Five Pictures of Judgement
Text Ezekiel 30-32 Time 01 07 07 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
This morning I want us to look at Ezekiel's final prophecies against the nations as found in Ezekiel 30-32. Like Chapter 29, these chapters are all given over chiefly to prophecies against the Egyptians, although other nations are mentioned too. In these chapters we find some five prophecies – one undated, then two from the eleventh year and two from the twelfth year. We are familiar now with the sort of language used. The theme is again judgement and several more times we have the prophecy and they will know that I am the LORD.
In each of the prophecies we have words of judgement against the Egyptians and in each of them we can pick out one very vivid picture that is used to help bring home to us the judgement. As we have said before these are temporal judgements against the Egyptians but they prefigure the final judgement that is going to come on us all.
1. Consider this prophecy with no date and picture the day of the Lord as coming like clouds and a storm
In each of the prophecies we have words of judgement against the Egyptians and in each of them we can pick out one very vivid picture that is used to help bring home to us the judgement. As we have said before these are temporal judgements against the Egyptians but they prefigure the final judgement that is going to come on us all.
1. Consider this prophecy with no date and picture the day of the Lord as coming like clouds and a storm
In Chapter 30 from verse 2, Ezekiel is told to Wail and say, Alas for that day! For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near - a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. The phrase the day of the Lord is a favourite one in Scripture for speaking about judgement.
He speaks of a sword coming against Egypt anguish coming on their neighbours Cush. The slain will fall and Egypt's wealth will be carried away and her foundations torn down. All their neighbours will go down too - Cush and Put, Lydia and all Arabia, Libya and even some from the Promised land too. These allies of Egypt will fall and her proud strength will fail. Several Egyptian cities are mentioned as God circles round, as it were, destroying them one by one – Migdol, Aswan and all between will be left desolate and ruined. What fear and anguish there will be all around. God will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. No longer will there be a prince in Egypt. God will lay waste Upper Egypt, set fire to Zoan and inflict punishment on Thebes. He will pour out his wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the hordes of Thebes. He will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium will writhe in agony. Thebes will be taken by storm; Memphis will be in constant distress. The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and the cities themselves will go into captivity. Tahpanhes will also suffer.
The actual carrier out of this judgement is, of course, Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon. He and his army - the most ruthless of nations - will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain ... by the hand of foreigners I will lay waste the land and everything in it.
Other images are used - a sword, a yoke being broken, fire, being crushed, drying up the Nile and selling the land to evil men – but if we focus on this picture of - a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations, a dark day at Tahpanhes and elsewhere, She will be covered with clouds, and her villages will go into captivity – it will help us to get into our minds what that day is going to be like.
He speaks of a sword coming against Egypt anguish coming on their neighbours Cush. The slain will fall and Egypt's wealth will be carried away and her foundations torn down. All their neighbours will go down too - Cush and Put, Lydia and all Arabia, Libya and even some from the Promised land too. These allies of Egypt will fall and her proud strength will fail. Several Egyptian cities are mentioned as God circles round, as it were, destroying them one by one – Migdol, Aswan and all between will be left desolate and ruined. What fear and anguish there will be all around. God will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis. No longer will there be a prince in Egypt. God will lay waste Upper Egypt, set fire to Zoan and inflict punishment on Thebes. He will pour out his wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the hordes of Thebes. He will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium will writhe in agony. Thebes will be taken by storm; Memphis will be in constant distress. The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and the cities themselves will go into captivity. Tahpanhes will also suffer.
The actual carrier out of this judgement is, of course, Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon. He and his army - the most ruthless of nations - will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain ... by the hand of foreigners I will lay waste the land and everything in it.
Other images are used - a sword, a yoke being broken, fire, being crushed, drying up the Nile and selling the land to evil men – but if we focus on this picture of - a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations, a dark day at Tahpanhes and elsewhere, She will be covered with clouds, and her villages will go into captivity – it will help us to get into our minds what that day is going to be like.
We are having some unseasonably bad weather at the moment and this week I'm sure you've looked into the skies and seen the dark clouds and realised that another storm is about to come. Well, in a similar way the dark clouds of judgement are gathering and soon God's doom will come on the nations. Jesus speaks of it at the end of the Sermon on the Mount
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine about seeking and finding and taking the narrow way and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine about seeking and finding and taking the narrow way and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
Turn to Christ now before the storm comes and you cannot escape.
