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Bible Fiber: Ezekiel 33

Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we explore the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through Twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers, and one exile. I’m Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization dedicated to sharing the story of Israel’s people, both ancient and modern. I’m also the author of the Bible Fiber book, a 52-week study of the Twelve Minor Prophets, available on Amazon.

Follow the Bible Fiber podcast or subscribe to our Youtube Channel

This week, we’re examining Ezekiel 33, a pivot point in the book. For the first 24 chapters, Ezekiel announced judgement on the house of Israel. Then, for eight chapters, he pronounced judgement on Israel’s neighbors. Chapter 33 picks up where Chapter 24 left off, making it seem like the OAN was an odd insertion. However, including the oracles against foreign nations served multiple purposes within Ezekiel’s prophetic message. First, it showed God’s sovereignty over all nations. Second, it provided a sense of cosmic justice, assuring the exiled Israelites that their oppressors would also face judgment and would not be an obstacle to Israel’s future restoration. Most importantly, however, the OAN set the stage for the hope-filled portion of Ezekiel’s message, which comprises the last third of the book.

Watchman metaphor

The chapter begins with Ezekiel’s recommissioning as the watchman over Jerusalem’s walls (33:1-6). Earlier, in Chapter 3, Yahweh had likened Ezekiel’s role as prophet to that of a watchman tasked with warning the people of oncoming trouble. Although the sections mirror each other, the difference in their timing is significant. In Chapter 3, Ezekiel’s prophecies seemed unimaginable to his audience, who believed Jerusalem would never fall. However, by the time we reach Chapter 33, Ezekiel’s prophecies had come true.

God explained the watchman’s responsibilities and the extent of his accountability. If the watchman failed to spot the approaching enemy and sound the alarm, God would hold him responsible for the lives lost (33:6). Ezekiel had fulfilled his calling as a vigilant watchman, maintaining his post on Jerusalem’s metaphorical walls for seven uninterrupted years. Ezekiel delivered his message repeatedly, creatively, and at great personal sacrifice. Yet, despite Ezekiel’s unwavering vigilance, the people refused to heed his warnings, choosing instead to listen to the false prophets who assured them they did not need to worry. Tragically, when Jerusalem’s destruction came, the nation paid the price for ignoring Ezekiel’s calls to repentance.

According to God’s explanation, the watchman is absolved of guilt when the citizens ignore the warning blasts of his trumpet. Ezekiel was not negligent, as illustrated by God’s words: “If any who hear the sound of the trumpet do not take warning and the sword comes and takes them away, their blood shall be upon their own heads” (Ezekiel 33:4). This is the second instance in the Book of Ezekiel, where God presents hypothetical scenarios about the watchman’s obligations and the consequences (Ezekiel 3:16-21). The metaphor highlights the duty of the prophet to deliver God’s messages and warnings to the people. A prophet speaks out against wrongdoing and provides guidance, regardless of whether the people choose to listen.

With the collapse of Jerusalem, the exiles felt the weight of their sin. As they grasped the consequences of their actions, they questioned how they could continue living (33:10). Until now, the people had not accepted responsibility for their exile. The recognition of their own guilt was a positive development. However, instead of seeking to reform their ways, they remained trapped in despair.

The people must have been questioning God’s system of justice because Ezekiel countered accusations of divine unfairness or partiality. God said, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (33:11). The nation’s punishment resulted from God’s justice; it was not a sadistic impulse like the pagan deities. In his kindness, he commissioned a watchman and gave him ample time to sound the alarm. If the people had responded to the prophets, God would have canceled his wrath.

In the Old Testament, God often exhorted the Israelites to repent and choose life. When Moses called them to “choose life,” he knew that the choice was not a onetime decision but an ongoing commitment to live according to the covenant and devote themselves to the worship of their one true God. In the Gospels, Jesus called everyone to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 4:17). Joining the kingdom of God is an ongoing commitment to live under the lordship of Christ and to participate in the redemption of the world. Kingdom language is a new iteration of the classic call of Moses and the prophets to choose life. Both demand repentance as the first step, rejecting worldly ways and fully surrendering to God.

After the watchman metaphor, Ezekiel returned to the radical concept of personal responsibility that he introduced in Chapter 18. Once again, he explained that divine judgment was based on present behavior rather than past deeds. One’s former righteousness could not save them if they turn to wickedness, nor would former wickedness condemn those who repented and reformed. If a wicked person “turns from their sin and do[es] what is lawful and right,” they choose the path of life (33:14). If a righteous person turns away from the covenant and does evil, they choose death.

As in Chapter 18, Ezekiel’s theology of individual accountability would have profound implications for Jewish and later Christian understanding of sin and salvation (18:21-32). Chapter 33 must have recapitulated earlier lessons because the exiles still accused God of arbitrarily dispensing rewards and punishments (33:17). In Chapter 18, they had blamed the sins of their ancestors for their current hardship. By Chapter 33, their mindset had changed, and they at least owned their sin problem. However, the only way to authenticate sincere repentance is through obedience.

Back in Jerusalem

Although Ezekiel mostly focused on the exiles, he also addressed the attitude of those who remained in Jerusalem. After 586 BCE, the majority of Jerusalem’s citizenry either escaped to Egypt or got deported to Babylon. According to 2 Kings 25:12, the Babylonians left the poorest of the land behind in Jerusalem. Jeremiah referred to the 20,000 poor people who survived as the “vinedressers and ploughmen” (Jer. 52:16). It was in the Babylonians’ interest to leave workers to tend to the land’s agriculture.

Ezekiel likely expected the remnant in Jerusalem to repent and turn to God in mass, especially knowing that “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted” (Ps. 34:18). Nearly starving for almost two years, the Jerusalemites then saw their holy city destroyed. Yet their survival infused them with a newfound arrogance. There was a false theological claim going around that they were the promised remnant. Even though they were living in the ruins of Jerusalem, they interpreted their continuation in the land as divine protection.

The people rationalized that if God had given the land over to Abraham, who was only one man, the land covenant passed down to the remaining heirs of Abraham (33:24). As the remnant, they were entitled to annex the empty homes and property of their deported brethren (11:15). Based on their false pretenses, the exiles were those being punished, not them. God explained they had the dynamic of the situation wrong. After the exiles went through a time of purging, God would restore them to the land. The exiles were the chosen remnant, even if at the moment it did not seem like it (Jer. 24:10).

Also, the Jerusalemites misunderstood the terms of the covenant and the responsibility of chosenness. Obedience to the covenant and faithfulness to Yahweh determined possession of the land. Ezekiel listed six areas where the survivors in Jerusalem persisted in disobedience. Unlike Abraham, who solely devoted himself to Yahweh, they worshipped idols. Abraham had been full of faith and a friend of God (James 2:23). They committed murder, practiced sexual immorality, and ate unclean animals (33:25-26). After all that they had been through, they still had not learned their lesson. Rather than the blessing of land, they would trigger the covenant curses: the sword, wild animals, and pestilence (33:27).

Messenger arrived

In a brief narrative section, Ezekiel recounted the arrival of a fugitive from Jerusalem in Babylon during the twelfth year of the exile (33:21-22). This eyewitness to the Babylonian assault brought firsthand accounts of the devastation. Ezekiel did not describe the physical or emotional state of the fugitive. However, like everyone in Jerusalem during the siege, he would have been pushed to the brink of starvation. The prophet Jeremiah described the survivors’ shriveled skin against their bones (Lam. 4:8). The messenger’s state would have been further compounded by his arduous trek from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Two years earlier, God had promised Ezekiel that when a survivor from the Babylonian attack on Jerusalem arrived at Tel Abib, God would end his period of silence. According to the narrative, the night before the fugitive’s arrival, “the hand of the Lord” rested on Ezekiel (33:22). God opened Ezekiel’s mouth, lifting the selective muteness that had been divinely imposed on him for years. Since the start of his career, Ezekiel could only speak when given an oracle of judgement. Suddenly, he regained his voice to preach, make small talk, and offer words of comfort.

