EGYPT'S FUTURE DESOLATION.
Chapter xxx.
The destruction of Egypt and her allies is now revealed to the prophet. It is a remarkable prophecy for the predictions concerning the humiliation and desolation of Egypt, the once powerful nation of culture, have found a most interesting fulfillment. The leading cities of Egypt are mentioned, which have long ago been wasted and their magnificent temples have crumbled into dust. In the second half of this chapter the King of Babylon as the executioner of the decrees of God is seen. The sword of judgment was put into Nebuchadnezzar's hand by God, so that he might stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.
I. The Desolation of Egypt and her Allies.
The word of the Lord came again unto me saying: Son of man prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, alas for the day! For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. Thus saith the Lord; They also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord God. And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed. In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. Thus saith the Lord God: I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon. He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain. And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked; and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the Lord have spoken it (verses 1-13).
The prophet's first utterance is concerning the day. "Howl ye! Alas for the day! For the day is near,[24] even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the Gentiles." What day is this? Other prophets mention the day of Jehovah as a day of judgment and wrath when the Lord will deal in His righteousness with the nations of the earth. See Isaiah ii; xiii:6, 9; Joel i:15; ii:1, 11; iii:14; Amos v:18, 20; Obad. 15; Zeph. i:7, 14; Zech. xiv:1, etc. This day in its final meaning is the day on which the Lord Jesus Christ will be visibly revealed from heaven. It is mentioned in the New Testament in 1 Thess. v:2; 2 Thess. ii:2 (where "day of Christ" should be rendered "day of the Lord") and 2 Peter iii:10. This day will bring "man's day" to a close and usher in a new age, when righteousness shall reign as grace reigns now. This day of coming judgment of all nations is seen also here in a prophetic perspective. All previous judgments of nations as announced by God's prophets, nations which sinned against Israel the chosen people, foreshadow the one great day, when the times of the Gentiles end in the revealed manner (Dan. ii:34; vii:10-14). What came upon Egypt in the past through divine judgment will happen to the Gentile nations in the future at the close of our age, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thess. i:7-8). Ever since the times of the Gentiles began with Nebuchadnezzar the divinely appointed head (Jeremiah xxvii:4-8) this day of the Lord has been drawing near, till now with the stupendous present day events, we can see this day rapidly approaching.
The sword was to fall upon Egypt as well as upon Ethiopia, Libya and Lydia (Hebrew: Phut and Lud, see xxvii:10), and all others who were in league with them. Her foundations were to be broken down and the pride of her power shall come down. All this has come to pass and for many centuries the once powerful and proud Egypt has thus been broken down. From Migdol to Syene (not from the tower of Syene) were they to fall by the sword of the Lord. Verse 7 shows the wide sweep of the judgment, covering the surrounding countries. "And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted." Their desolation was to be a desolation in the midst of desolations. It has come literally true. The surrounding countries shared the desolation of the land itself. She has been rightly called "the land of ruins," a vast burial place of the art, architecture and glory of the past, and her present towns (except Alexandria which cannot be reckoned among the ancient cities, as it was unknown to the Pharaohs) are, as it were, dwellings among the tombs.
Another remarkable prophecy is found in verse 12: "And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers. I the Lord have spoken it." Isaiah also predicted, "The waters shall fail from the sea and the river shall be wasted and become dry" (Isaiah xix:5). The rivers are evidently the many arms of the Nile forming the Delta. This is the case today, and has been so in past centuries, and the arms of the Nile, instead of flowing in their original courses have become ill-smelling pools and marshes. And so was the land sold into the hand of the wicked. Untold sufferings, slavery, outrages of many kinds has been the record of Egypt in its past history.
II. The Destruction of the Cities.
Thus saith the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt; and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No. And I will pour my fury upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily. The young men of Aven and of Phi-beseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities shall go into captivity. At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt; and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses 13-19).
Their idols and images were to be destroyed so as to reveal their nothingness. So it was many centuries before when Israel was in the house of bondage and the power of God in judgment exposed the things which the Egyptians worshipped. Noph, which is mentioned in verse 13, is Memphis. Memphis was the prominent seat of the worship of Ptah and Apis. It was the great temple city, founded by Menes. What has become of this marvellous city with its magnificient temple structures and carved, colossal images and idols?