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Ezekiel 29:1-21 Prophesy Against Egypt

Introduction

[Study Aired August 26, 2024]

Today’s study is about King Pharoah and Egypt. The Lord told Ezekiel to speak His words concerning the impending destruction of Pharoah and also the desolation of the land of Egypt. The chapter also promise a restoration for the Egyptians after forty years and the giving of the land of Egypt by the Lord to Nebuchadnezzar as a reward for the destruction of Tyre. The chapter ends with a promise of the Lord’s goodness to the people of Israel who represents His elect.  

The Prophesy Against Pharoah, the King of Egypt

Eze 29:1  In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Eze 29:2  Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: 
Eze 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. 

The tenth year in the tenth month on the twelfth day of the month spiritually suggests that it is when the sins of our flesh have become complete (significance of the number 10) that the Lord (significance of the number 12) comes to us with His word. His coming is the beginning of the judgement of our old man. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Verse 2 shows us that the King of Egypt, Pharoah, is the focus of the Lord’s words. The question is, who does Pharoah signify spiritually?  To answer this, we need to look at what is said about Pharoah in verse 3 which states that the King of Egypt, Pharoah, is the great dragon that lies in the midst of his rivers. In the following verses, the rivers are the same as the deep which refers to the sea:

Isa 44:27  That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:

Eze 31:15  Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods 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. 

The midst of thy rivers in verse 3 refers to the sea of flesh. The King of Egypt lying in the midst of his rivers therefore means that the King of Egypt or Pharoah is our flesh. Just as we represent Christ and therefore, we can be referred to as Jesus, the children of Satan (Those who live by the flesh) who is the great dragon, can be referred to as the great dragon. Thus, the King of Pharoah is not Satan but represents our flesh or old man who is empowered or influenced by Satan.

Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 
Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 

Here in verse 3, Pharoah is saying that he has his own river and has made it for himself. The river here is the false doctrines emanating from our flesh, that is, man’s wisdom and traditions, which the devil is using to deceive the whole world.  

Col 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 
Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 

Mar 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 
Mar 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 

Eze 29:4  But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. 
Eze 29:5  And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.

In view of the sins of our flesh, the Lord comes to us with His judgement. In verse 4, the Lord is saying that He will put hooks in our jaws and will cause the fish of our rivers to stick unto our scales by putting us out of the midst of our rivers. Putting the hooks in our jaws means the Lord will be dragging us. The scales in this case, spiritually indicates the pride of our old man as shown in the following verse:

Job 41:15  His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.

The Lord used the phrase “I will make you fishers of men” to refer to those that He will drag to Himself through the apostles. The fish of our rivers in verse 3 therefore refers to us His elect who were dominated by our old man or flesh through the deception of the false doctrine of man’s wisdom and tradition which makes us proud.

Mat 4:18  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 
Mat 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

In verses 4 and 5, the Lord is saying that He will bring us up out of the midst of our rivers by throwing us into the wilderness where we shall fall into the open fields and not be gathered together. In this situation, we become like meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. As the Lord’s elect, we shall surely be delivered from all the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and traditions. However, verses 4 and 5 show us that the Lord’s deliverance is through an evil experience which starts with the Lord dragging us into the wilderness which represents Babylon or the physical churches of this world where we are starved of the word of the Lord. 

1Sa 3:1  Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. (ESV)

This Babylon is also likened to open fields which means that the churches of this world is part of the world system. At this stage, we, His elect, are not part of the assembly of the church of the firstborn as we have not yet been gathered together with His people as the Lord has promised. 

Jer 29:14  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 

During this walk with the Lord in the wilderness or open fields, we are given as meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. The beasts of the field refers to these men who walk in the flesh but parade as apostles of Christ in the churches of this world, deceiving us. This is how the apostles, Peter and Jude, referred to them:

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Jud 1:10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 

As Jesus indicated, the fowls of the heaven signify the devil or evil one when He explained the parable of the sower to His disciples. 

Mat 13:3  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 
Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 

Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. 

Being meat to the fowls of the heaven therefore means that we become victims of the devil as every word of the Lord that is shown in our hearts is  taken away.

Eze 29:6  And 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. 
Eze 29:7  When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand. 

In verse 6, the house of Israel here refers to the Lord’s elect. The inhabitants of Egypt signify all those who walk according to worldly principles of man’s wisdom and tradition which we were being fed with when we were in the churches of this world. It also means all those who are dominated by the flesh. Verse 6 shows us that walking in the flesh is likened to a staff of reed or an unreliable walking stick. The verse is therefore telling us that as the Lord’s elect (house of Israel), we shall come to see that we cannot rely on our walk in the flesh or worldly principles before Him. 

Verse 7 shows us the unreliability of our flesh in serving the Lord. When we depends on our flesh or the worldly wisdom and traditions of this world, we are going to be disappointed. The verse likens our walk in the flesh as walking with a stick which when we use, it splinters and tear up our shoulders and when we lean on, it breaks and wrench our backs. All of this is showing us that there is no good thing in our flesh or our old man when it comes to serving the Lord.

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 

As we can see from Romans 7:24-25, when we are under the control of our old man or flesh, we are wretched, poor and blind until the Lord Jesus Christ comes to us with His judgement. 

The Benefits of the Judgment of the Lord

Eze 29:8  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cutoff man and beast out of thee. 
Eze 29:9  And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it. 
Eze 29:10  Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. 
Eze 29:11 No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. 

