Commentary - Ezekiel 31:10-14

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, the prophet Ezekiel delivers the word of the Lord against Pharaoh, king of Egypt. But as is common in prophetic discourse, the immediate object of the oracle is a type, a stand-in for a much larger principle. Egypt, represented here as a colossal, world-dominating cedar tree, is a picture of every proud nation or empire that exalts itself against God. The sin is pride, plain and simple. The tree grew tall, its top was among the clouds, and its heart was lifted up. This is the aboriginal sin, the sin of Satan, the sin of Adam, and the besetting sin of all potentates and powers that forget their station.

The judgment that follows is therefore entirely fitting. God, in His absolute sovereignty, hands this proud entity over to another earthly power, a "dominant one of the nations," who will deal with it according to its wickedness. The fall is catastrophic and public. The great tree is felled, its branches broken, its foliage scattered. The nations that once sought shelter under its shade now abandon the carcass. The purpose of this spectacular judgment is didactic; it is a lesson for all the other "trees by the waters", all other nations, that they should not grow proud, that they should not trust in their own strength. All are destined for the pit, for death, unless they find their life in the one who went down to the pit for us.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

Ezekiel 31 is part of a collection of oracles against the foreign nations that surrounded Israel (chapters 25-32). This section serves to demonstrate Yahweh's sovereignty not just over His covenant people, but over all the earth. No nation, however powerful, is outside His jurisdiction. The oracle against Egypt is particularly extensive, reflecting Egypt's long and influential history in relation to Israel. In the preceding chapter, God promised to break the arms of Pharaoh, and here He elaborates on the reason and the reality of that judgment.

The imagery of the great tree is not isolated. It draws on a common ancient Near Eastern motif of the world tree or cosmic tree, representing the king or the kingdom as the center of the world, providing order and shelter. But Ezekiel co-opts this pagan image and subordinates it to the purposes of Yahweh. Assyria was just such a tree, and it was felled (Ezekiel 31:3-9). Now Egypt, having seen this and not learned the lesson, will suffer the same fate. This sets the stage for the final lament over Pharaoh in chapter 32, where he is consigned to the pit with all the other uncircumcised, fallen despots of history.

Key Issues

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 10 ‘Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because it is lofty in height and has put its top among the clouds, and its heart is high up in its loftiness,

The oracle begins with the ultimate authority: "thus says Lord Yahweh." This is not Ezekiel's political analysis. This is the declaration of the sovereign God. The charge is laid out immediately, and it is one of pride. The problem is not the height itself; God is the one who made the tree tall in the first place (v. 9). The problem is the disposition of the heart. "Its heart is high up in its loftiness." This is the essence of pride: taking credit for God's blessings, locating the source of strength and glory within oneself. This is the Tower of Babel mentality, reaching for the heavens to make a name for oneself. When a man, or a nation, puts its top among the clouds, it is functionally attempting to dethrone God. And God will not be mocked.

v. 11 therefore I will give it into the hand of a dominant one of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. According to its wickedness I have driven it away.

Judgment follows indictment as surely as thunder follows lightning. Notice the divine "I will." God is the actor here, the one who gives Egypt over. And to whom does He give it? To a "dominant one of the nations." Historically, this points to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. God is not squeamish about using one wicked nation to punish another. He is the Lord of history, and all kings are but pawns on His chessboard. This pagan king will "thoroughly deal with it," which is a grim understatement. The reason for this judgment is stated plainly: "According to its wickedness I have driven it away." The pride described in verse 10 is not just an unfortunate character flaw; it is wickedness. It is a direct violation of the first and greatest commandment. To have a heart lifted up in pride is to have another god before Yahweh, and that god is yourself. For this idolatry, the sentence is exile, to be cast out from the place of blessing.

v. 12 Strangers, ruthless ones of the nations have cut it down and abandoned it; on the mountains and in all the valleys its foliage have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have gone down from its shade and abandoned it.

The agent of judgment is further described as "strangers" and "ruthless ones." This is the grim reality of God's temporal judgments. He uses hard men to do hard things. The felling of the tree is total and violent. It is "cut down." Its parts are scattered everywhere, on the mountains and in the valleys. The image is one of complete chaos and de-creation. The order and structure that the great empire provided is now a heap of broken branches. And what of its dependents? "All the peoples of the earth have gone down from its shade and abandoned it." The nations that once paid tribute and sought protection now flee the scene. There is no loyalty among thieves, and there is no security in the shadow of a doomed power. When God judges a nation, its fair-weather friends are the first to depart.

v. 13 On its downfall all the birds of the sky will dwell, and all the beasts of the field will be on its fallen branches

This verse paints a picture of utter desolation. The tree that once housed the birds in its living boughs (v. 6) now becomes a perch for them on its dead carcass. The beasts that once found shade now trample over its fallen branches. This is an image of a corpse being picked over by scavengers. The glory is gone. The life is gone. All that remains is a monument to the folly of pride, a rotting log for vultures and jackals. It is a public and shameful end. The reversal is complete: that which was a symbol of life and shelter has become a symbol of death and ruin.

v. 14 so that all the trees by the waters may not be lofty in their height, nor put their top among the clouds, nor their dominant ones, all the well-watered ones, stand in their loftiness. For they have all been given over to death, to the earth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit.”

Here we have the moral of the story. God’s judgments in history are never just about the recipient; they are sermons for the spectators. The fall of Egypt is a warning "so that" no other nation ("trees by the waters") will make the same mistake. Do not be lofty. Do not put your top among the clouds. Do not "stand in their loftiness." The warning is for all who are "well-watered," all who are blessed with resources and power. The temptation to pride is universal. But the end is also universal. "For they have all been given over to death." All of them. Without exception. Earthly power is temporary. All empires, all kings, all presidents, all "dominant ones" are mortal. They are "among the sons of men," and their final destination, apart from grace, is "the pit." This is the great equalizer. Sheol swallows up the proud, and the grave makes no distinction between a Pharaoh and a peasant. The only escape from this end is to be found in the one who descended into the pit and came out again, leading captivity captive.

Application

The message of Ezekiel 31 is not a history lesson about a long-dead empire. It is a perpetual warning against the sin that brought that empire down: pride. Nations today, and particularly our own, are just as susceptible to this sin as ancient Egypt was. When a nation boasts in its military might, its economic prosperity, or its cultural influence as though these things were its own accomplishment, it is putting its top among the clouds. Its heart is lifted up, and it is ripe for judgment.

We are called to pray for our nation, that it would humble itself before the Lord Yahweh. We are also called to live as citizens of a greater kingdom, one whose king humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross. The way up in the kingdom of God is the way down. We must reject the proud self-reliance of the world and embrace a humble dependence on Christ.

Finally, this passage reminds us of our mortality. The pit awaits every man and every nation. But for the believer, this is not the end. Because Christ went down to the pit for us, we can be planted as trees of righteousness by the river of life that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1-2). Our hope is not in avoiding the fall, but in the resurrection that follows.