It took six months for the fugitive to make it from Jerusalem to Babylon. His arrival, which was soon followed by a large wave of deportees, validated Ezekiel as a true prophet of God. Moses, many centuries before, told the Israelites not to trust self-proclaimed prophets whose predictions were never realized (Deut. 18:22).

Ezekiel’s reputation in the community improved. The exiles no longer accused him of crying wolf (12:21-28) or making up riddles (20:49). However, God told Ezekiel that his rise in popularity was not a positive thing. The people crowded into his house and lined up in the alleyways to hear his oracles. God warned, “they hear your words, but they will not obey them” (33:31). They treated Ezekiel like he was their entertainment, but they did not internalize his message or submit to God’s will. God added, “they treat you like a singer of love songs” (33:32). They took pride in having a true prophet in their midst. They liked his singing voice and musical abilities, but they did not apply the teachings to their life.

This disconnect between hearing and doing, between admiration and application, is a persistent problem throughout the Bible, and on into our day. True faith is not merely about listening to inspiring messages or enjoying uplifting experiences, but about allowing God’s truth to transform our hearts and guide our actions.

Many Christians go to big church services because they want a music concert and a self-help inspirational sermon, but they do not want to even feel a pinch of guilt. They reduce the word of God to entertaining distraction, part of their Sunday morning routine. However, this is not a new problem. Clearly, it was a tendency of the Israelites in exile. It is also clear in the New Testament that it was a problem for the early church. James, the brother of Jesus, instructed Christians “be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves” (James 1:22). The ultimate test of our engagement with God’s word lies not in our enthusiasm for hearing it, but in our commitment to living it out.

While the arrival of the Jerusalem fugitive confirmed Ezekiel’s prophetic role and boosted his popularity, it didn’t spark an immediate spiritual revival. True change would require more time and continued guidance from Ezekiel. As we progress in our study of Ezekiel, you’ll notice a shift in his messages. The focus moves away from judgment and turns towards themes of salvation and deliverance. This transition marks a new phase in Ezekiel’s ministry, reflecting God’s enduring plan for His people despite their current circumstances.

Join me next week for Ezekiel 34’s teaching about the coming shepherd who would be God himself.

Thank you for listening and please continue to take part in this Bible Reading Challenge.

For all the biblical references each week, see the show transcript on our blog or by signing up for our emails at www.thejerusalemconnection.us/
Sign up and get a free downloadable gift!

Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai

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Published on February 13, 2025 08:36

Bible Fiber: Ezekiel 32

Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we explore the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers, and one exile. I’m Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization dedicated to sharing the story of Israel’s people, both ancient and modern. I’m also the author of the Bible Fiber book, a 52-week study of the twelve minor prophets, available on Amazon.

Check out Bible Fiber on Youtube or Follow Bible Fiber wherever you listen to your podcasts.

This week, we’re examining Ezekiel 32, the final chapter of eight in his Oracles Against the Nations. This chapter also concludes the series of seven oracles against Egypt. It consists of lamentations for Pharaoh and the Egyptian forces, symbolically depicting their defeat and descent into Sheol.

Sixth oracle

The sixth oracle against Egypt came to Ezekiel on March 3, 585 BCE, two years after the previous oracle and two months after news of Jerusalem’s fall reached the exiles (33:21). By this time, new refugees lived among them in Tel Abib, and they were hearing Ezekiel’s prophecies for the first time. All hope of Egyptian intervention was lost.

Ezekiel raised a final lament for Pharaoh saying, “You consider yourself a lion among the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, trouble the water with your feet, and foul your streams” (32:2). Ezekiel then returned to his earlier imagery of a crocodile or tannim, a mythical sea monster. Yahweh decreed that he, and a throng of people, would capture the sea monster in a net and hurl it into an open field. Exposed to the elements, the creature would die. Perhaps this was Ezekiel’s way of portraying Pharaoh’s exile to a foreign land. Scavenging animals and birds would eat from his massive carcass that overlaid the mountains and filled the valleys with his blood (32:3-4).

When the creature died, God would darken the skies. He said, “All the shining lights of the heavens I will darken above you and put darkness on your land” (32:7). Darkening the sun, moon, and stars was reminiscent of the Exodus, the last time God confronted the pharaoh by displaying his power over all of nature (Ex. 10:21-24). God also vowed that he would wipe out all of Egypt’s livestock (32:13). During the Exodus, the fifth plague God sent on Egypt specifically targeted the animals of Egypt but spared the livestock of the Israelites. According to Ezekiel, so little would survive in Egypt that the Nile River and its channels would have a chance to rest. Without cattle kicking up mud or humans drawing water, the debris would settle, and its streams would run clear as oil (33:14).

Egypt’s downfall would have cataclysmic results. It had been the longest standing power in the region for centuries. Ezekiel described witnesses shuddering with fear, especially neighboring kings. If the mighty Egyptian pharaoh could be overthrown and killed, they feared the certain death that awaited them. Ezekiel once again clarified that the earthly force behind Egypt’s demise would be Nebuchadnezzar (34:11). Unknowingly working on God’s behalf, the Babylonian army would “ruin the pride of Egypt” (34:12).

Seventh Oracle

In his final oracle against Egypt, Ezekiel recited a funeral dirge at Egypt’s graveside with professional female mourners providing the soundtrack (34:16). God commanded Ezekiel, “Wail over the hordes of Egypt and send them down, with Egypt and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, with those who go down to the Pit” (32:18). As Pharaoh and his multitude descended to Sheol, Ezekiel asked him who in life compared to him in beauty. Of course, this was a taunt because, where Egypt was headed, beauty and power were useless.

The contrast between Egypt’s beliefs about the afterlife and Ezekiel’s predictions of Egypt’s fate is stark. Egyptians believed in an elaborate afterlife where pharaohs would enjoy eternal life and power. However, Ezekiel’s vision strips away this grandiose expectation, presenting a bleak eternity for the once-mighty ruler.

Repeatedly, Ezekiel told Pharaoh that he would be buried with the uncircumcised and those killed by the sword. Egyptians viewed the uncircumcised as unclean outsiders. Those killed by the sword were probably mercenaries or low-ranking soldiers who died dishonorably. In neither case were they deserving of the type of royal burial and glamourous afterlife that Pharaoh foresaw for himself. The emphasis on circumcision highlights its cultural and religious significance in ancient Near Eastern societies. For the Jews, it was a physical marker of their covenant with Yahweh. For Egyptians, it was high-level hygiene associated with the upper classes.

Ezekiel described a roll call of Sheol’s inhabitants. Past godless nations residing in Sheol come “out of the midst of Sheol” to greet the Pharaoh on his arrival (32:22). They included Assyria, Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom, Phoenician cities, and Sidon.

Before it was overthrown by Babylon, the Assyrian Empire was notorious for its military prowess and ruthlessness. The Assyrian army terrorized the region. Elam, with its capital in Susa, was an ancient nation that according to Jeremiah also had an insatiable appetite for military power (Jer. 49:35-39). Meshech-Tubal was a group of raiders from Asia Minor. By including them in the tour of Sheol, Ezekiel acknowledged their earthly reputation for gratuitous violence. Edom, of course, was Israel’s eternal enemy and included in almost every list of cursed nations. The “princes of the North” is a reference to the Phoenician city states. Ezekiel had already established in his previous oracles that Tyre, Sidon, and all the Phoenician cities were guilty of greed and self-exaltation.

What each of the condemned nations had in common is that while on earth, they terrorized the land of the living. The implication is that actions on earth contribute to a person’s experience in the afterlife.

