(The previous post covered how and why Lucifer became Satan, along with prophecies against Egypt.)
Ezekiel 31
1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
(The prophecy against Egypt continued…)
2 Son of man, say unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
(The Pharaoh of Egypt was shown the coming judgment using Assyria as an example of what was to come.)
(Verses 3-9: showed how Assyria was a beautiful and rich country.)
3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a forest-like shade, and of high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs.
4 The waters nourished it, the deep made it to grow: the rivers thereof ran round about its plantation; and it sent out its channels unto all the trees of the field.
5 Therefore its stature was exalted above all the trees of the field; and its boughs were multiplied, and its branches became long by reason of many waters, when it shot them forth.
6 All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; and under its branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young; and under its shadow dwelt all great nations.
7 Thus was it fair in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its root was by many waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the fir-trees were not like its boughs, and the plane-trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto it in its beauty.
9 I made it fair by the multitude of its branches, so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it.
(God compared Assyria to the cedar tree that all the trees in Eden would have envied. All the nations envied Assyria.)
(Verses 10-14: showed the reason for the ruin and humiliation of Assyria.)
10 Therefore thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because thou art exalted in stature, and he hath set his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
11 I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations; he shall surely deal with him; I have driven him out for his wickedness.
(Assyria was prideful. God delivered Assyria into the hands of the Babylonians and Medes.)
12 And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
13 Upon his ruin all the birds of the heavens shall dwell, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches;
14 to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up on their height, even all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
(Assyria's ruin was supposed to serve as a warning to Egypt.)
(Verses 15-17: the mourning for Assyria.)
15 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In the day when he went down to Sheol I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the rivers thereof; and the great waters were stayed; and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to Sheol with them that descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
17 They also went down into Sheol with him unto them that are slain by the sword; yea, they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the nations.
(Verse 18: Egypt was asked if they recognized that they were like Assyria.)
18 To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.
(Next was the final chapter of the Book of Ezekiel which covered the second type of prophecies: judgment of the other nations.)
Ezekiel 32
1 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
(This prophecy occurred after the fall of Jerusalem...)
2 Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou wast likened unto a young lion of the nations: yet art thou as a monster in the seas; and thou didst break forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
(Lamentation (mourning) for the Pharaoh.)
3 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will spread out my net upon thee with a company of many peoples; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
(The "net" mentioned here (through verse 16) symbolized judgment against Egypt by Babylon.)
4 And I will leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle upon thee, and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of thee.
7 And when I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.
("I shall extinguish thee..." God would extinguish Pharaoh's light: energy/creative force.)
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord Jehovah.
9 I will also vex the hearts of many peoples, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.
10 Yea, I will make many peoples amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.
11 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.
(The king of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) would be against Egypt and the Pharaoh.)
12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall; the terrible of the nations are they all: and they shall bring to nought the pride of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.
13 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside many waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
14 Then will I make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord Jehovah.
15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am Jehovah.
16 This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament; the daughters of the nations shall lament therewith; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they lament therewith, saith the Lord Jehovah.
(Verses 17-21: a lamentation for Egypt.)
17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
(This took place about a year and eight months after the fall of Jerusalem.)
18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit.
19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
20 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword; draw her away and all her multitudes.
21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
(Egypt would descend into Sheol/hell.)
22 Asshur is there and all her company; her graves are round about her; all of them slain, fallen by the sword;
23 whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.
(Asshur (the Assyrians) would accompany Egypt in Sheol.)
24 There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit.
25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are round about her; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that are slain.
(Elam would be in Sheol. Notice the contrast between what Elam did in the "land of the living" (terror) and the shame they would bear after leaving the "land of the living" because of Justice.)
26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude; their graves are round about them; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they caused their terror in the land of the living.
27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, that are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are upon their bones; for they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
28 But thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain by the sword.
(Meshech and Tubal would be in Sheol.)
29 There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who in their might are laid with them that are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit.
(Edom would be in Sheol. Edom was from Esau.)
30 There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame; and they lie uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit.
(Sidonians would be in Sheol/the pit.)
31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, saith the Lord Jehovah.
32 For I have put his terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord Jehovah.
(Pharaoh and Egypt would also join these other nations in Sheol. Chapters 33 through 39 made up the third type of prophecies in the Book of Ezekiel. These chapters covered events during the Tribulation and some immediate judgments of Babylon.)
Ezekiel 33
1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and set him for their watchman;
(The watchman from Ezekiel 3:17-21.)
3 if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
(The watchman must warn the people of an attacking enemy by blowing a trumpet.)
4 then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
(If the watchman blew the trumpet, it was not his fault if no one listened to the warning.)
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him; whereas if he had taken warning, he would have delivered his soul.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned, and the sword come, and take any person from among them; he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
(If the watchman did not blow the trumpet, he would have a share in the blood of others.)
7 So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
(Ezekiel was appointed a watchman by God. Notice, it was not the job of a watchman to fight. The Book of Ezekiel was intended to be a book of warning.)
8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand.
9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.
10 And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we pine away in them; how then can we live?
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
(God had no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God was Just. God's Will was that all were saved (1 Timothy 2:4). God had pleasure in the wicked repenting for their evil ways.)
12 And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall he that is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth.
(The righteousness of the righteous would not save the wicked. We all are individually responsible for our own Salvation.)
13 When I say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his righteousness, and commit iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in his iniquity that he hath committed, therein shall he die.
14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
15 if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that which he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
(If the wicked repent, they would live.)
16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
(The people were saying that God was unjust when in reality they were unjust.)
18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die therein.
(When the righteous turned from their righteousness they would die. This verse showed that you can forfeit your salvation.)
19 And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
(Again, if the wicked repented, they would live.)
20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
22 Now the hand of Jehovah had been upon me in the evening, before he that was escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb.
(The prophet received strength from God. See Ezekiel 24:27.)
23 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
(Verses 24-29: prophecy to the remnant.)
24 Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.
25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes unto your idols, and shed blood: and shall ye possess the land?
26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbor's wife: and shall ye possess the land?
27 Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely they that are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured; and they that are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.
28 And I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment; and the pride of her power shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through.
29 Then shall they know that I am Jehovah, when I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, because of all their abominations which they have committed.
(Verses 30-33: showed Ezekiel being mocked by backslidden Judah.)
30 And as for thee, son of man, the children of thy people talk of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from Jehovah.
31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their gain.
(The people were saying the right words but their actions were not following.)
32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
33 And when this cometh to pass, (behold, it cometh,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
(The final verse gave a reason for all of this different than "so they will know Jehovah is God." This reason was "so they will know that a prophet had been among them.")
(This post covered the conclusion of the second part of the Book of Ezekiel which dealt with prophecies against nations other than Israel. This post also covered the beginning of the third part of the Book of Ezekiel which dealt with events during the Tribulation and some immediate judgments of Babylon.)
Day 253
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