Year 2, Week 20, Day 4 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 20, Day 4

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Ezekiel 30-31.

Today’s reading continues the Book of Ezekiel as it continues the second segment of Ezekiel (chapters 25-32). This second segment is a series of prophecies of judgment against seven nations surrounding Israel and Judah. The oracle of judgment against is covered in Ezekiel 29-32 as seven subunits comprise the judgment against the seventh nation. Each subunit begins with the statement, “the word of the LORD came to me” (Ezekiel 29:1;30:1;30:20;31:1;32:1;32:17). Ezekiel 30 warns that the day of the Lord is coming against Egypt: “The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’ For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations” (Ezekiel 30:1-3). This is the day of reckoning and divine judgment for Egypt and the nations. Ezekiel 31 links the destruction of Egypt to the destruction of Assyria: “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: “Whom are you like in your greatness? Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade, and of towering height, its top among the clouds…Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out” (Ezekiel 31:2-3,10-11).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading is the repeated explanation of what the LORD would accomplish through the destruction of Egypt: “Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have set fire to Egypt, and all her helpers are broken” (Ezekiel 30:8). This notion of, “then they will know that I am the LORD,” is used throughout the oracle of judgment against Egypt (see Ezekiel 29:6,9,16,21; 30:8,12,19,25,26; 33:15). It is also used throughout other segments of Ezekiel for a total of fifty-eight times. Sometimes, as we will see later in Ezekiel, because the LORD wants His gracious power and mercy to be seen, He will assert, “then they will know that I am the LORD.” An example of this kind is associated with His mighty work among the valley of dry bones: “And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD” (Ezekiel 37:14). But other times-perhaps even much of the time- the LORD’s revelation of who He is will be seen in His just judgment. As the LORD judges the nations, He explicitly links that with the intent that Israel and all the other nations would see Him as He is—the one true God. The LORD’s mighty works of judgment as well as mercy show who He is.

Showing Egypt He is the LORD is certainly relevant for Egypt, but it is also important for Israel to see that the LORD is God as He judges Egypt. For instance, the fourth statement of judgment concerning Egypt occurs just a few months before Jerusalem would fall: “In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword…I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 30:20-21,25a). When they should have turned to the LORD, Israel,  in the past had turned to Egypt for help as they were threatened. The LORD would take that temptation off the table for the LORD would direct the Babylonians to also sack Egypt. The fifth statement of judgment concerning Egypt would come within a month of the fall of Jerusalem: “In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude…You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. “This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 31:1,18b). The LORD underscored that the options that Israel thought they had to experience relief from Babylon, would not be available. The LORD alone would be their only help.

The LORD works in either judgment or mercy to show and to be seen as the LORD God. Either way, the Jesus will be acknowledged as Lord: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). Those who are not in a right relationship will God see that He is LORD but will do so as they perish: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 3:3-4). Those who are in a right relationship with God will see that He is LORD and find refuge in Him: “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe