The Sinking Ship of Human Pride Text: Ezekiel 30:1-19
Introduction: The Egyptian Temptation
There is a perennial temptation for the people of God, and it is the temptation to trust in Egypt. In the Old Testament, this was a literal, geopolitical temptation. When the Assyrians were rattling their sabers, or the Babylonians were on the march, the kings of Judah would get a bright idea. Instead of trusting in Yahweh, whose deliverance can seem slow and invisible, they would send ambassadors down to Egypt to cut a deal. They wanted to lean on something they could see, something with chariots and horses and a long history of imperial power. Egypt was the world's oldest superpower, a lumbering beast of cultural prestige and military might. To the pragmatic mind, an alliance with Egypt was just smart foreign policy. To God, it was spiritual adultery.
We may not be tempted to make a treaty with the literal nation of Egypt today, but the Egyptian temptation is alive and well. Egypt is a biblical symbol for proud, self-reliant, man-centered power. It represents any human system that promises security apart from God. It could be the paternalistic State, promising cradle-to-grave security in exchange for your liberty and loyalty. It could be Wall Street, promising that your 401k is the rock upon which you should build your retirement. It could be our military-industrial complex, our technological prowess, or our academic institutions. Anything that puffs out its chest and says, "I am, and there is no one besides me," is Egypt. And God's message, delivered here with terrifying clarity by the prophet Ezekiel, is that Egypt is a sinking ship. And all who lash themselves to it will go down with it.
This chapter is not just a historical curiosity about ancient near-eastern politics. It is a timeless lesson on the folly of trusting in the arm of the flesh. God is sovereign over history. He raises up empires and He casts them down. He uses pagan kings as His battle-axe and then breaks the axe when He is done. And the central purpose of all this upheaval, all this judgment, is so that the nations, and His own forgetful people, "will know that I am Yahweh." Judgment is a severe mercy. It is the demolition of our idols so that we might be forced to reckon with the one true God.
The Text
The word of Yahweh came again to me saying, "Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’ For the day is near, Even the day of Yahweh is near; It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations. A sword will come upon Egypt, And anguish will be in Ethiopia; When the slain fall in Egypt, They take away her multitude, And her foundations are pulled down. Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya, and the people of the land that is in covenant will fall with them by the sword.”
‘Thus says Yahweh, “Indeed, those who support Egypt will fall, And the pride of her strength will come down; From Migdol to Syene They will fall within her by the sword,” Declares Lord Yahweh. “They will be desolate In the midst of the desolated lands; And her cities will be In the midst of the cities laid waste. And they will know that I am Yahweh, When I set a fire in Egypt And all her helpers are broken. On that day messengers will go forth from Me in ships to frighten secure Ethiopia; and anguish will be on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”
‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will also make the multitude of Egypt cease By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He and his people with him, The most ruthless of the nations, Will be brought in to make the land a ruin; And they will draw their swords against Egypt And fill the land with the slain. Moreover, I will make the canals of the Nile dry And sell the land into the hands of evil men. And I will make the land desolate, As well as its fullness, By the hand of strangers; I, Yahweh, have spoken.”
‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “I will also destroy the idols And make the images cease from Memphis. And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt; And I will put fear in the land of Egypt. I will make Pathros desolate, Set a fire in Zoan, And execute judgments on Thebes. I will pour out My wrath on Sin, The strong defense of Egypt; I will also cut off the multitude of Thebes. I will set a fire in Egypt; Sin will writhe in anguish; Thebes will be breached, And Memphis will have distresses daily. The choice men of On and of Pi-beseth Will fall by the sword, And the women will go into captivity. In Tehaphnehes the day will be dark When I break there the bars of the yoke of Egypt. Then the pride of her strength will cease in her; A cloud will cover her, And her daughters will go into captivity. Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt, And they will know that I am Yahweh.” ’ ”
(Ezekiel 30:1-19 LSB)
The Day of Doom and the Dominoes of Judgment (vv. 1-5)
The prophecy begins with a command to wail. This is not a time for nuanced debate or quiet contemplation. It is a time for visceral grief, for crying "Alas for the day!"
"For the day is near, Even the day of Yahweh is near; It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations." (Ezekiel 30:3)
The "Day of Yahweh" is a major prophetic theme. It is a day when God steps into history in a dramatic and decisive way to execute judgment. For those who are His enemies, it is not a day of sunshine and rainbows. It is a "day of clouds," a day of gloom and thick darkness. This is God's direct intervention, and it is a "time of doom for the nations." God is the Lord of history, and He sets the schedule. The day is near because He has decreed it.
The instrument of this doom is specified: "A sword will come upon Egypt." God's judgments are not abstract. They are concrete, historical, and often violent. But notice the ripple effect. When the big man falls, his cronies get hit with the shrapnel. "Anguish will be in Ethiopia." Why? Because Ethiopia was a key ally. The subsequent list in verse 5 is a roll call of Egypt's coalition of the willing: Ethiopia, Put, Lud, Arabia, Libya. These were nations that had hitched their wagon to Pharaoh's star. They had made a covenant, an alliance, with Egypt. And God says that when the sword falls on Egypt, all "the people of the land that is in covenant will fall with them."
