly the way God said it would happen. We just may not have seen it as it was coming to pass. So let me pause there in chapter 29. Chapter 30 also goes on and talks about Egypt, but if there's any questions, thoughts, comments, anything you want to talk about in chapter 29 before we move in to chapter 30. Okay, well, let's just move into it then. Kind of, you know, the first couple verses here of chapter 30 really take us, it appears, into the day of the Lord, the time, you know, right before the return of Jesus Christ, because the verbiage that's used here in verses 3 and 4, or especially in verses 2 and 3, mirror what is said in Jewel 2 verses 1 and 2. So let me just read verse 1. It says, the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel again, saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, thus says the Lord God, whale. This is usually, this is something that's not pleasant, whale. Woe to the day, for the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near.

It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles. So, you know, in Joel 2, we could turn there, but I think most of us know what it says there. It says, it will be a time of clouds and gloominess. And Joel 2 is clearly picturing the time of the day of the Lord when everything all, even begins in verse 1 of Joel 2, about blow the trumpet. So we know it's picturing that time of the trumpets and the day of the Lord. Same verbiage is used here. This could be something that refers to the future where Egypt is prophesied, as you will recall from Daniel 11, which we have been in a few times recently, where it talks about the king of the north, you know, the beast power. That's to the north of the Mediterranean. Europe marches down through the king of the south. All those nations that we show that are down there in that area. And it talked about he will march through, he will overthrow them all. Ammon, Jordan, and Edom will escape. But it says Egypt will not escape. So we might be talking about those things at the time of the conquering of Egypt. And of course, we read many areas in Isaiah where it talked about all those nations, how God, because of the hate, the literal hate that they have for Israel, the way they've been raised, that they won't survive into the kingdom. Of course, they will be resurrected, and they'll have their dearest salvation in the second resurrection, an opportunity to know God and repent. But, you know, we have that. It looks like this is going to be at that time. But I think our commentary also says that it could be a time that just shows that the judgment is on Egypt and could be referring back to this time that we're just coming out of it as equal 29. Probably it is a little bit of both. It probably is a past fulfillment and a future destination of what will happen to that land as well. Even the day of the Lord, verse 3 is near, it will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles. Time of the Gentiles. We know the time is coming when the power in the West, the power that England, America, the English-speaking nations will disappear. Those are the people that we believe are the descendants of Israel, or God in Genesis 48. Abraham, or not Abraham, Jacob put his hands, laid his hands on Joseph and put the blessing on him. The people that God says in Isaiah he created. This is those times, but there's the coming of time of the Gentiles when the beast power will rule. That power will transfer over to Europe and the time of the Gentiles, the kingdoms, the autocratic governments, the time that we read about it in Revelation 13. It'll be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles, the sword, verse 4, the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great anguish shall be in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is just south of Egypt.

Sudan is there today, but in ancient times it was Egypt, and then Kush it was called in that area today. There's Sudan and then Ethiopia, but that area. The sword shall come upon Egypt, and great anguish shall be in Ethiopia when the slain fall in Egypt, and they take away her wealth and her foundations are broken down. Remember, Egypt is the power. Ethiopia is a very poor country today. One of those countries that we talked about back in the prophecies of Isaiah, that they're kind of one of only two countries in all of Africa that have never been colonized. They are on a different time. They're on a different calendar. They're kind of like this protected area. Very poor, very poor, and you have to wonder what is God working in Ethiopia. But Egypt is the power above them, and when they see what happens in Egypt, of course there's fear there. What is going on? The foundations that are always there are just sort of broken. Ethiopia, verse 5, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled peoples. Talking about people who have moved into those countries that aren't native Egyptians, but you have this mixing. Kind of like America has a mixture of all these cultures and the migrants that have come in here that we have in our nation. We have this mingled people, chub, and the men of the lands who are allied shall fall with them by the sword. That area gets conquered. Thus says the Lord, those who uphold Egypt shall fall. If you're an Egypt supporter, that's not going to be a good thing. You're rooting for the wrong side. You shouldn't be allied with Egypt. Those who uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her power shall come down.

