Will God deal with the violence and shame of this world’s regimes? Let’s look at Ezekiel 32.
What kind of song did God tell Ezekiel to sing about Pharaoh, king of Egypt?
On the first day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of our captivity, a message came to me from the Lord, who had this to say: “Son of Man, start singing this lamentation about Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Tell him, ‘You may have called yourself a lion among nations, but you’re a monster at sea. You thrash about in your rivers, muddy the water with your feet, and relieve yourself in the rivers.’ (Ezek 32:1-2 ISV)
What was God going to do with the dead sea monster picturing Pharaoh?
Thus saith the Lord God; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net. Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee. (Ezek 32:3-6 ESV)
Do we see any of the ten Exodus plagues in this description regarding Egypt?
And when I extinguish you, 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 And will give darkness on your land,” Declares Lord Yahweh. (Ezek 32:7-8 LSB)
Will Egypt’s troubles affect many surrounding nations?
I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known. And I will make many peoples appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and they will tremble again and again, every person for his own life, on the day of your fall. (Ezek 32:9-10 NASB)
Who will attack Egypt? Then will they know that God is the Lord?
For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. I will cause your hordes to fall by the swords of mighty men—the most ruthless of all nations. They will shatter the pride of Egypt, and all her hordes will be overthrown. I will destroy all her cattle from beside abundant waters no longer to be stirred by the foot of man or muddied by the hooves of cattle.
Then I will let her waters settle and make her streams flow like oil, declares the Sovereign Lord. 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.’ This is the lament they will chant for her. The daughters of the nations will chant it; for Egypt and all her hordes they will chant it, declares the Sovereign Lord. (Ezek 32:11-16 NIV)
Do we now have a funeral dirge and prophecy given by the prophet Ezekiel against Pharaoh and the multitudes of Egypt?
It came to pass also in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, And cast them down to the depths of the earth, Her and the daughters of the famous nations, With those who go down to the Pit:
‘Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down, be placed with the uncircumcised.’ They shall fall in the midst of those slain by the sword; She is delivered to the sword, Drawing her and all her multitudes. The strong among the mighty Shall speak to him out of the midst of hell With those who help him: ‘They have gone down, They lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’ (Ezek 32:17-21 NKJV)
What other once violent nations, do Pharaoh and Egypt join by descending into the realm of the dead, the pit?
Assyria lies there surrounded by the graves of its army, those who were slaughtered by the sword. Their graves are in the depths of the pit, and they are surrounded by their allies. They struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere, but now they have been slaughtered by the sword.
Elam lies there surrounded by the graves of all its hordes, those who were slaughtered by the sword. They struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere, but now they have descended as outcasts to the world below. Now they lie in the pit and share the shame of those who have gone before them. They have a resting place among the slaughtered, surrounded by the graves of all their hordes. Yes, they terrorized the nations while they lived, but now they lie in shame with others in the pit, all of them outcasts, slaughtered by the sword.
Meshech and Tubal are there, surrounded by the graves of all their hordes. They once struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere. But now they are outcasts, all slaughtered by the sword. They are not buried in honor like their fallen heroes, who went down to the grave with their weapons—their shields covering their bodies and their swords beneath their heads. Their guilt rests upon them because they brought terror to everyone while they were still alive.
You too, Egypt, will lie crushed and broken among the outcasts, all slaughtered by the sword.
Edom is there with its kings and princes. Mighty as they were, they also lie among those slaughtered by the sword, with the outcasts who have gone down to the pit.
All the princes of the north and the Sidonians are there with others who have died. Once a terror, they have been put to shame. They lie there as outcasts with others who were slaughtered by the sword. They share the shame of all who have descended to the pit. (Ezek 32:22-30 NLT)
Will Pharaoh find a grim, ironic comfort in seeing his slain army and fellow terrorist rulers in the grave?
Pharaoh will see them and will be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword,” says the Lord Yahweh. “For I have put his terror in the land of the living. He will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude,” says the Lord Yahweh. (Ezek 32:31-32 WEB)
Did Jesus mention a similar time of darkening the sun, moon and stars?
Now immediately after the suffering of that time the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. (Mat 24:29 CEB)
Will God deal with the violence and shame of this world’s regimes? You decide!