In the depths of the Pit, Ezekiel noted the “fallen warriors of long ago,” the same phrasing used to identify the Nephilim in Genesis 6:4. Descended from sons of God and human daughters, the Nephilim are among the most mysterious and intriguing characters in the Hebrew Bible. The Bible mentions them explicitly only three times: once in Genesis, once in Numbers 13:33, and here in Ezekiel. However, their presence has sparked countless debates and interpretations.

The mention of the Nephilim in this context is significant. They are described as “heroes of old, men of renown,” suggesting a legendary status. Their inclusion in Ezekiel’s vision of Sheol implies that even these mythical figures of great strength and fame were subject to divine judgment.

Ezekiel described Sheol as if it was an oversized funerary shrine, complete with multiple linked chambers. This architectural imagery bears a striking resemblance to the complex tomb structures found in ancient Egypt, such as the Valley of the Kings, or the elaborate burial chambers of Mesopotamian royalty. Each chamber had a bed, a detail that echoes the funerary practices of many ancient cultures where the deceased were often laid out on bed-like structures.

Each leader lay on a bed surrounded by his attendants, as if their hierarchy on earth transferred to the afterlife. This concept of social stratification persisting beyond death was common in many ancient belief systems, including those of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Egyptians believed that the pharaoh’s court and servants would continue to serve him in the afterlife.

The occupants from every wicked nation all shared the same humiliating fate, consigned to Sheol and buried alongside the uncircumcised and the murdered. Despite their eternal punishment, they seem comforted to be counted among the wicked. Ezekiel’s point was that there was a special place in hell for every violent dictator and his hordes.

Long before Dante Alighieri gave his tour of the nine circles of Hell in “The Divine Comedy,” Ezekiel offered his readers a tour of hell and its occupants. A crowded underworld is a fitting end to Ezekiel’s Oracles Against the Nations. Ezekiel brought together Israel’s historical enemies and oppressors in a single, ignominious fate.

Generally, the Old Testament has much less to say about heaven and hell than the New Testament. Still, Ezekiel drew on the understanding of his time and Israelite theology that the universe was comprised of three tiers. Sheol was the land of the dead, reserved for the wicked. Earth was the land of the living. Heaven was the realm of the divine and the highest layer. The Hebrew scriptures do not reveal much in the way of life after death for the righteous.

Historical Context

The historical context of the Oracles Against the Nations reveals a complex geopolitical landscape in which Jerusalem’s fall was but one significant event among many. Judah’s fate was inextricably linked to the broader regional dynamics. Nebuchadnezzar conducted numerous military campaigns throughout the Levant and beyond during his 43-year reign (605-562 BCE). These campaigns significantly expanded Babylonian control over the region, creating a vast empire that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the borders of Egypt.

Archaeological evidence, including the Babylonian Chronicles and various inscriptions, corroborate the biblical account of Nebuchadnezzar’s conquests. The Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle, for instance, details his military exploits in the Levant, including the capture of Jerusalem in 597 BCE. This expansionist policy reshaped the political landscape of the ancient Near East, toppling long-standing powers and redrawing boundaries.

Unlike Israel, who would return from exile and rebuild, the enemy nations addressed in Ezekiel’s oracles had no promised future of restoration. To the rest of the ancient Near East, Israel may have appeared as an insignificant player on the regional stage. However, in the prophetic worldview, Israel occupied a central position in God’s plan for the entire world.

As for Egypt, the historical record presents a more nuanced picture than the total devastation prophesied by Ezekiel. External evidence for a full-scale Babylonian military attack on Egypt during Ezekiel’s lifetime is lacking. However, there is some indication that the Babylonian army did conduct a campaign against Egypt approximately 19 years after Jerusalem’s fall. The Babylonian Chronicle suggests that Nebuchadnezzar led an expedition against Egypt in his 37th regnal year (568-567 BCE). The extent and outcome of this campaign remain debated among historians.

Ezekiel’s reference to Egypt’s fall at the hands of Babylon and “other barbarous nations” (30:10) can be interpreted as a broader prophecy encompassing the coming centuries of foreign occupation of Pharaoh’s land. Following the Babylonian period, Egypt was dominated by a series of Persian and Greek rulers for centuries. This succession of foreign dominations aligns with the prophet’s vision of Egypt’s permanently diminished status and loss of autonomy.

Babylonian Omission

Although the nations listed in the Oracles Against the Nations may seem random, there is one intriguing omission. Ezekiel never pronounced a curse on Babylon, the empire that bore responsibility for Judah’s fall and the exiles captivity. While he called for God to eradicate the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites for gloating over Jerusalem’s hardship, he was completely silent on Babylon, the attacking army. Perhaps the reason was because Ezekiel lived in Babylon. He had less freedom in speaking openly against his captors while Jeremiah was at a safe distance.

Another explanation for this absence is that Ezekiel’s oracles often served a dual purpose: delivering judgment while also providing hope for restoration. Babylon, as the immediate instrument of divine judgment against Judah, was perceived as serving God’s purpose. Addressing a curse against Babylon at that time might have conflicted with the message that Babylon was an agent used by God to enact his will upon a people who had strayed. Furthermore, since Ezekiel prophesied during the Babylonian exile, his primary focus might have been on encouraging the Israelites to understand their situation as part of a divine plan, rather than directly condemning the oppressors who were acting under divine sanction.

Recognition Formula

When God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed, the surrounding nations deduced that their own local deities were more powerful than the God of Israel. Witnessing Israel’s apparent helplessness at the hands of the Babylonians, these foreign powers interpreted Yahweh’s defeat as a sign of his own weakness and impotence. However, Ezekiel’s Oracles Against the Nations show the opposite to be true. Through these scathing prophecies, the prophet asserts that God is in control of all history, not only the affairs of Judah.

Ezekiel wanted his audience, both Israelite exiles and the surrounding nations, to understand that Jerusalem’s defeat was not a defeat of Yahweh himself. Despite the destruction of the earthly throne in Jerusalem, God still stood supreme on his heavenly throne, sovereign over all creation.

Nineteen times throughout the Oracles Against the Nations, Ezekiel repeats a pivotal “recognition formula,” in which he declares that the intended outcome of Judah’s punishment, as well as the judgment on every other nation, was for the whole earth to recognize Yahweh’s unparalleled sovereignty. The overarching message is that God asserts his dominion over human affairs so that all nations and peoples will come to acknowledge him as the one true God. As Ezekiel states, “When I make the land of Egypt desolate and when the land is stripped of all that fills it, when I strike down all who live in it, then they shall know that I am the Lord” (32:15).

Ezekiel does not elaborate extensively on what this universal recognition of Yahweh would entail. However, the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah promise that the nations would be invited to join God’s people if they repented and worshipped Yahweh alone (Isa. 19:23-25, Jer.12:14-17). This expansive, inclusive theology foreshadows the global mission that would later become central to the message of Christianity.

Thank you for listening and please continue to take part in this Bible Reading Challenge.

For all the biblical references each week, see the show transcript on our blog or by signing up for our emails at www.thejerusalemconnection.us/
Sign up and get a free downloadable gift!

Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai

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Published on February 06, 2025 10:14

Bible Fiber: Ezekiel 31

Subscribe to Bible Fiber on Youtube or Follow Bible Fiber wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we are encountering the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers, and one exile. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. I am also the author of the Bible Fiber book. Check it out on Amazon.

This week we are reading Ezekiel 31, the fifth oracle against Egypt, in a series of seven. Ezekiel, the master of word pictures, has already depicted the pharaoh as a crocodile left to die in the desert and a disabled soldier powerless to grasp a sword. In this chapter, Ezekiel likens the Egyptian empire to a fallen cedar tree. The chapter can be divided into two parts. The first part presents the tree’s beauty, height and shade (31:1-9). The second part describes the tree’s demise (31:10-18).

Cosmic Tree

The prophecy is dated to June 21, 587 BCE, two months after the previous oracle (31:1). Babylon was in the final stages of its siege before overrunning Jerusalem. God commanded Ezekiel to ask the pharaoh, “Whom are you like in your greatness?” (31:2). The baiting question presumed the narcissistic pharaoh already considered himself to have no equal.