This is a foundational principle of reality. You become like what you trust. You share the fate of what you ally yourself with. If your security is found in a godless political system, you will share in the judgment of that system. If your hope is in a corrupt financial system, you will weep when that system inevitably collapses. This is a warning against entangling alliances with the world. Do not lean on Egypt.
The Purpose of the Fire (vv. 6-9)
God reiterates the principle so no one misses it. He is a good teacher, and He uses repetition.
"Indeed, those who support Egypt will fall, And the pride of her strength will come down..." (Ezekiel 30:6)
God is not just judging Egypt's actions; He is judging her attitude. He is targeting "the pride of her strength." Pride is the native language of Hell. It is the fundamental sin of thinking you are autonomous, that your strength is your own. God is jealous for His own glory, and He will not tolerate such arrogance. He specifies the geographical extent of the judgment, "From Migdol to Syene," which means from the northernmost to the southernmost border. The judgment will be total.
But what is the point of all this desolation? Is God simply a cosmic destroyer? No. The purpose is stated plainly in verse 8: "And they will know that I am Yahweh, When I set a fire in Egypt And all her helpers are broken." The goal of judgment is revelation. God dismantles false realities so that the true reality can be seen. He burns down the flimsy shelters men build for themselves so that they will know He is the only true refuge. This is the great theme of Ezekiel. History is a classroom, and the lesson is theology proper. The final exam is whether or not you know that He is the Lord.
And the lesson is not just for Egypt. God sends messengers "to frighten secure Ethiopia." When God judges your neighbor, it is a warning shot across your own bow. He detests a false sense of security, the smug complacency of those who think they are untouchable. God's judgments are public sermons, and woe to the nation that sleeps through them.
The Ruthless Instrument (vv. 10-12)
Now God names His weapon. He is not ashamed to tell us how He will accomplish this.
"I will also make the multitude of Egypt cease By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He and his people with him, The most ruthless of the nations..." (Ezekiel 30:10-11)
This is one of the hard truths of Scripture. God is utterly sovereign, and He uses wicked and ruthless men to accomplish His righteous purposes. Nebuchadnezzar is not a servant of Yahweh in his heart. He is a brutal, pagan tyrant. But in the economy of God, he is a tool, a sword in the hand of the Almighty. Nebuchadnezzar thinks he is acting for his own glory, but he is running God's errand. This should give us a profound sense of God's control over all things. He is not wringing His hands in heaven over the evil deeds of men. He is orchestrating all events, even the wrath of man, to praise Him.
The judgment is aimed at the very source of Egypt's life and pride: "I will make the canals of the Nile dry." The Nile was the deity of Egypt. It was the source of their food, their wealth, their civilization. For God to dry up the Nile was to pull the plug on their entire worldview. It was a demonstration that Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, was Lord over their deified river. He is the one who gives and takes away. And He says, "I, Yahweh, have spoken." That is the final court of appeal. When He speaks, reality rearranges itself accordingly.
The War on Idols (vv. 13-19)
The final section reveals that this is, at its heart, a theological war. It is a holy war, not just between nations, but between God and the false gods.
"I will also destroy the idols And make the images cease from Memphis." (Ezekiel 30:13)
Politics is downstream from culture, and culture is downstream from cult, from worship. God does not just defeat Pharaoh's army; He goes after Egypt's idols. He smashes their religious infrastructure. He says there will no longer be a native "prince in the land of Egypt," shattering their political pride, and He will "put fear in the land," shattering their psychological security.
What follows is a terrifying tour of judgment across the great cities of Egypt. Pathros, Zoan, Thebes (the capital), Sin (a fortress city whose name ironically means "mud"), On (a center of sun worship), Pi-beseth, Tehaphnehes. These were the centers of Egyptian power, religion, and commerce. God is not just trimming the hedges; He is pulling the nation up by its roots. He is executing judgments, plural. He is thorough. He is systematic.
And the chapter concludes by restating the grand purpose of it all one last time. "Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt, And they will know that I am Yahweh." This is the point. All of history is bending toward this great confession. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Some will do so willingly in salvation, and others will do so reluctantly in judgment. But all will know.
Conclusion: Flee from Egypt
The message for us is stark and simple. Do not trust in Egypt. Identify the proud, man-centered systems of this world that promise you security, and repent of any allegiance you have given them. The day of the Lord is near for all the Egypts of this world, and their collapse is certain because Yahweh has spoken.
The pride of their strength will come down. Their foundations will be pulled down. All their helpers will be broken. This is not a possibility; it is a promise. The only safe place to stand is in covenant with the God who judges the nations.
The good news of the gospel is that the ultimate Day of Yahweh has already occurred for us at the cross. The full measure of God's wrath against our sin, our idolatry, our foolish trust in Egypt, was poured out upon Jesus Christ. He is the only prince who will never be removed. He is the only foundation that can never be pulled down. The sword of God's justice fell on Him so that all who take refuge in Him might be spared.
Therefore, our response should not be to wail in terror, but to flee in faith. Flee from the sinking ship of this world's pride and find your security in the ark of Christ. For He is the only king whose kingdom will never be desolate, and in Him alone, we can know Yahweh not as a terrifying judge, but as a gracious Father.