Again, this could relate back to what's going on in chapter 29. The pride of her power shall come down from Migdol to Syene, the very same thing that God said about Egypt back here in chapter 29 and verse 10 from the north to the south. So are we talking about a future? Perhaps something? But again, it could be talking about the very same desolation that befell Egypt that we read about in chapter 29. Again, it's notable that God spends four chapters here on Egypt, and we keep learning lessons about it. Whenever God repeats one thing, we pay attention. When it's a couple times, there's lessons to be learned, lessons to be learned at that. It's something that we remember.

Anyway, he says the pride of their power will be taken down. They're going to be, they're going to fall from the north to the south. Those within her shall fall by the sword, says the Lord God.

Verse 7, they'll be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries. All that area, all that area will be desolate. And remember, as the king of the north marches forth, if we look at the future, they march through that land. They destroy it. They shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries. And her city shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste.

Then God says they know that I am the Lord. Past fulfillment, they will know, maybe a future fulfillment as well, that they come to know who God is again. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I have set a fire in Egypt, and all her helpers are destroyed.

And then on that day it says, Messengers shall go forth from me, God says. He's orchestrating it. And the commentaries will say those Messengers are likely Nebuchadnezzar's vessels that were sailing along the Nile River as they marched into that area and conquered it. On that day, Messengers shall go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great anguish shall come upon them as on the day of Egypt. For indeed it is coming, God said. So again, we've got God warning. This is what's happening. This is what's going to happen. Indeed, Nebuchadnezzar did conquer, but is this also something future as well when he set a fire in Egypt and decimates that whole area? Verse 10. See, some of these things, you know, sometimes people want us to be very definite in what we say, and we just don't know. It's going to be like chapter verse 21 of chapter 29. Sometimes we just wait on God, and we will see what the truth of this is and exactly what all these verses mean when God fulfills it, and he opens our minds to understand what happened there. Verse 10, thus says the Lord God, I will make a multitude of Egypt to cease, and he says here, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Avalon. He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain. I will make the rivers dry. I will sell the land into the hand of the wicked. I will make the land waste, and all that is in it by the hand of aliens I the Lord have spoken.

What does that mean? Again, we have this 40-year period that there's no secular history on what happened. Is that something for the future when God talks about the land will be waste at that time and the hand of aliens will waste it at that time? Is that something that happened before where we have this 40-year history of chapter 29 that there's no independent history of it? Just the things that we have been able to put together by the commentaries and some others? Because it isn't one thing that Egypt would have kept a record of back then. Verse 13, thus says the Lord God, I will also destroy the idols and cause the images to cease from Noth.

We know Noth today is Memphis where that is, but again here God is decrying the many sins of Egypt. I will destroy the idols. I'll cause the images to cease. There will no longer be princes from the land of Egypt. No more Pharaoh, no more dynasty, no more of those things, and that has occurred from the time of that last Pharaoh we talked about in chapter 29 all the way up to today. There has not been any princes or anyone about lineage that ruled in Egypt, and I will put fear in the land of Egypt. I will make pathos desolate. I will set fire to Zoan. I will execute judgments in Noth in all these places that God says, Egypt. Egypt will be a source of his judgment. I will pour my fury on sin, the strength of Egypt. I will cut off a multitude of no. I will set a fire in Egypt.

Sin will have great pain. No shall be split open, and Noth shall be in distress daily.