God offered the pharaoh a point of comparison. The interpretation of the line is debated among Bible scholars. Either it reads, “Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon” or it reads, “I will liken you to a cedar of Lebanon” (31:3). Although in English, the difference is substantial, in the Hebrew, the amendment of one consonant changes the interpretation. The Revised Standard Version prefers “I will liken you to a cedar of Lebanon.” However, almost every other translation retains Assyria as the referent. If correct, Ezekiel presented an allegory embedded in an allegory. The cedar tree represented Assyria which symbolized Egypt. In comparing Assyria to a formidable cedar tree that came to a tragic end, he was issuing a final warning to Egypt.

Ezekiel’s audience would have been well acquainted with the history of the Assyrian empire, its great rise, and dramatic fall. Still, Ezekiel exaggerated his praise of Assyria to make his point that no empire was too big to fail. In his poetic description of the tree, he said, “The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall, flowing with its rivers around the place it was planted, sending forth its streams to all the trees of the field” (31:4).

The prophet’s vivid imagery of the tree’s strong branches, towering height and sheltering coverage drew from ancient Near Eastern mythology surrounding the cosmic tree. The common motif of a majestic tree with roots deeply planted in the earth and branches reaching to the heavens symbolized the connection between the heavenly and earthly realms. Ezekiel utilized this image to depict the grandeur and power of the Assyrian empire.

Ezekiel continued, “It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, for its roots went down to abundant water” (31:7). The language implied that the tree’s remarkable growth and splendor was not due to natural forces alone. The tree was supernaturally empowered. The references to the deep and abundant water suggest that Yahweh was not against powerful nations altogether. No nation got to a place of supremacy in the world on its own. God even clarified his role in Assyria’s rise. He said, “I made it beautiful” (31:9). What God despised was the empire’s pride, corruption and obsession with power. The tree only grew to such heights because of the water that sustained it, but the higher it grew, the less it appreciated the source of its growth.

According to Ezekiel’s poem, many animals, and birds relied on the tree’s branches and shade. He said, “All the birds of the air made their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth to their young, and in its shade all great nations lived” (31:6). Such lavish flattery betrayed Ezekiel’s hyperbolic intention. Assyria had been anything but a kindly patron to the nations it controlled.

Ezekiel masterfully employed the cosmic tree imagery, deeply rooted in ancient Near Eastern mythology, to portray the Assyrian empire’s grandeur and perceived invincibility. This world-tree motif, with its roots firmly planted in the earth and branches reaching towards the heavens, symbolized the connection between earthly and divine realms. By applying this powerful symbol to Assyria, Ezekiel prepared the stage for a dramatic revelation of the empire’s ultimate fate.

This rhetorical strategy was a hallmark of Ezekiel’s oracles against nations (OAN). He would first build up his subject, describing them in the most flattering terms—often as they saw themselves – only to shatter these illusions with stark reminders of their mortality. The prophet used this approach earlier when depicting the grand Tyrian merchant ship. In the case of Assyria, despite its renowned military prowess and expansionist legacy, Ezekiel’s audience was well aware of its dramatic downfall. The sacking and burning of Nineveh in 612 BCE by a Babylonian-Mede coalition marked the end of Assyrian dominance and ushered in the age of Babylon. By evoking this recent history, Ezekiel delivered a powerful warning: no empire, no matter how great, was beyond the reach of divine judgment.

Divinely appointed lumberjack

For the first nine verses, Ezekiel only spoke flatteringly of the tree. In Verse 10, he switched modes and condemned the tree. Every positive characteristic that he had praised contributed to the tree’s pride and fueled its haughty mindset. Ezekiel recalled how the once mighty tree of Assyria was cut down by the divine hand of judgment. He warned, “Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds and its heart was proud of its height, I gave it into the hand of the prince of the nations; he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out” (31:10).

Assyria’s fate foreshadowed Egypt’s demise. Back in Chapter 17, God declared, “I bring low the high tree; I make high the low tree” (17:24). He was going to punish Egypt like he had punished Assyria.

In Verse 11, Ezekiel returned to the oracle’s principal addressee, the pharaoh. He predicted that the pharaoh would be overtaken by “the prince of nations,” a likely moniker for Nebuchadnezzar (31:11). Acting as divinely appointed lumberjacks, “foreigners from the most terrible of nations” would cut down the cosmic tree (31:12). Its branches and trunk would be scattered across the earth and tossed into the waterways. Birds and wild animals that once claimed refuge in the tree were pictured scavenging its ruins (31:13). Ezekiel reminded his listeners of the reason for the divine punishment: “All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height or set their tops among the clouds and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height” (31:14). Hubris triggers divine punishment.

The sound of the tree’s crash would echo throughout the nations and leave them trembling (31:16). God damned up the water source that had once nourished its roots. God said, “I restrained its rivers, and its mighty waters were checked” (31:15). The trees of Lebanon mourned the cedar tree’s fate and wilted at the news that it was cast out of the forest. Ezekiel’s description of Lebanon’s trees, covered in gloom, parallels his previous description of the sailors on the shoreline who wailed when they saw the Tyrian ship sink.

It was not enough to destroy the cedar tree. It then sank down to Sheol, the abode of the dead, the eternal place for the wicked. Mysteriously, when the cedar tree sank into the netherworld, it was greeted by “the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon” (31:16). Likely, this was a reference to other godless kingdoms who also met sobering ends. The prophet Habakkuk dialogued with God about this exact thing. He was frustrated by the endless cycle of violence and rotating empires, each one more arrogant and oppressive than the next.

Conclusion

The prophecy begins and ends with direct references to the pharaoh, framing the entire message as a stark warning to Egypt’s ruler. In his closing remarks, Ezekiel challenged the pharaoh: “Which among the trees of Eden was like you in glory and in greatness? Now you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below; you shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword” (31:18). This powerful juxtaposition shatters the pharaohs’ centuries-old belief in their semidivine status and unrivaled power.

The grand pyramids and elaborate tombs of Egypt demonstrate the pharaoh’s monumental efforts to project their power beyond death itself. Yet Ezekiel’s prophecy strips away this facade, relegating Egypt to share eternity with the “uncircumcised” and those slain in battle—a fate far removed from the pharaohs’ visions of eternal glory.

Ultimately, Ezekiel’s oracles against Egypt serve a dual purpose. They not only warn Egypt of impending judgment, but also deliver a crucial message to Judah: trust in God, not in earthly powers. As Jerusalem faced Babylon’s onslaught, some still clung to hope in an Egyptian rescue. Ezekiel’s words are a powerful reminder that even mighty empires like Assyria and Egypt are subject to God’s sovereignty. The prophet makes it clear— if Assyria could not escape divine judgment, neither would Egypt. This reality underscores the futility of relying on human alliances rather than on the Lord of history.

Thank you for listening and please continue to take part in this Bible Reading Challenge.

For all the biblical references each week, see the show transcript on our blog or by signing up for our emails at www.thejerusalemconnection.us/
Sign up and get a free downloadable gift!

Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai

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Published on January 23, 2025 06:12

Bible Fiber: Ezekiel 30

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This week we are studying Ezekiel 30, which contains Ezekiel’s third and fourth oracles against Egypt. There are seven in total.

Day of the Lord

In the third oracle, God commanded Ezekiel to wail over Egypt. He said, “The Day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations” (30:1). Ezekiel proclaimed that the “Day of the Lord” would bring devastation to Egypt and its neighboring nations (30:1-19). The oracle painted a grim picture of Egypt’s downfall, describing the destruction of cities, the slaughter of people, and the collapse of power structures.

The “Day of the Lord” is a complex theme in the Bible’s prophetic books. Though frequently mentioned, the phrase is used in various ways by different prophets. It always refers to God’s judgment being fully revealed, but its application differs. Some prophets used it to foretell events that would happen soon, while others, with an eschatological perspective, linked it to events far in the future.

