 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’ 4 I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales; and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams, with all the fish of your streams that stick to your scales. 5 And I will cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your streams; you shall fall on the open field, and not be brought together or gathered. To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens I give you as food. 6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord. “Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, 7 when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake. 8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, 9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord. “Because you[c] said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it,’ 10 therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush. 11 No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them through the countries. 13 “For thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered,14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations. 16 And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.” 17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare, yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord God. 21 “On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” Meditation Jesus is the redeemer of God’s people, the “horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of old.” (Luke 1:68-70). The horn is a symbol of power, authority, and honor. Here it is a hope in hard times. Ezekiel’s prophetic pronouncements of judgment turn toward Egypt. Pharaoh himself, the crocodile of the Nile, will be slain and his country cut down (1-16) as the Lord lifts up Babylon to plunder Egypt (17-21). The historical context places Judah in exile. The Divine revelation communicates both the defeat of God’s enemies and the exaltation of the horn for hope. Our hearts must hope in the horn, the Lord alone is our redeemer and salvation. With the Psalmist we proclaim, “I love you Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised!” (Psalm 18:1-3). Ezekiel is the prophet Mary sang about. Jesus is the Lord Himself who is the horn that sprung up for the house of Israel. The Lord wants to remind you of His redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and His authority offered through His horn. Richly Dwelling -Do you hope in Jesus as the horn of salvation and rescue, the ultimate power and authority to redeem? Why or why not? -Through faith in Christ we can pray the words of Psalm 18 above. Take a moment to meditate on the words of the Psalmist. -What are specific areas of your life, circumstances or relationships, where you need to hope in the Lord’s rescue? Apply the hope we have in Him as our horn to those places and people in your life, in faith, trusting Christ alone as the authority. Key Verses 21 “On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” Comments are closed.
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