You know, you get these where God goes into the detail of what's going on and this disaster upon disaster. I read these and I remind it of Ezekiel 7 where he talks about what will happen to Israel. He talks about a singular disaster that's going to come. Then, as you go progress through chapter 7, it's disaster upon disaster. It's like one thing after another. You get the same sense here as God is punishing, really punishing, and getting Egypt's attention for what they did. Was that only back then? Or is there something in the future of Egypt between now and the return of Jesus Christ that there's a fury poured out on them that God even specifically mentioned in Daniel 11, the land of Egypt shall not escape? So, verse 17, the young men of Avon and Pi, Pi of Assest shall fall by the sword and these cities shall go into captivity. At at Tephanese, the day will be darkened when I break the yokes of Egypt there, and her arrogant strength, so again we see pride as part of this. We've got idols. We have pride. Her arrogant strength shall cease in her. As for her, a cloud shall cover her and her daughter shall go into captivity. Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Then they will know that I am the Lord. So, over and over again we see these, you know, God, the detail of what is going to happen here. Verse 20, it came to pass in the 11th year. Now, as we were 17 years ahead at the end of chapter 29, it appears, you know, we're in the 10th year, the 10th month, at the beginning of chapter 29. Now we're in the 11th year, in the first month, that a prophecy comes to Ezekiel. Comes to Ezekiel on the 11th year, first month, seventh day of the month. The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel saying, Son of man. See, remember we said at the beginning of chapter 29, it was right before the time that Jerusalem fell and Egypt fell at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Son of man, I've broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And see, it has not been bandaged for healing, nor a splint put on to bind it to make it strong enough to hold the sword. So, God is saying, I've broken the power. I've broken the power. Yeah, Savior, you got a comment? Sure. Brother Chibby, there's some who believe that maybe the king of Assad will reside in Egypt, versus when, what was it, Alexander's generals, when he would split?

The king of Assad was in Egypt, so maybe this is also in regards to broadcasting to the future.

Also, there is a prophecy in Jeremiah 43 that talks about the house of the Paul sun god, Bed-Shemesh, that got destroyed. And some people also say that Jeremiah was killed here when he was dragged with the rest of the people to go to Egypt and got put on that.

Oh, he was killed there in Egypt? Yeah, but he was thrown there in Heliopolis. Heliopolis. Okay, interesting. We could probably do a whole history lesson on these verses here if we wanted to. That's very interesting. There's a lot, and obviously this is important to God, because he did put a lot of detail in here. But in verse 21, God says, I broke him. I broke Egypt. He's not even strong enough to hold a sword anymore. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, I am against Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And that dynasty was brought down. I will break his arms, both the strong one when he had left and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall out of his hand. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand. See, this again, when we recognize, I mean, Babylon did come conquer Egypt, and we do have the prophecies of Babylon, the future Babylon, marching through, and Egypt will not escape. I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, and I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man. Thus I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down. King of the north, again, this happened. I mean, Babylon did conquer Egypt, and in the end time you do have the king of the north, that Babylonian system that does march through the king of the south, and it does conquer the king of the south and destroy them. I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down. 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. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord. I'm gonna stop there, because there's a lot in there to contemplate. Is it all passed? It happened. Do we know that the Egyptians were all scattered among the countries? That was the history of Babylon, that when they conquered a land, they did take the people out and move it to another land, and we have that one document from the Persians that they resettled them. Will that happen again at the end time?

Only God knows, but we do know that Egypt is in God's sight, and Egypt is an enemy, and God spends a lot of time. We spent two chapters on the prophecies against Egypt tonight. Next week, chapters 31 and 32 are about Egypt, and we'll get through those. We'll get through those, I think, next week as well. There's a little bit about some other countries at the end of chapter 32 that we might not get to, but let's stop there tonight and open it up for any comments, questions, or anything else you want to talk about. Dale, how are you doing tonight? Thanks. Good to see you. Egypt always seemed to have more idols, more false gods than any other nation in the Old Testament, and maybe it'll continue in the end time when they're part of that peace system.