Initially, the Day of the Lord was seen as a time when God would execute judgment on Israel’s foes. The prophet Joel, for instance, envisioned all of Judah’s enemies gathering in the Valley of Jehoshaphat on this day (Joel 4). For Joel, the Day of the Lord would be when God restores Judah’s fortunes and repays the surrounding nations for their injustices, ensuring God’s justice prevails and Judah triumphs. Similarly, Obadiah envisioned the Day of the Lord as the time when God would finally eliminate Edom, Judah’s fraternal enemy.

Amos was the first prophet to reframe the Day of the Lord (Amos 5:18-20; 8:9-10). He cautioned the Israelites that the Day of the Lord would not be as expected. Instead of bringing triumph over their enemies, it would bring darkness and judgment upon Israel itself due to their own injustices and failures to live up to the covenant. From Amos on, the prophets counted the unfaithful of Israel and Judah among God’s enemies. On the Day of the Lord, a remnant would be delivered, but the rest of Israel and Judah would have to reckon with their sin. The prophet Isaiah warned that the Day of the Lord would crush all the prideful, disobedient, idol worshippers in Judah (Isa. 2:12-17). Zephaniah foresaw a global judgment where all those who sinned against the Lord, Jews and Gentiles, would be punished by the divine fire (Zeph. 1: 18).

In Ezekiel 30, the “Day of the Lord” signifies God’s judgment against Egypt. In Ezekiel’s earlier prophecies, he often uses the sword as a metaphor to represent the Babylonians as instruments of divine punishment (21:1-17). In the “sword song,” the Babylonians wield this sword of God’s wrath, directing it at Jerusalem. As Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonian army, Ezekiel announced, “a sword shall come upon Egypt” (30:4), linking the sword to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (30:10).

Continuing with the “Day of the Lord” theme, God declared, “On that day, messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the secure Cushites, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt’s doom, for it is coming!” (30:9). This means that God would send messengers on warships to Ethiopia, spreading the news of Egypt’s impending downfall. Historically, Ethiopia and Egypt alternated between being adversaries and allies. During Ezekiel’s time, they had allied against the Babylonian threat. Like Jerusalem, Ethiopia was overconfident in the protection an Egyptian alliance provided. News would spread throughout the region that Egypt’s streets were filled with the bodies of the slain (30:11).

To make sure that no one would question Yahweh’s hand at work, he would hasten Egypt’s end by drying up the Nile River. While Nebuchadnezzar may have appeared to be the agent responsible for Egypt’s military devastation, only a divine force could wield such power over the Nile. God was the ultimate source of Egypt’s punishment, regardless of the earthly instruments involved. He proclaimed, “Thus I will execute acts of judgment on Egypt. Then they shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 30:19).

Cities and Allies

Ezekiel referred to Egypt’s allies as “the people of the allied land” (30:5). As the devastation spread, they too would fall victim to Babylon’s sword as it swept through the region. He named Cush, Put, and Lud as specific targets for punishment. Cush is Ethiopia, Chub is Libya, and Lud is Lydia. Each of them would collapse alongside Egypt (29:4). They were the fish that had been stuck to the scales of the Nile crocodile left to perish in the desert. Egypt had encouraged them to join her in rebelling against Babylon, as it had also done with Tyre and Judah. Ezekiel warned, “those who support Egypt shall fall, and its proud might shall come down” (30:6). Egypt’s arrogance guaranteed her ruin and that of her allies.

Ezekiel offered a lengthy inventory of important cities in Egypt marked for destruction: Memphis (Noph), Tanis (Zoan), Pathros, Thebes (No), Pelusium, On, Pi-beseth, and Sin. The prophet Isaiah also predicted the downfall of three of the same Egyptian cities (Isa. 19:1-15). Ezekiel may have been following Isaiah’s style. Both prophets described the cities as being laid to waste, conquered, and losing their power and influence.

The order of Ezekiel’s city names seems random and haphazard, even repetitive. However, these were some of the most important cities in Egyptian history—former capitals, spiritual centers, and economic hubs. Each city had its own local gods, which numbered in the hundreds. God warned that he would destroy the idols of Egypt as an expression of his sovereign judgment and power over the nations (30:13, 19).

If you have ever had the chance to visit Egypt, and see all that remains of its ancient past, you fill the enormity of God’s task. Ancient Egyptian cities, especially prominent centers like Memphis, housed an abundance of temples and shrines. Statues and idols dotted their urban landscapes. Egyptians viewed the statues and monuments as embodying the spirits and essences of deities and the immortality of pharaohs. The Egyptian pantheon interwove past pharaohs, but God warned that he would also put an end to the Pharaonic office. He said, “there shall no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt” (30:13). That prophecy would not be literally fulfilled until Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BCE and put an end to the 3,000 years of native pharaonic rule.

Jews in Egypt

In Ezekiel’s list of Egypt’s targeted populations, he mentioned “the people of the covenant land” (30:6). This could be interpreted as including the significant Jewish community living in Egypt at the time. Although Ezekiel didn’t specifically name the Jews in Elephantine, he may have been implying their inclusion. Jeremiah, a prophet of the same period, often spoke of the Jewish diaspora in Egypt (Jer. 44:1).

Following Jerusalem’s fall to the Babylonians in 586 BCE, many more Jews fled to Egypt. However, Jewish communities had long existed in Egypt before this influx. A prominent example is a Jewish military colony at Elephantine, an island in the Nile in southern Egypt, which was well-established by the sixth century BCE.

Much of what we know about life in Elephantine comes from the discovery of ancient papyri there. The Elephantine papyri, a collection of over 100 documents dating primarily to the fifth century BCE after the Babylonian exile, include legal documents, letters, and accounts. These reveal that the Jewish community in Elephantine was prosperous and well-established. While this community followed Jewish law and traditions, they also engaged in syncretic religious practices. Jeremiah criticized the Jewish diaspora in Egypt for worshipping the “Queen of Heaven,” indicating their adoption of Egyptian deities (Jer. 44:15-19, 25). They maintained a temple dedicated to the Jewish god Yahu (a form of YHWH), but the papyri suggest they worshiped other gods alongside Yahu, including the goddess Anat and possibly others. It seems that the Jews in Egypt blended their ancestral religion with that of their host nation, a practice that was disapproved of by God.

Jeremiah warned the Jews in Judah not to escape to Egypt after Jerusalem’s fall (Jer. 42:13-22), knowing they might be tempted to join the diaspora there. Jews in Egypt believed that if Jerusalem couldn’t protect them, the powerful Egyptian empire could resist a Babylonian attack. However, both Jeremiah and Ezekiel predicted otherwise.

Jeremiah, like Ezekiel, prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would conquer Egypt, bringing judgment upon both the Egyptians and the Jews seeking refuge there. Jeremiah warned that the Jews in Egypt would suffer from sword and famine, with only a small remnant surviving to return to Judah. Despite these warnings, many Jewish refugees, including Jeremiah, who was forcibly taken, ended up in Egypt (Jer. 43:4-7).

Pharaoh’s broken arm

In the last six verses of the chapter, Ezekiel delivered his fourth oracle against Egypt, declaring judgment upon Egypt’s ruler. The prophecy is dated April 29, 587 BCE, right before Jerusalem’s fall. Perhaps at the time, some in Jerusalem and in exile hoped that Egypt could rebuff the Babylonian army. God told Ezekiel, “Mortal, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword” (30:21). A strong arm represented a leader’s strength. God broke the Pharaoh’s arm so badly that it had no chance of healing.

