Book of Ezekiel: Chapter 30
Chapter 30 of the book of Ezekiel continues as God continues to speak through Ezekiel the coming destruction of Egypt. In this chapter, we hear a lament about the Egyptians and its neighboring allies. As God promised to destroy Jerusalem because of their sins, He will also bring down his judgment upon Egypt.
Verses 1 – 19, written in a poetic form, depicts the judgment that the Lord will bring down upon Egypt. This plan includes slaughtering the citizens, letting the women be captured and taken as slaves, and drying up the Nile River. This last part is particularly harsh because the Nile is Egypt’s main source of wealth. Drying up this river will financially cut off Egypt.
In verses 20 – 26, God delivers another message to Egypt. In this message, He makes the metaphor of breaking the arms of Egypt’s Pharaoh. God states that the Pharaoh has already broken one arm on his own, so now God will break the second arm. This metaphor is meant to illustrate how the Pharaoh of Egypt reacted to the Babylonian’s attack on Judah. Since Judah made an alliance with Egypt, the Pharaoh half-heartedly tried to protect Judah from Babylon’s onslaught. But when the Babylonians fought back, the Egyptians gave up and retreated.
The act of retreating is what God is referring to when He states that the Pharaoh’s arm is broken. God will continue to punish the Egyptians after their retreat. By doing so, God is breaking Pharaoh’s second arm, making him incapable of defending his nation.
Key Verse:
“I will dry up the Nile River and sell the land to wicked men. I will destroy the land of Egypt and everything in it by the hands of the foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken!” ~ Ezekiel 30:12
Questions to ponder:
- Why didn’t Pharaoh attempt to fully protect Judah from the Babylonians?
- How does the breaking of Pharaoh’s arms mimic how the Lord is punishing the leaders of Judah?
