Egypt Felled as a Proud Tree

Ezekiel 31:1-18 

1 Now it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:

Whom are you like in your greatness?

3 Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.

4 The waters made it grow;
Underground waters gave it height,
With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out rivulets to all the trees of the field.

5 'Therefore its height was exalted above all the trees of the field;
Its boughs were multiplied,
And its branches became long because of the abundance of water,
As it sent them out.

6 All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs;
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young;
And in its shadow all great nations made their home.

7 'Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches,
Because its roots reached to abundant waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it;
The fir trees were not like its boughs,
And the chestnut trees were not like its branches;
No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.

9 I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches,
So that all the trees of Eden envied it,
That were in the garden of God.'

10 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and its heart was lifted up in its height, 11 therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness. 12 And aliens, the most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.

13 'On its ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens,
And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches—

14 So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them.

'For they have all been delivered to death,
To the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.'

15 "Thus says the Lord GOD: 'In the day when it went down to hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the depths of the earth. 17 They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm dwelt in its shadows among the nations.

18 To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,' says the Lord GOD."

God asked the question of who was like the great Pharaoh and his people and then compared Egypt to towering Assyria as a cedar in Lebanon.  Assyria Had been a cedar of high stature giving her shade over others, well watered and prosperously placed to tower over all around.  Such nourishment made her proudly rise above all other and cover them with plenty of lush branches to exhibit her majestic wealth and importance to lesser trees of the nations all around who took submissive shelter under her boughs of plenty.  No other tree could match the great beauty until even the trees of Eden envied her position and power over the rest.  Likewise, Egypt had towered over the nations in pride and power with military might and idolatrous influence.  She would have her pride and wickedness cut down with a mighty crash for her fall from the place of envy as all who relied on her protection fled away from the destruction lest they be caught up with her fall.  God promised to do this by the hand of a more powerful nation, Babylon, and keep the other surrounding trees from reaching up to gain that height of self-importance again.  Death and the Pit were assigned to Egypt for her pride against the LORD and defilement of His people with idolatry and immortality of false worship and trust.  Just as Lebanon mourned the loss of Assyria, so there would be great sorrow at the fall of Egypt on her way to join that one in hell for the same devilish pride and arrogant wickedness.  There would be no more tree in Eden that would envy either any longer when the end was seen to be in the depths of the Pit where the uncircumcised (those not in covenant with God) were thrown down into.  In the final judgment there will also be many there for their pride and lack of trust in God’s work and word in Jesus Christ for deliverance from the sin of prideful idolatry and immorality.  These examples of those trusting in their own power and position in this world who gained the world but lost their souls (Mark 8:36) are a warning to the world today to listen to the gospel and turn in faith from sin to Him.  Sheltering under powers of the world will only lead to a great fall into the Pit prepared for others (Matthew 25:41) who reject the Lord and His Savior and pridefully attempt to lift themselves above Him (Isaiah 14:13-14).  Egypt was felled as a proud mighty tree for such aspirations.  May we then learn from this and humble ourselves under the mighty hand of the Lord and rely on Him alone through Christ, His Word who lives in us and depart from such sins (2 Timothy 2:19) of pride, idolatry, and immortality.  This is a warning not to exalt ourselves above God, but to humble ourselves in repentance and faith to trust Him as our shelter and protection.