After God broke the Pharaoh’s arm, it would never heal enough to hold a sword. The limp arm symbolized Egypt’s weakened state and its inability to defend or assert itself, particularly in the face of Babylonian power. The prophecy was likely an answer to Pharaoh Hophra’s failed attempt to stop the Babylonian siege. The Pharaoh’s second arm, the one that represented Egypt’s remaining strength, would also be shattered (31:22). Egypt would be left incapacitated, unable to resist Babylon’s advance. A country unable to protect itself couldn’t promise others protection.

The historical background to this prophecy may be the death of Pharaoh Hophra at the hands of his own countrymen. After Hophra failed to prevent Jerusalem’s fall, he conducted another botched campaign against forces in Libya. Both defeats eroded confidence in his leadership and led to unrest and rebellion within Egypt. In response to the internal crisis, a usurper, Amasis II, emerged as a prominent challenger. With the support of disgruntled Egyptian troops, Amasis declared himself Pharaoh. The ensuing conflict between Hophra and Amasis resulted in a civil war. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Hophra was initially treated with respect by Amasis, likely due to his royal status. However, due to pressure from the Egyptian populace who viewed him as a failed leader, Hophra was eventually executed by strangulation around 570 BCE. By the time Babylon attacked Egypt, the country was already weakened from infighting, much like a soldier with limp arms.

The Exodus parallels

Interestingly, Ezekiel’s broken arm prophecy echoed elements of the Exodus narrative. The last time God taught Egypt a lesson was through the power of his own mighty and outstretched arm (Exodus 6:6, 7:5, 15:12). He freed the Israelites from slavery through a series of miraculous events that demonstrated God’s supreme power over Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt.

In Ezekiel 30, the imagery of God breaking Pharaoh’s arms contrasts with the Exodus narrative where God’s outstretched arm held strong. Exodus highlighted God’s strong arm in rescuing his people from the grip of Pharaoh. Ezekiel reversed the arm imagery to signify God’s judgment against a different Pharaoh. By depicting the breaking of Pharaoh’s arm, Ezekiel conveyed the message that the power and strength of Egypt, once a dominant force over Israel, were subject to God’s will.

Ezekiel’s fourth oracle against Egypt draws a thematic connection to the Exodus, highlighting that just as God once liberated the Israelites from Egypt’s control, he now holds power over Egypt’s destiny. During the Exodus, God humbled Egypt’s pharaoh, land, and people to free his people. This time, however, he would not immediately free his people, but His promise to vindicate them remained firm. Egypt would not escape consequences for being an unreliable ally. Thank you for listening and please continue to take part in this Bible Reading Challenge.

For all the biblical references each week, see the show transcript on our blog or by signing up for our emails at www.thejerusalemconnection.us/
Sign up and get a free downloadable gift!

Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai

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Published on January 16, 2025 09:01

Bible Fiber: Ezekiel 29

Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we are encountering the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers, and one exile. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. I am also the author of the Bible Fiber book. Check it out on Amazon if you haven’t already!

We are still in the OAN, the long suspense-building pause between Ezekiel’s announcement of Jerusalem’s fall in Chapter 24 and confirmation of Jerusalem’s fall in Chapter 33.

Ezekiel arranged the seven oracles in a geographical sequence around Israel. He started with Ammon to the east. Next, he addressed Moab and Edom, further southeast. The focus then shifted westward to Philistia, followed by Tyre and Sidon to the northwest. In the last pronouncement, Ezekiel turned his reproach to Egypt in the southwest. The oracle against Egypt is Ezekiel’s longest by far, spanning four chapters.

Babylon’s Rival

At the start of the oracle against Egypt, Ezekiel gave the exact date, the equivalent of 7 January 587 BCE (29:1). It was exactly a year since Nebuchadnezzar first laid siege to Jerusalem.

In the early sixty century BCE, at the time of Ezekiel, Egypt was the only regional power who had a chance of challenging Babylon’s expansion. As Nebuchadnezzar’s army campaigned throughout the region, Egypt tried mightily to hold on to its upper hand. Jerusalem found itself in a precarious position, caught in the middle of two major powers vying for dominance. King Zedekiah, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin all hoped to preserve Jerusalem’s independence. They switched their allegiance between Babylon and Egypt, unsure of the safest bet.

One of Egypt’s tactical strategies was to help smaller nations in their resistance to Babylonian ambitions. They wanted their allies to be codependent on them for aid. For example, the Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt (588-569 BCE) encouraged Judah to rebel against Babylon, promising Egypt’s military support in their struggle. He said they would intervene on Judah’s behalf and repel Nebuchadnezzar. According to Jeremiah’s account, Egypt’s intervention forced the Babylonians to lift their siege of Jerusalem, giving the city a brief respite and strengthening Judah’s determination to continue fighting (Jer. 37:5-11). However, Hophra relented, and his battalion retreated once they confronted the Babylonian army. Jeremiah’s description is vague, but Egypt might have withdrawn without a battle. This withdrawal of Egyptian forces hastened the fall of Jerusalem.

Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesied that God was going to use Babylon to punish Judah. With that understanding, they wanted to get the punishment over with. That is why they were both irritated with Egypt prodding Jerusalem’s kings to revolt. The prophets blamed Egypt for soliciting Judah’s partnership and blame Judah for placing their trust in Egypt. Judah had to be punished and Hophra was interfering with that process.

The Nile crocodile

God gave Ezekiel a word for the pharaoh. “Mortal,” he commanded, “prophesy against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and set your face against him and against all Egypt” (29:2). He does not name the pharaoh, but the dating and context points to Pharaoh Hophra. He characterized the pharaoh as “the great dragon sprawling in the midst of its channels” (29:3). The word Ezekiel used was tannim, the same word used for chaos monsters like the Leviathan in ancient Near Eastern mythology (Job 41). By describing the pharaoh as a primordial monster, Ezekiel was mocking the pharaoh’s pretensions to divinity.

The sprawling creature boasted, “My Nile is my own; I made it for myself” (29:3). Putting words in the monster’s mouth, Ezekiel was calling out the pharaoh’s excessive pride and his false sense of security. The creature laid claim to the Nile as if he was not only the Nile’s possessor, but also its creator. The pharaoh’s claim on the Nile aligned him with the Tyrian king who also claimed divinity.

In the next verse, Ezekiel demoted the creature from mythical status to a common crocodile. He warned, “I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your channels stick to your scales. I will draw you up from your channels, with all the fish of your channels sticking to your scales” (29:4). Ezekiel’s shift from mythical dragon to Nile crocodile grounded the prophecy in a familiar, real-world creature significant to Egyptian culture. The imagery shows Ezekiel’s mastery of satire. He was mocking the gap between the pharaoh’s actual power and his self-perception.

Hooking a crocodile’s jaws was indeed the method ancient Egyptians used to catch the crocodiles that populated the Nile River. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote about the Egyptian’s approach to crocodile hunting (History, 2.70). According to Herodotus, the Egyptians tied pork to a hook and rope to lure the crocodiles to shore. Once they caught the crocodile, they blinded the creature and bound its legs. Then they adorned the crocodiles with jewelry and ornaments as part of a ritual, either killing and mummifying them or keeping them alive and feeding them. In the Egyptian pantheon, crocodiles were associated with the god Sobek.

In Ezekiel’s word picture, God played the role of crocodile hunter. He was the one to hook the crocodile and drag him out of his habitat. The fish stuck to the crocodile’s scales may be a reference to Egypt’s allies or its normal citizenry. Either way, their fate depended on the fate of the creature. God said he would throw the crocodile into the desert, where he had no hope of survival at the mercy of scavenger birds (29:5). Ezekiel’s portrayal of the pharaoh’s undignified burial was the ultimate insult to a pharaoh who required elaborate burial rituals.

Reed crutch

In Ezekiel’s second metaphor, he likened Egypt to a reed crutch. Describing the dangers of relying on Egypt as a loyal ally, he lamented, “when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders, and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their legs give way” (29:7).