Verse 8 is shows us the way the Lord comes to deal with us to destroy our old man or flesh – by  coming to us with His judgement. The Lord’s judgement in this case is the sword which He uses to cut off man and beast from our lives. The man and beast here refers to the beast within manor our flesh, which the Lord deals with through the spirit of His mouth (sword) and His brightness.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:  

The land of Egypt in verse 9 refers to our bodies when we are under the dominion of the flesh. In such a state, we are just like anybody pursuing the things of this world. As indicated earlier, the rivers in verse 9 symbolize the false doctrines of man’s wisdom and traditions of this world. These rivers are what sustain Egypt or Babylon. At the time of Jacob and his sons, Egypt represents Babylon. Here in verses 9 and 10, the Lord has promised to come and judge our old man or body (the land of Egypt) together with destruction of her rivers which is the false doctrines. The land of Egypt becoming desolate and waste implies that nothing can grow on the land since there is no water or river to nourish the land. Since the land is our bodies, the Lord’s judgment ensures that our old man or flesh together with the false doctrines in our heavens are destroyed, paving the way for the birth and growth of our new man created after the image of Christ.

It is instructive to note that in verse 11, we are told that the land shall not be inhabited for forty years and that no foot of man or the foot of beast shall pass through it. The number forty signifies the period of our fiery trial or judgement. 

Gen 7:4  For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
Gen 7:17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

As the Lord’s elect, our period of judgment lasts until our last breadth. This implies that during this period of our lives as we are being judged by the Lord in this life, our land shall not be inhabited by any beast or man. That is to say that our old man or flesh shall be put to death and shall not have any influence in our lives again. 

Psa 119:67  Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
Psa 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. 

Psa 119:75  I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.  

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.  

Eze 29:12  And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 
Eze 29:13 Yet thus saith the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered: 

As indicated earlier, Egypt also refers to Babylon. The Lord making Egypt the most desolate country in the world means that the Lord shall destroy Babylon within us through His judgment of our old man. The forty years represents the period we are being judged in this life. 

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. 
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 
Rev 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 

Outwardly, the Lord shall judge Babylon in the fulness of time.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 
Rev 18:6  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 
Rev 18:7  How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 
Rev 18:8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

In verse 13, we are being assured that the Lord’s judgment of Babylon will result in the saving of our brothers and sisters in Babylon as they will be gathered together after a symbolic forty years. 

Eze 29:14  And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom. 
Eze 29:15 It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. 

These verses continue to assure us that the Lord’s judgement of Babylon shall result in restoration as He brings again the captivity of Egypt. As indicated, Egypt represented Babylon at a certain stage of the Lord’s people and therefore the Egyptians represent our brothers and sisters in Babylon of which we were part of when we were in the churches of this world, conforming to its worldly standards. In verse 14, the Lord is saying that the Egyptians shall possess their land. This implies that the Lord’s judgement shall result in the possession of their soul just as the people of Israel, the Lord’s elect, shall possess their bodies and offer them as living sacrifices to the Lord. However, as stated in verse 14 and 15, our brothers and sisters in Babylon shall not be given to rule the nations as they shall be the basest of the kingdoms. As stated in verse 15, they shall no more rule over the nations. It is only the Lord’s elect who are given to rule the nations of this world as they overcome the flesh or old man through the Lord’s judgment in this age. 

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Eze 29:16  And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD. 

A simpler rendition of this verse is as follows:

Eze 29:16  The nation of Israel will never trust Egypt again. The people of Israel will remember how wrong they were whenever they turned to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Almighty LORD.'” (GW)

The house of Israel in verse 16 refers to the Lord’s elect. As the Lord’s elect, we shall not have confidence in the flesh which is the hallmark of all those who walk in the flesh who are symbolically represented by Egypt. As the Lord takes us though His judgment to destroy our old man or flesh, we shall come to remember how wrong we were when depended on our flesh or have confidence in our flesh. At the end of the day, this process of the Lord’s judgment will cause us to know who the Lord really is as we come to have the mind of Christ.

Php 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 
Php 3:4  Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 
Php 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 
Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 
Php 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

The Reward for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon

Eze 29:17  And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 

The first day of the first month of the twenty-seventh year when the Lord came to Ezekiel is very significant. The number one symbolizes that everything is from the Lord. The number twenty-seven is used in the Bible to signify the visiting of the Lord with His goodness after His judgment. This is made clear in the following verses:

Gen 8:14  And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried (after the flood).

2Ki 25:27  And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;   

This implies that the word of the Lord spoken to Ezekiel on the first day of the first month in the twenty-seventh year, is to show us the goodness of the Lord as He comes to visit us after we have gone through His judgment.

Eze 29:18  Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: 
Eze 29:19  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. 
Eze 29:20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD. 

These verses show us the goodness of the Lord which is extended to all His creation, even people who do not know Him. In verses 18 to 20, the Lord is saying that He is a rewarder even to the people of this world that He uses to judge us. Here the Lord is rewarding the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar  with the land and people of Egypt for sending him to conquer Tyre. Seeing that our Lord is a rewarder, we are assured that He will surely come to us with His reward!! Faithful is He who has called us!! 

Heb 11:6  And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 
Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 

Spiritually, the verses also show us how the Lord is rewarding our brothers and sisters in Babylon even for the work that He has given to them – to keep the multitude from coming to know Him in this age.

Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 

If we look around, we can see how the Lord has given to the churches of this world, the wealth of this world (Egypt) even for this evil work that they are doing. 

Rev 18:16  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city (Babylon), that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! 
Rev 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 

Eze 29:21  In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

In this verse, the Lord is telling us that He has not forgotten His elect and that He will cause us to be strong in Him through what He gives to us through what every joint supplies. That is what will guarantee our reward in the fulness of time as we come to know Him.  Knowing this, we can clearly see that our labor shall be rewarded even in this life and in another age. However, what we receive here in this life is only a down payment for the real riches that awaits us.

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? 
Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 
Mat 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. 

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

May the Name of the Lord be praised!! Amen!!