Ezekiel 30:1-26

Ezekiel: “They shall know that I am God”

God’s Plans for *Israel and the Nations

Ezekiel Chapter s 25 to 39

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 30

The attack on Egypt – Ezekiel 30:1-19

v1 The *LORD spoke to me again. v2 ‘*Son of man, *prophesy. Say: “This is what the *LORD your King says. Cry aloud. The terrible day will come. v3 The day is near. The day of the *LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds and a time of terror for the nations. v4 An enemy will attack Egypt. He will kill many people in Egypt. And he will take away their wealth. He will tear down all their property. And the people in Cush will tremble because of their fear.

v5 People from Cush, Put, Lydia, Arabia and Libya will die in battle. And the sword will kill some of my people who had made an agreement with Egypt. v6 This is what the *LORD says. Those people who support Egypt will die. Egypt will lose the power of which it is proud. The *LORD your King says that the sword will kill the people from Migdol to Aswan. v7 The war will ruin Egypt with the countries that the battles destroyed. Its cities will be among the cities that the armies have ruined. v8 I will burn Egypt. I will defeat all who help it. Then they will know that I am the *LORD.

v9 On that day, I will send messages by ship to frighten the people in Cush. They feel safe now. But they will tremble because of their fear when I punish Egypt. That day will happen.

v10 This is what the *LORD your King says. There will not still be a large number of people in Egypt. I will use the power of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to defeat them. v11 He and his army will come in to destroy the nation. They are more cruel than any other nation. With their swords, they will attack Egypt. Dead bodies will be everywhere. v12 And I will make the rivers dry. And I will sell the country to evil men. I will use foreign people to destroy the country. They will ruin everything in it. I, the *LORD, have spoken.

v13 This is what the *LORD your King says. I will destroy the false gods. I will remove the images of gods from the city called Memphis. There will be nobody to rule in Egypt. And I will spread fear through the nation. v14 I will destroy Pathros. I will burn Zoan and I will punish Thebes. v15 I will act because of my anger against Pelusium, the strong place of Egypt. I will destroy many of the people in Thebes. v16 I will burn Egypt with fire. Pelusium will be in great pain. I will break down the walls of Thebes. Memphis will have constant troubles. v17 The young men from Aven and Pibeseth shall die by the sword. And the rest of the people will go into *exile. v18 The day will be dark in Tahpanhes when I end the power of Egypt. There the proud strength of Egypt will end. A cloud will cover Egypt, and the inhabitants of its villages will go into *exile. v19 So, I will punish Egypt. And they will know that I am the *LORD.” ’

Verses 1-5 The *Lord tells about a terrible day for the nations. That day was near. It would happen soon. The phrase ‘the day of the *Lord’ often refers to the end times (that is, the last few years before Christ’s return). Then there will be another time of terror for the nations. But here it means the attack by the *Babylonians against Egypt.

The *Babylonians will kill many people and they will rob Egypt of its wealth. They will destroy much of the property in Egypt.

The *Egyptians hired men from other countries to fight in their army. Many of these men would die in the battle. There were people who had come to Egypt from Judah. They had come to escape the trouble in their own country. But they would not be safe. Many of them would die in Egypt.

Verses 6-19 Until this event, Egypt was a proud and strong nation. Now the power of Egypt would end. The *Babylonians would kill many people in the country called Egypt. They would start in the north and continue to the south. They would destroy the cities in all of Egypt. News of the attack would reach Cush (Ethiopia) by ship up the River Nile. The people in Cush felt safe while Egypt was strong. But they would be afraid when the *Lord punished Egypt.

The *Babylonians would kill many people in the country called Egypt. They would start in the north and continue to the south.

The *Lord chose Nebuchadnezzar and his army to destroy Egypt. The *Babylonians were a cruel nation. They would not pity the people.

Ezekiel mentions the main cities that the army would destroy. In each city, the *Lord would remove the false gods. There would be nobody to lead the *Egyptians. Fear would spread through the nation. Many of the people would die. Of those people that did not die, many would go into *exile.

God will punish Egypt. They will know that God is the *Lord.

Nebuchadnezzar breaks the arms of the king of Egypt – Ezekiel 30:20-26

v20 The *LORD spoke to me on the 7th day of the first month. This was in the 11th year during our *exile. v21 ‘*Son of man, I have broken the powerful arm of the king of Egypt. Nobody will bind it up or cure it. He will have no bandage on it. The arm will not be strong enough to hold a sword. v22 Therefore, the *LORD your King says: I am against the king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong arm and the broken arm. I will make his sword fall from his hand. v23 I will scatter the *Egyptians among the nations. I will scatter them among the countries. v24 I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong. I will put my sword in his hand. But I will break the arms of the king of Egypt. When they meet in battle, the king of Egypt will cry out in pain. He will cry out as one who dies. v25 So, I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong. But the arms of the king of Egypt will be weak. They will know that I am the *LORD. I will put my sword into the king of Babylon’s hand. And he will stretch it out against the nation called Egypt. v26 Then I will scatter the *Egyptians among the nations. I will scatter them among the countries. And then they will know that I am the *LORD.’

Verses 20-26 The *Lord spoke this to Ezekiel in April 587 *BC. This was about 3 months before the *Babylonians broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

In 588 *BC, King Hophra had tried to stop the *Babylonians so that they could not attack Jerusalem. He did not succeed. His army lost the battle and they went back to Egypt. This message from God came just a few months later. Then Nebuchadnezzar came again to fight against Jerusalem.

The arm and a hand that held a sword were picture language. They were a sign of the king of Egypt’s strength. Hophra had given himself a name that meant ‘the strong arm’. Therefore, God said that he had broken the arm of Hophra. The arm could not hold a sword. God had taken away his power. God made him weak. Nobody would try to cure that arm. Hophra would remain weak.

But God would make the ‘arm’ of Nebuchadnezzar stronger. In other words, he will become even more powerful. He will be the agent of God to destroy Egypt. He will break both the arms of the king of Egypt. He will defeat the army of Egypt. He will send the *Egyptians into *exile in other countries. This happened in about 568 *BC.

Then they will know that the *Lord is God.

Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.

'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
prophesy ~ to speak a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
exile ~ When people have to live in a foreign country they are in exile. Such a person is called an exile.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
Egyptian ~ a person from the nation called Egypt or anything that has a relationship with Egypt.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.