Reeds thrive in the wetlands and riverbanks of ancient Egypt. A grass-like plant, they are flimsy, easy to break, and cannot sustain weight. His hearers would have known that a thin reed is not suitable for fashioning a crutch. Ezekiel was not the only person in the Bible to associate Egypt’s military reliability with a thin reed. Perhaps, in antiquity, it was a popular caricature of Egypt’s military, and an often-repeated insult about their trustworthiness. For example, in 2 Kings, an Assyrian commander warned King Hezekiah that Egypt’s army was as unreliable as a crutch or staff made from a reed (2 Kings 18:21). The prophet Isaiah also compared Egypt’s army to a splintered reed (Isa. 36:6).

If Egypt had a centuries-old reputation for empty promises, they cemented that belief with their quick retreat in the face of the Babylonian siege. The people of Jerusalem, held their breath, holding out hope that Egypt could push back their Babylonian attackers. The exiles in Babylon, hearing of Zedekiah’s gamble, anticipated the end of exile. They thought only mighty Egypt could save them from their troubles.

Ezekiel described Jerusalem leaning on the reed crutch, falling from its lack of support, and becoming injured. It was futile to rely on them for aid. Judah should have never trusted in any protector other than Yahweh. But because they had placed their trust in Egypt, his punishment of Egypt was that much more severe. God would still hold Egypt accountable for its failure to deliver on its assurances.

Egypt’s punishment

Yahweh expanded his address to the entire land of Egypt. He declared, “I will bring a sword upon you and will cut off from you human and animal and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste” (29:9). All of Egypt, from the farthest northern point to the farthest southern point, would turn into a wasteland. Nothing living would cross over it because it would be uninhabitable for decades (29:11).

By using their own strengths against them, God brought ruin to both Tyre and Egypt. The Tyrian ship sank from the weight of its own material excess. Egypt took pride in the fertility of the Nile. The Nile was the source of its life, wealth, and power. When other countries suffered from drought, Egypt had always survived. During the time of their punishment, that would change.

God would not be angry with Egypt forever. The Egyptians would return to their land after only 40 years of exile, the timespan that represented one generation (29:12). After the 40-year exile, God was going to regather Egyptians in the “land of their origin” and “restore their fortunes” (29:14). They would not return to their former glory, the nation at the top of the region’s proverbial pyramid, but they would continue to exist as a people in their land.

Egypt’s punishment paralleled Judah’s punishment. The light sentence is at first surprising, except Ezekiel said after the return they would be a “lowly kingdom” (29:14). While Egypt may have experienced a similar period of exile, their return won’t be a glorious restoration. They would never again be strong enough to impose their rule over the neighboring states (29:15). In fact, Egypt would be a vassal state to a rotation of conquering empires: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. As a result, Jerusalem would stop being codependent on Egypt for protection. Ezekiel said, “the Egyptians shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel; they will recall their iniquity when they turned to them for aid” (29:16).

After describing Tyre’s burial at the bottom of Sheol and Ammon and Moab being wiped from history, it is shocking that Ezekiel offered Egypt its own restoration promise. Daniel Block, author of the NICOT commentary on Ezekiel, theorizes that Egypt’s denouncement was less severe than the other nations because at least it showed compassion for Judah during the siege. Tyre greedily took advantage of Judah’s fall, and the other nations gloated over Jerusalem’s demise. Egypt may have faltered on its oath to Israel, but it did not exploit its misfortune. Egypt tried to help Judah, even if its motives were selfish.

Prophecy gone wrong

The book of Ezekiel concludes with an unexpected twist in Chapter 29. A prophecy dated 571 BCE, seventeen years after the earlier oracle against pharaoh, stands way out of the chronological sequence. This late addition, likely placed there by an editor for thematic consistency, is the entire book’s final recorded prophecy.

Nearly two decades had passed since Ezekiel first uttered his prophecy against Tyre. Nebuchadnezzar’s troops had besieged the island fortress for thirteen grueling years before abandoning their efforts. God vividly described the toll on the soldiers: “every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare” (29:18). Whether from natural aging or the brutal conditions of prolonged siege warfare, the Babylonian army had suffered. The precise details of the Tyrian-Babylonian ceasefire remain unclear. Perhaps Tyre agreed to pay tribute, sparing itself from the customary looting. To Ezekiel’s fellow exiles, however, his prophecy of Tyre’s destruction went unfulfilled.

The terms of lifting the siege must have spared Tyre from the usual looting. God’s concern for the Babylonian soldiers’ compensation may seem unusual. However, in the ancient Near Eastern mindset, plunder was a gift bestowed to invading armies by the gods. As Babylon had acted as Yahweh’s instrument of judgment, God took responsibility for their reimbursement (29:20). God declared, “I will give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it, and it shall be the wages for his army” (29:19). The spoils from Egypt would serve as payment for the fruitless Tyrian campaign. Although God did not need to defend his delay or add to his previous message, he tweaked his prophecy for Ezekiel’s sake.

Ezekiel’s audience may have grumbled about the prophecy’s lack of fulfillment and questioned his authenticity as a prophet. Or Ezekiel was the one struggling with God’s delay. Ezekiel had predicted that the Babylonians specifically would cut Tyre down to nothing. Yet Tyre still stood. Unknown to Ezekiel, his prophecy would find fulfillment 250 years later through Alexander the Great’s conquest. The Greeks succeeded where the Assyrians and Babylonians failed. When the Babylonian army gave up without capturing Tyre, Ezekiel must have wondered if he had been mistaken. Nowhere else in prophetic literature does a prophet confess that one of his prophecies was wrong.

God was sympathetic to Ezekiel’s embarrassment. He did not allow his prophet to doubt his calling for long. He promised he would “cause a horn to sprout up for the house of Israel” (29:21). Despite the odd placement of the messianic promise, God’s intention was to reassure the prophet that he would restore the power of Israel. He added, “I will open your lips among them” (29:21). If Ezekiel did not stop speaking for God, God would vindicate his reputation and prophetic abilities.

This passage reveals a striking parallel between Ezekiel’s ancient audience and modern readers. Too often, contemporary prophecy enthusiasts focus on the prophets’ predictions rather than their message. They over-analyze the prophets’ obscure elements to reveal secrets about the end times but ignore their very clear moral and ethical demands. In their zeal to uncover hidden meanings, they miss the forest for the trees. The core of Ezekiel’s message—calls for covenant obedience, justice, and righteous living—often gets overshadowed by speculative interpretations. We are guilty of narrowly interpreting Ezekiel in modern times, but apparently, his peers did the same thing. They got lost in the details of literal fulfillment instead of embracing the prophetic call to return to God.

Thank you for listening and please continue to take part in this Bible Reading Challenge.

For all the biblical references each week, see the show transcript on our blog or by signing up for our emails at www.thejerusalemconnection.us/
Sign up and get a free downloadable gift!

Shabbat Shalom and Am Israel Chai

Daniel Block, NICOT, page 195

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Published on December 19, 2024 13:28

Bible Fiber: Ezekiel 29

Welcome to Bible Fiber, where we are encountering the textures and shades of the biblical tapestry through twelve Minor Prophets, two reformers, and one exile. I am Shelley Neese, president of The Jerusalem Connection, a Christian organization devoted to sharing the story of the people of Israel, both ancient and modern. I am also the author of the Bible Fiber book. Check it out on Amazon if you haven’t already!

We are still in the OAN, the long suspense-building pause between Ezekiel’s announcement of Jerusalem’s fall in Chapter 24 and confirmation of Jerusalem’s fall in Chapter 33.

Ezekiel arranged the seven oracles in a geographical sequence around Israel. He started with Ammon to the east. Next, he addressed Moab and Edom, further southeast. The focus then shifted westward to Philistia, followed by Tyre and Sidon to the northwest. In the last pronouncement, Ezekiel turned his reproach to Egypt in the southwest. The oracle against Egypt is Ezekiel’s longest by far, spanning four chapters.