2. Consider this prophecy from the eleventh year and picture the judgement as like having two broken arms not healed
2. Consider this prophecy from the eleventh year and picture the judgement as like having two broken arms not healed
At the end of Chapter 30 (20-26) we have a further word of prophecy – given early in the eleventh year of exile. Here the picture used is of Pharaoh having his arms broken and them not being healed.
First God says I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. It has not been bound up for healing or put in a splint so as to become strong enough to hold a sword. Then he says I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand. More prosaically, I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Through the strengthening of the arms of the Babylonians God is going to break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a mortally wounded man. Verse 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Twice more we get Then they will know that I am the LORD.
This is a very blunt and straightforward picture of judgement. One moment you are busy doing things with both arms, a sword in one, some other weapon in the other but then - first one, then the other is broken and the weapons drop from your hands. Have you ever broken an arm? First there is pain and then there is the inability to act. If both arms are broken you can do little for yourself – you certainly can't defend yourself.
First God says I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. It has not been bound up for healing or put in a splint so as to become strong enough to hold a sword. Then he says I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break both his arms, the good arm as well as the broken one, and make the sword fall from his hand. More prosaically, I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries. Through the strengthening of the arms of the Babylonians God is going to break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a mortally wounded man. Verse 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Twice more we get Then they will know that I am the LORD.
This is a very blunt and straightforward picture of judgement. One moment you are busy doing things with both arms, a sword in one, some other weapon in the other but then - first one, then the other is broken and the weapons drop from your hands. Have you ever broken an arm? First there is pain and then there is the inability to act. If both arms are broken you can do little for yourself – you certainly can't defend yourself.
So I say to you, give up your fight against God now. Surrender! You will not be able to fight on. Your arms will be broken.
3. Consider this prophecy given less than two months later and picture the judgement as like the felling of a magnificent tree
3. Consider this prophecy given less than two months later and picture the judgement as like the felling of a magnificent tree
In Chapter 31 we have another prophecy directed chiefly at Pharaoh king of Egypt and ... his hordes. The image used here is that of a great and magnificent tree, such as a cedar or something similar, crashing to the ground. Again, other ideas are brought in but that's the main one.
1. A picture of worldly glory as a magnificent tree
God says first Who can be compared with you in majesty? Consider Assyria, (this may rather be referring to the name of a tree) once a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest; it towered on high, its top above the thick foliage. We read of the waters nourishing it, deep springs making it grow tall; ... streams flowing all around its base and watering all the trees of the field. This tree towers higher than all the trees of the field; it grows outward as well as outward its boughs and branches growing long and spreading. Birds nest in the boughs, all the beasts of the field give birth under its branches. Other nations benefited from Egypt's success. It was majestic in beauty, with its spreading boughs, for its roots went down to abundant waters. Even the trees of Eden couldn't compare with it nor could any other tree match its beauty. I made it beautiful with abundant branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden in the garden of God.
2. Its judgement is announced
2. Its judgement is announced
From verse 10 God goes on Because it towered on high, lifting its top above the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, I handed it over to the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. Egypt is cast aside. The most ruthless of foreign nations (the Babylonians) cut it down and leave it. Its boughs fall everywhere. Its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. The birds flew off and the animals went. There was nothing any more for the nations who previously looked to Egypt. Further from verse 14 God says Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined for death, for the earth below, among mortal men, with those who go down to the pit.
3. The reaction to the judgement is described
3. The reaction to the judgement is described
There is great mourning for Egypt. Lebanon is clothed with gloom. All the trees of the field wither(ed) away. The nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the grave with those who go down to the pit. There is consolation now for the trees of Eden – the other nations, but Those who lived in its shade, its allies among the nations, also went down to the grave with it, joining those killed by the sword.
4. The judgement is summed up
4. The judgement is summed up
Verse 18 Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendour and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign LORD.
In the Sermon on the Mount again Jesus speaks of good deeds as being like good fruit on a tree. Where there is no fruit or the fruit is bad the tree must be cut down and thrown into the fire. By nature we are bad trees who bear bad fruit but Christ can change us so that we produce good deeds for his glory. If we do not we will be cut down, felled. We will go crashing down.