Yeah, it also in the time of the end time, Daniel 1143, it says, but he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. Yeah, you think that's kind of referring to the king of the north there? I think at the feet of his steps, the foot of his steps, or the heel of his steps, the word of his head, yeah, I think it's... And the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. Yes. Yeah, besides the precious things of Egypt, yeah. So maybe Egypt will be a lot richer in the end time with that part of that peace system, you know. That's what you just have to wonder, what is in store with Egypt between now and then, right? Because they're kind of like a non-factor. Well, they're there in the Middle East, but they're just neutral today. So what happens between now and then? Yeah, good change, yeah. Hey, Bill, how are you doing?

Bill Bruce? Yeah. Oh, yes, say I was listening to your sermon, and I was just curious about something. When you were talking about the king of the north, the king of the south, and one of them passed through, and they leave those three countries alone, what, Ammon and Moab and Edom?

So were you kind of inferring that that might kind of be a place of safety?

I was kind of inferring that God might have something in mind for that area. When you put together some other verses in the Bible, he refers to that area. You know, it appears that God is working with a place when you look at Revelation 12, and he talks about a place where you're nurtured for time and times. Half the time, Zephaniah 2-3 asks the question, who knows where you will be hidden? And God talks about his outcasts in that area in Isaiah 16. So we don't know what that is, but we know there are verses that talk about this place where God protects people, and interesting that it's in that area that he says those areas will escape the hand of the king of the north. All right, thank you. And just inferring, not making any definitive things here. Only God knows what he has in mind. So, hey, Rachel. How are you tonight? Hi, I'm Shabir. How are you? Okay. I was interested, you know, when Egypt and the pharaohs were overtaken, there was Muslim leaders, you know, in modern times. And after our fact, wasn't he assassinated in his rule whenever he was a leader in Egypt?

Huh. Are you, um, Sadat? Is that who you're talking about? Yeah, yeah. That's right. I don't remember the details of all that, but yeah, there was something back then. He was an asylum writer. Yeah, he was a Muslim leader, I think. They haven't been the same since then either, right? They've just kind of like been over there. They haven't really done a whole lot since that time. So, all right. Mr. Paddy, how are you? Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Did you have another one?

I was reading through the church commentary. It said, when Egypt became an independent nation in modern times, it was an Arab, not a true Egyptian state. And that the inhabitants of Egypt have for centuries been overwhelmingly Muslim worshippers of Allah. So, maybe that's God's, I mean, it's a lot to say it's just Egypt. Maybe it's that whole area of Arabia and the Muslim terrorist. Yeah, well, that whole area looks like it's going to go that way, right? When Syria fell, that was one of the things they said. That was kind of like a mecca for Christians, right? And now they've got a Muslim leader there. Egypt is very quiet, very quiet, you know, and we'll just have to see what happens in that area. So, okay, thank you. Yep, and it's interesting, too, you know, because Islam is a very war-like religion, right? And the Catholics are very war-like. So, you have the king of the north, you know, whatever that Catholic religion morphs into at the time of the end, and Islam, you have the two most warring religions on earth that'll be facing off against each other, which is an interesting, interesting thing there. So, yeah, Mr. Murray.

Oh, yeah, three things. Egypt, because of its population around 79 to 80 million people, is the largest of those Sunni Arab nation-states, and it's always provided the fodder for the mill, so to speak. It's always provided the bulk of the soldiers whenever those combined nations have gone to war, like when they tried to attack Israel, for example. And it seems like Egypt is going to be the leading nation of the king of the south when we see that the land of Egypt won't escape the hands of the beast in the end time. So, that's the point about that. Another one about Jeremiah being stoned in Egypt is highly unlikely, because from what we understand, he was the one that took the king's daughters up into Ireland, and we had this overturn, overturn, overturn spoken of in the scriptures of those daughters being married into the blind of Dan now, I guess, in the kings there and then into Scotland, and then ultimately the British throne, as we know it today.