Babylon’s Rival

At the start of the oracle against Egypt, Ezekiel gave the exact date, the equivalent of 7 January 587 BCE (29:1). It was exactly a year since Nebuchadnezzar first laid siege to Jerusalem.

In the early sixty century BCE, at the time of Ezekiel, Egypt was the only regional power who had a chance of challenging Babylon’s expansion. As Nebuchadnezzar’s army campaigned throughout the region, Egypt tried mightily to hold on to its upper hand. Jerusalem found itself in a precarious position, caught in the middle of two major powers vying for dominance. King Zedekiah, Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin all hoped to preserve Jerusalem’s independence. They switched their allegiance between Babylon and Egypt, unsure of the safest bet.

One of Egypt’s tactical strategies was to help smaller nations in their resistance to Babylonian ambitions. They wanted their allies to be codependent on them for aid. For example, the Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt (588-569 BCE) encouraged Judah to rebel against Babylon, promising Egypt’s military support in their struggle. He promised to intervene on Judah’s behalf and repel Nebuchadnezzar. According to Jeremiah’s account, Egypt’s intervention forced the Babylonians to lift their siege of Jerusalem, giving the city a brief respite and strengthening Judah’s determination to continue fighting (Jer. 37:5-11). However, Hophra relented, and his battalion retreated once they confronted the Babylonian army. Jeremiah’s description is vague, but Egypt might have withdrawn without a battle. This withdrawal of Egyptian forces hastened the fall of Jerusalem.

Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesied that God was going to use Babylon to punish Judah. With that understanding, they wanted to get the punishment over with. That is why they were both irritated with Egypt prodding Jerusalem’s kings to revolt. The prophets blamed Egypt for soliciting Judah’s partnership and blame Judah for placing their trust in Egypt. Judah had to be punished and Hophra was interfering with that process.

The Nile crocodile

God gave Ezekiel a word for the pharaoh. “Mortal,” he commanded, “prophesy against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and set your face against him and against all Egypt” (29:2). He does not name the pharaoh, but the dating and context points to Pharaoh Hophra. He characterized the pharaoh as “the great dragon sprawling in the midst of its channels” (29:3). The word Ezekiel used was tannim, the same word used for chaos monsters like the Leviathan in ancient Near Eastern mythology (Job 41). By describing the pharaoh as a primordial monster, Ezekiel was mocking the pharaoh’s pretensions to divinity.

The sprawling creature boasted, “My Nile is my own; I made it for myself” (29:3). Putting words in the monster’s mouth, Ezekiel was calling out the pharaoh’s excessive pride and his false sense of security. The creature laid claim to the Nile as if he was not only the Nile’s possessor, but also its creator. The pharaoh’s claim on the Nile aligned him with the Tyrian king who also claimed divinity.

In the next verse, Ezekiel demoted the creature from mythical status to a common crocodile. He warned, “I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your channels stick to your scales. I will draw you up from your channels, with all the fish of your channels sticking to your scales” (29:4). Ezekiel’s shift from mythical dragon to Nile crocodile grounded the prophecy in a familiar, real-world creature significant to Egyptian culture. The imagery shows Ezekiel’s mastery of satire. He was mocking the gap between the pharaoh’s actual power and his self-perception.

Hooking a crocodile’s jaws was indeed the method ancient Egyptians used to catch the crocodiles that populated the Nile River. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote about the Egyptian’s approach to crocodile hunting (History, 2.70). According to Herodotus, the Egyptians tied pork to a hook and rope to lure the crocodiles to shore. Once they caught the crocodile, they blinded the creature and bound its legs. Then they adorned the crocodiles with jewelry and ornaments as part of a ritual, either killing and mummifying them or keeping them alive and feeding them. In the Egyptian pantheon, crocodiles were associated with the god Sobek.

In Ezekiel’s word picture, God played the role of crocodile hunter. He was the one to hook the crocodile and drag him out of his habitat. The fish stuck to the crocodile’s scales may be a reference to Egypt’s allies or its normal citizenry. Either way, their fate depended on the fate of the creature. God said he would throw the crocodile into the desert, where he had no hope of survival at the mercy of scavenger birds (29:5). Ezekiel’s portrayal of the pharaoh’s undignified burial was the ultimate insult to a pharaoh who required elaborate burial rituals.

Reed crutch

In Ezekiel’s second metaphor, he likened Egypt to a reed crutch. Describing the dangers of relying on Egypt as a loyal ally, he lamented, “when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders, and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their legs give way” (29:7).

Reeds thrive in the wetlands and riverbanks of ancient Egypt. A grass-like plant, they are flimsy, easy to break, and cannot sustain weight. His hearers would have known that a thin reed is not suitable for fashioning a crutch. Ezekiel was not the only person in the Bible to associate Egypt’s military reliability with a thin reed. Perhaps, in antiquity, it was a popular caricature of Egypt’s military, and an often-repeated insult about their trustworthiness. For example, in 2 Kings, an Assyrian commander warned King Hezekiah that Egypt’s army was as unreliable as a crutch or staff made from a reed (2 Kings 18:21). The prophet Isaiah also compared Egypt’s army to a splintered reed (Isa. 36:6).

If Egypt had a centuries-old reputation for empty promises, they cemented that belief with their quick retreat in the face of the Babylonian siege. The people of Jerusalem, held their breath, holding out hope that Egypt could push back their Babylonian attackers. The exiles in Babylon, hearing of Zedekiah’s gamble, anticipated the end of exile. They thought only mighty Egypt could save them from their troubles.

Ezekiel described Jerusalem leaning on the reed crutch, falling from its lack of support, and becoming injured. It was futile to rely on them for aid. Judah should have never trusted in any protector other than Yahweh. But because they had placed their trust in Egypt, his punishment of Egypt was that much more severe. God would still hold Egypt accountable for its failure to deliver on its assurances.

Egypt’s punishment

Yahweh expanded his address to the entire land of Egypt. He declared, “I will bring a sword upon you and will cut off from you human and animal and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste” (29:9). All of Egypt, from the farthest northern point to the farthest southern point, would turn into a wasteland. Nothing living would cross over it because it would be uninhabitable for decades (29:11).

By using their own strengths against them, God brought ruin to both Tyre and Egypt. The Tyrian ship sank from the weight of its own material excess. Egypt took pride in the fertility of the Nile. The Nile was the source of its life, wealth, and power. When other countries suffered from drought, Egypt had always survived. During the time of their punishment, that would change.

God would not be angry with Egypt forever. The Egyptians would return to their land after only 40 years of exile, the timespan that represented one generation (29:12). After the 40-year exile, God was going to regather Egyptians in the “land of their origin” and “restore their fortunes” (29:14). They would not return to their former glory, the nation at the top of the region’s proverbial pyramid, but they would continue to exist as a people in their land.

Egypt’s punishment paralleled Judah’s punishment. The light sentence is at first surprising, except Ezekiel said after the return they would be a “lowly kingdom” (29:14). While Egypt may have experienced a similar period of exile, their return won’t be a glorious restoration. They would never again be strong enough to impose their rule over the neighboring states (29:15). In fact, Egypt would be a vassal state to a rotation of conquering empires: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. As a result, Jerusalem would stop being codependent on Egypt for protection. Ezekiel said, “the Egyptians shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel; they will recall their iniquity when they turned to them for aid” (29:16).

After describing Tyre’s burial at the bottom of Sheol and Ammon and Moab being wiped from history, it is shocking that Ezekiel offered Egypt its own restoration promise. Daniel Block, author of the NICOT commentary on Ezekiel, theorizes that Egypt’s denouncement was less severe than the other nations because at least it showed compassion for Judah during the siege. Tyre greedily took advantage of Judah’s fall, and the other nations gloated over Jerusalem’s demise. Egypt may have faltered on its oath to Israel, but it did not exploit its misfortune. Egypt tried to help Judah, even if its motives were not selfless.