Ezekiel 29

Proclamation against Egypt

6^th Dated Vision

Ezekiel 29:¹ In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Ezekiel 29:² “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh (Psammtik) King of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt.

(All the surrounding tribes/nations who support him)

Ezekiel 29:³ Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I am against you,
O Pharaoh king of Egypt,
O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers (sea monster),
Who has said, ‘My River (Lit: the Nile, Symbolically: sea of people) is my own;
I have made it for myself.’

The sea monster, Leviathan lives in a sea of people. Throughout scripture Leviathan is associated with Satan. Satan is always represented by a reptile: a serpent , a  sea monster, Leviathan, beast, crocodile, or dragon.

Above: Leviathan (Satan) in the Sea of People symbolizing Egypt and the Egyptians.

Satan has indwelt Pharaoh. God, speaking through Ezekiel, directs his conversation to Pharaoh who he calls the sea monster (Satan).

Ezekiel 29:⁴ But I will put hooks in your jaws,

To have a hook in your mouth is to be forced to go against your will.

 ^{“Can you draw out Leviathan (Satan) with a hook, or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? Job 41:1 The King over the children of pride. Job 41:34}

And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales;
I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,
And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales.

Fish are symbolic of people:

^{Habakkuk1:14-15 Why do You make men like fish of the sea, …15 They take up all of them with a hook, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet.}

Jesus told Peter He would make him a fisher of “men”.

God is bringing judgment on the people and the Pharaoh. Only God can pull Satan out of the Sea of People. See Job 41:1 when God is speaking to Job:

^{Job 41:1 God’s Power in the Leviathan “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?}
Ezekiel 29:⁵ I will leave you in the wilderness (typically,a place of desolation or a place where one is able to get lost),
You and all the fish (people) of your rivers;
You shall fall on the open field (Lit. face of the field);
You shall not be picked up or gathered (buried).
I have given you as food
To the beasts of the field
And to the birds of the heavens.

Prophetic scripture often refers to the immediate future but also a long ranging prophetic future. Egypt will be part of end time prophecies during the seven year tribulation when they go against Jerusalem with many nations.

• ^{Micah 4:11 Now also many nations have gathered against you, Who say, “Let her be defiled, And let our eye look upon Zion.”}

The “field” is symbolic of “the world” or “worldliness”.

Below are more verses that relate to these prophecies:

• ^{Ezekiel 39:17 A Triumphant Festival: “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: “Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood.}
• ^{Revelation 19:21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.}
• ^{Revelation 19:17 The Beast and His Armies Defeated. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,}

The prediction of the death of Pharaoh.

Ezekiel 29:⁶ “Then 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.

The Hebrew meaning of “reed” is “spearmen” ie: to pierce.

(It is interesting that the soldiers who mocked Jesus gave Him a robe and a staff of reed.)

Ezekiel 29:⁷ When they (Israel) took hold of you with the hand,
You broke and tore all their shoulders (authority);
When they (Israel) leaned on you,
You broke and made all their backs quiver.”

Ezekiel 29:⁸ ‘Therefore (Because you turned your back on Israel) thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast.

Ezekiel 29:⁹ And the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, ‘The River is (the people are) mine, and I have made it.’

Ezekiel 29:¹⁰ Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol (Or the tower) to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia.

Ezekiel 29:¹¹ Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years.

Fulfilled 588 BC to 548 BC: Forty Years.

^{The Kingdom of Judah came to an end in 586 BC when Babylonian forces under Nebuchadnezzar II captured Jerusalem, and removed most of its population to their own lands. Babylonian rule was ended in the 540s by Cyrus, who founded the Persian Empire in its stead. The Persian Empire continued to expand and grew into the greatest empire the world had known at the time.}

^{Therefore; the Egypt would have been desolate during the time the Jews were under Babylonian rule.}

Ezekiel 29:¹² I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”

Ezekiel 29:¹³ ‘Yet, thus says the Lord God: “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered.

Ezekiel 29:¹⁴ I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom.

Ezekiel 29:¹⁵ It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.

Egypt has never been restored to her previous glory. She is overshadowed by Babylon, then Persia, then Greece with Alexander the Great, then ruled by the Ptolemies until Cleopatra’s relationship with Rome and Herod the Great. Then she fades into anonymity.

Ezekiel 29:¹⁶ No longer shall it be the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.” ’ ”

Pharaoh Psammtik refused to help Israel when Nebuchadnezzar had Jerusalem surrounded in a siege. Psammtik will be defeated and replaced with Hophra Apries supported by Nebuchadnezzar. In return for Nebuchadnezzar’s support, Hophra Apries will be a vassal king under Babylon’s Nebuchadnezzar.

Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt

7^th Dated Vision

Ezekiel 29:¹⁷ And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Ezekiel 29:¹⁸ “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it.

Ezekiel 29:¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army.

^{In 570 BC Pharoah Hophra led an army into Libyan territory, in an effort to stop an invasion of Greeks. The Greeks made short work of his army and sent him back to Egypt in disorderly retreat. A mutiny broke out in the ranks, between native Egyptians and foreign mercenaries in the Egyptian army. A bold and respected general named Amasis declared himself Pharaoh (Amasis II). (Ussher stated that Nebuchadnezzar assisted Amasis in return for his vassalage.) By most accounts, Hophra fled, gathered an army of mercenaries, and then tried to recapture Egypt. Amasis met him in battle at Memphis, and Hophra was captured, taken to Sais, and afterward executed by strangulation.}

^{Fulfillment of Jeremiah 44:30 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.’”}

Ezekiel 29:²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says the Lord God.

God used Babylon to do HIS will against Tyre. Now, God is giving Egypt to Babylon for their wages against Tyre.

Ezekiel 29:²¹ ‘In that day I will cause the horn (Strength) of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your (Ezekiel’s) mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’

NIRV Translation: “When Nebuchadnezzar wins the battle over Egypt, I will make the Israelites strong again. Ezekiel, I will open your mouth. And you will be able to speak to them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”