Ezekiel 31-32
Dear RTB’ers,
Today, three more oracles against Egypt (see Ez. 31:1, 32:1, 32:17) and a lament (Ez. 32:2, ff.). The first oracle is unusual. The Lord through Ezekiel uses an allegory, telling a story of Assyria as a great cedar tree which had fallen and gone to ruin: Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “Because it is tall in stature and has put its top among the clouds, and its heart is haughty in its loftiness, I hand it over to a ruler of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. In accordance with its wickedness I have driven it out. Foreign tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it… (vv. 31:10-12a) Assyria’s pride was its ruin. The allegorical connection to Egypt is not revealed until the last sentence in the chapter: This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD. (v. 31:18b)
Assyria gets another mention in the next chapter (Ez. 32:22-23), along with Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom, “princes of the north” and the Sidonians, all of whom have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused… (v. 32:30b) Again, in this chapter’s last sentence Egypt is connected with these deposed nations: …he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD. (v. 32:32b)
Now we leave Ezekiel for a while, quieting ourselves with the Psalms for the next two weeks before returning to finish Ezekiel’s final sixteen chapters.
Blessings.