So, that's that point there. Oh, the other one with the place of safety. Yes, it seems like, as you say, from Isaiah 16, also Isaiah 33, it does speak of it as being a wilderness place, and a place where our bread and waters are sure. And those ones that will be in the place of safety in Isaiah 33 speak of, they will see the king coming in all of his glory, so indicative of seeing Christ returning. So, we have quite a number of pointers in Isaiah 16, and 33 of it being a wilderness place, God providing again our bread, and what much like he provided, I guess, the manna in the time of the Exodus. And oh, that's right, the early church didn't flee to Petra. It actually fled to Pella when the Roman troops were coming. And that's because they're still in the land of Jordan in that area of Ammon and those ones that are listed there in Daniel 11. But it's interesting that when they heard a voice in the temple as to see this recorded, and they fled to Pella. And when Titus was coming with his Roman troops, the Spasian was the Roman governor, it was the Roman emperor, but the Titus was coming. He was Pella. And he actually split his Roman troops and went around Pella and then attacked the Jerusalem. So, the brethren that actually went to Pella had to exercise an awful lot of faith and trust in God, because you mean go to Pella in the face of where the Roman troops were known becoming, but he actually split the troops. God, I would imagine, intervened. And then, of course, all the ones that had the faith to go to Pella were protected. But just out of interest, that is a point that Pella was the place of protection that God provided for the early church. So we ought not to just sort of hang our hat on saying, well, I'll matter if it features the place. But we must trust in God, as you say, that God has provided a place, as it says in Revelation 12, and he will reveal where that place is. But as you say, it is indicative that possibly because of the beast not taking over that area, as we know of modern-day Jordan, that's an indicator that possibly it's somewhere, maybe in that vicinity. Yeah. Good point. And exercising faith, right? Because that's in Revelation 12, too, when it talks about the armies coming and the flood, and that God just opens up the earth. That's faith, too. He'll take care of it, yeah. It's much like he took care of chorus, we've heard him.

Yeah. Yeah, Marta. Hello, from Pasadena, again. On the news, yesterday in this morning, it was mentioned that Egypt was on yesterday, putting Hamas and Israel having a ceasefire. So it seems like Egypt now is slowly coming into the picture. Interesting. Interesting. Yeah, I hadn't heard that. You know, it is interesting, Mr. Wurrie mentioned, and I do remember growing up in the church. The church used to think Egypt would be. Egypt would be the leader of that. That's why specifically we don't, they're just started there, but it's just one thing to watch as this whole thing develops, as Egypt begins to take a lead role there in a way that no one foresees. So. Right. And Egypt has been affected because of all of the people in Gaza trying to get into Egypt for safety.

So that's probably why Egypt is getting involved. Yeah. Yeah, very good. Hey, Becky.

Hey there. Sorry, my mic is in a different place today. I missed, at the beginning, somebody said something had been signed, and I was a couple minutes late, so I just wanted to ask what that was about. Something was signed today is what I thought. Something was signed. I think we're talking about Sidon. S-I-D-O-N. Oh, okay. Well, oh no, no, no, my wife. It's the peace treaty, the ceasefire treaty is in between Israel and Hamas. That's what we were talking about. That was signed. And what you were talking about just now as well. I wonder, that's what made me ask. Tell your wife, I said thank you, because I was wondering. Okay, yeah.

So what is it? January 15th. Notable day. Okay.

Okay, anything else? Anyone? Bill?

Your hand up, Bill? I was wondering, do you have a new video coming out tomorrow?

It'll be coming out Friday. All right. Yeah. You know, it seems to me that you're getting braver all the time, some of the things you've been saying that if you were in Canada, you'd probably be in jail by now.

But I'm glad I'm here in Ohio.

Anyway, that was it. Okay, okay. Okay.

If nothing more, I'm looking, I'm looking, I don't see any hands or yellow boxes that tells me someone's ready to talk. So why don't we call it a night? I want to thank you all for being here tonight. We will have a great Sabbath. We will look forward to seeing you next Wednesday night. Okay?

Good night. Good night, everyone.

Thank you.