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  1. Tue: Isaiah 36-39
  2. Wed: 1 Samuel 13-16
  3. Thu: 2 Corinthians 4-7
Friday · Week 14
The Later Prophets

Ezekiel 28-29

Week 14 · about 10 min
  1. Sat: Psalms 17-20
  2. Sun: Exodus 14-17
  3. Mon: Mark 6-7

Ezekiel speaks against the ruler of Tyre, then Sidon, and then turns to Pharaoh of Egypt.

Yet Thou Art a Man, and Not God

Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:

Ezekiel 28:2 (KJV)

Tyre’s ruler got so rich and clever that he decided he was divine. God’s answer is short: “yet thou art a man, and not God.” A second lament goes further. It describes someone in Eden, a guardian cherub, perfect until iniquity was found in him. Like Isaiah 14, many readers see Satan’s own fall reflected here. In chapter 29 Pharaoh is a great monster lying in the Nile, saying “My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.” God will put hooks in his jaws and drag him out. The thread through all these chapters is pride, treating what God gave as if it were your own.

Reflect: What do you treat as “mine own” that God actually gave you?

Ezekiel 28

1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.

3Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!

4By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries.

5By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.

6Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you regard your heart as the heart of a god,

7behold, I will bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and will defile your splendor.

8They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas.

9Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you? You will be only a man, not a god, in the hands of those who wound you.

10You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners. For I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.”

11Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

12“Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.

14You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

15From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways— until wickedness was found in you.

16By the vastness of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.

17Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.

18By the multitude of your iniquities and the dishonesty of your trading you have profaned your sanctuaries. So I made fire come from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the eyes of all who saw you.

19All the nations who know you are appalled over you. You have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”

20Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

21“Son of man, set your face against Sidon and prophesy against her.

22And you are to declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will be glorified within you. They will know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments against her and demonstrate My holiness through her.

23I will send a plague against her and shed blood in her streets; the slain will fall within her, while the sword is against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

24For the people of Israel will no longer face a pricking brier or a painful thorn from all around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.’

25This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they have been scattered, I will show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will dwell in their own land, which I have given to My servant Jacob.

26And there they will dwell securely, build houses, and plant vineyards. They will dwell securely when I execute judgments against all those around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.’”

Ezekiel 29

1In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

3Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’

4But I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your streams to cling to your scales. I will haul you up out of your rivers, and all the fish of your streams will cling to your scales.

5I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and will not be taken away or gathered for burial. I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air.

6Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD. For you were only a staff of reeds to the house of Israel.

7When Israel took hold of you with their hands, you splintered, tearing all their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke, and their backs were wrenched.

8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will bring a sword against you and cut off from you man and beast.

9The land of Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it,’

10therefore I am against you and against your rivers. I will turn the land of Egypt into a ruin, a desolate wasteland from Migdol to Syene, and as far as the border of Cush.

11No foot of man or beast will pass through, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.

12I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and her cities will lie desolate for forty years among the ruined cities. And I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

13For this is what the Lord GOD says: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations to which they were scattered.

14I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

15Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations.

16Egypt will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity in turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.”

17In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

19Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army.

20I have given him the land of Egypt as the reward for his labor, because it was done for Me, declares the Lord GOD.

21In that day I will cause a horn to sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth to speak among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

Berean Standard Bible (BSB). The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain.