Judgment on Egypt and Her Allies

Ezekiel 30:1-12 

1 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, 2 "Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:

"Wail, 'Woe to the day!'
3 For the day is near,
Even the day of the LORD is near;
It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.

4 The sword shall come upon Egypt,
And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia,
When the slain fall in Egypt,
And they take away her wealth,
And her foundations are broken down.

5 "Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword."

6 'Thus says the LORD:
"Those who uphold Egypt shall fall,
And the pride of her power shall come down.
From Migdol to Syene
Those within her shall fall by the sword,"
Says the Lord GOD.

7 "They shall be desolate in the midst of the desolate countries,
And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are laid waste.
8 Then they will know that I am the LORD,
When I have set a fire in Egypt
And all her helpers are destroyed.

9 On that day messengers shall go forth from Me in ships
To make the careless Ethiopians afraid,
And great anguish shall come upon them,
As on the day of Egypt;
For indeed it is coming!"

10 'Thus says the Lord GOD:
"I will also make a multitude of Egypt to cease
By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations,
Shall be brought to destroy the land;
They shall draw their swords against Egypt,
And fill the land with the slain.

12 I will make the rivers dry,
And sell the land into the hand of the wicked;
I will make the land waste, and all that is in it,
By the hand of aliens.
I, the LORD, have spoken."

The day of the LORD was foretold to warn Egypt and those supporting her of the divine judgment for offering military aid to Israel who was under the discipline of God for her idolatry and immortality.  Both nations faced the mighty Babylonian armies of different reasons; Israel as a tool to humble and purge through tough discipline, and Egypt for daring to help defend God’s people against God’s will.  This was the same Egypt that had turned on Joseph (Exodus 1:8-9) and the people of God after he saved their land from famine and now would turn the people back to the idols they had left behind there on their way to the promised land.   The sword of judgment would fall on Egypt and Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and others who upheld her.  They would all fall by the sword of God’s wrath at the hand of Babylon for this.  The pride of earthly power would be annihilated as the fire of vengeance would send a powerful message to all those who would stand against His people to lead them into sin against Him.  The carnage was great across the devastated land by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.  Only a wasteland remained of the once mighty superpower of the ancient world.  The LORD spoke these things by the mouth of His messenger Ezekiel to make it clear to them and us what steps He takes to protect and restore His people from their sin and punish the enemies who lead them astray after idols and immoral pursuits.  The Lord still defends all His chosen children until the judgment of that final day of the Lord.  He will avenge His people (Romans 12:19, Revelation 6:9-10) whom He had had disciplined and corrected in the sanctifying grace of His love.  When we suffer in this life we can hold to the comforting assurance that they will be judged and we will be avenged by his hand and not our own.  Vengeance is the Lord’s.  Trust in His word and work in Christ is our eternal assurance when all will be made right at last.