4. Consider this prophecy from the twelfth year and picture the judgement as like the capture of a wild animal
In the Sermon on the Mount again Jesus speaks of good deeds as being like good fruit on a tree. Where there is no fruit or the fruit is bad the tree must be cut down and thrown into the fire. By nature we are bad trees who bear bad fruit but Christ can change us so that we produce good deeds for his glory. If we do not we will be cut down, felled. We will go crashing down.
4. Consider this prophecy from the twelfth year and picture the judgement as like the capture of a wild animal
In Chapter 32 verses 1-16 we have yet another prophecy, this time from the twelfth year. Ezekiel is again commanded to take up a lament. This time Pharaoh is pictured as being like a lion among the nations; or, as before a monster in the seas thrashing about in your streams, churning the water with your feet and muddying the streams. What is about to happen is that God is about to cast his net over him and they will haul you up in my net. Then (as before) he is told he will be thrown on the land hurled into an open field. Birds of the air will settle on him and all the beasts of the earth gorge themselves on him. God will spread his flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with his remains. His blood and flesh will be everywhere.
Then using an image more like the first one God says (from verse 7) When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you; I will bring darkness over your land, ... When Egypt's destruction comes many will be troubled and appalled by it. Kings will shudder with horror ... In the day of your downfall each of them will tremble every moment for his life. This, of course, is because God was going to send the sword of the King of Babylon against them. Egypt will be conquered. Babylon would shatter the pride of Egypt and overthrow its hordes. Her sacred cattle will be destroyed and her waters stirred up until they are allowed to settle again.
Yet again we have (32:15) When I make Egypt desolate and strip the land of everything in it, when I strike down all who live there, then they will know that I am the LORD.
Those who rebel against God are like wild animals running from God but they will be captured in the end. There is no escape. His net will be cast and you will be trapped. When a wild horse has a rider on its back for the first time it does all it can to throw him off. Eventually, however, it is subdued. We too must be subdued by Jesus. Accept his rule. Submit to him.
5. Consider this final prophecy also from the twelfth year and picture the judgement in terms of going down into the pit
Then using an image more like the first one God says (from verse 7) When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you; I will bring darkness over your land, ... When Egypt's destruction comes many will be troubled and appalled by it. Kings will shudder with horror ... In the day of your downfall each of them will tremble every moment for his life. This, of course, is because God was going to send the sword of the King of Babylon against them. Egypt will be conquered. Babylon would shatter the pride of Egypt and overthrow its hordes. Her sacred cattle will be destroyed and her waters stirred up until they are allowed to settle again.
Yet again we have (32:15) When I make Egypt desolate and strip the land of everything in it, when I strike down all who live there, then they will know that I am the LORD.
Those who rebel against God are like wild animals running from God but they will be captured in the end. There is no escape. His net will be cast and you will be trapped. When a wild horse has a rider on its back for the first time it does all it can to throw him off. Eventually, however, it is subdued. We too must be subdued by Jesus. Accept his rule. Submit to him.
5. Consider this final prophecy also from the twelfth year and picture the judgement in terms of going down into the pit
In Chapter 32 verses 17-32 Ezekiel is called again to wail for the hordes of Egypt. This time Egypt's future is pictured as being among the dead – in the pit. Egypt is to be consigned to the earth below. Egypt and other nations will go down to the pit. Ezekiel is to say Are you more favoured than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised. They are going to fall by the sword and in the abode of death those who have gone down into the pit before will say They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.
Other nations that have already come under God's judgements are then spoken of as also being in this pit.
Verses 22, 23 Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword.
Similar things are said about Elam, Meshech and Tubal, Edom and all the princes of the north and all the Sidonians. Then Egypt will realise that the same fate has overtaken them because of their sins in the land of the living.
Hell is pictured in various ways in the Bible. Here it is the realm of the dead, the lower parts of the earth, a deep pit filled with those who opposed God.
Other nations that have already come under God's judgements are then spoken of as also being in this pit.
Verses 22, 23 Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword.
Similar things are said about Elam, Meshech and Tubal, Edom and all the princes of the north and all the Sidonians. Then Egypt will realise that the same fate has overtaken them because of their sins in the land of the living.
Hell is pictured in various ways in the Bible. Here it is the realm of the dead, the lower parts of the earth, a deep pit filled with those who opposed God.
Is that your destiny? It is if you go on in sin and refuse to repent. Repent now. Turn to Christ before it is too late.
