[[{“value”:”
Scripture reading – Ezekiel 29; Ezekiel 30
* Please note that words and phrases in brackets are the author’s amplification.
Ezekiel 29
The Prophecy on Egypt’s Judgment and Desolation (Ezekiel 29:1-7)
It was in the tenth year of Ezekiel’s exile (I believe coinciding with King Jehoiachin’s imprisonment in Babylon) that the LORD appeared to the prophet and pronounced judgment “against Pharaoh, king of Egypt” (Ezekiel 29:1-2). The LORD’s stated determination to begin His judgment with Pharaoh continues for four chapters, culminating in Ezekiel 32. Altogether, seven judgments are pronounced against Egypt and its ruler, with the first two recorded in Ezekiel 29.
Just as the king of Tyrus was guilty of pride, Pharaoh was arrogant and boasted of being sovereign over Egypt’s wealth. Claiming ownership of the Nile, he foolishly boasted, “I have made it for myself” (Ezekiel 29:3). The LORD, however, portrayed Himself as a divine fisherman and warned that He would set a hook in Pharaoh’s jaws and pull him and “all the fish of thy rivers [i.e., the people] into the wilderness” (Ezekiel 29:4-5).
God then reiterated the purpose of His judgment, stating, “Egypt shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 29:6). Because Pharaoh betrayed Judah’s trust, the LORD declared that he would splinter Egypt like a reed (Ezekiel 29:7). For her sins, “the land of Egypt [would] be desolate and waste” and “neither shall it be inhabited for forty years” (Ezekiel 29:8-11).
The Promise of Egypt’s Restoration (Ezekiel 29:13-16)
Yet, unlike Assyria and Tyrus, Ezekiel prophesied that God would mercifully restore the people of Egypt to their lands (Ezekiel 29:13), though Egypt would never again be a great world empire (Ezekiel 29:14-16).
gypt’s Wealth Compensated Nebuchadnezzar’s Sacrifices in Tyrus (Ezekiel 29:17-20)
Tyrus and Egypt faced God’s judgment for their sins against Israel, and Nebuchadnezzar served as the LORD’s agent of judgment. Babylon’s siege of Tyrus lasted thirteen years and proved costly. Therefore, the LORD determined to repay Nebuchadnezzar with Egypt’s vast wealth. From Egypt’s spoils, the king of Babylon paid his army (Ezekiel 29:19).
The LORD Remembered Israel (Ezekiel 29:21)
Predicting Egypt’s defeat and humiliation, the LORD promised to remember “the house of Israel.” Ezekiel then foretold that the day would come when “the horn (i.e., the strength) of the house of Israel” would “bud forth” (Ezekiel 29:21). In other words, Egypt’s defeat would be followed by Israel’s national restoration.
A parting thought from Ezekiel 29: Grave consequences befall those people and nations who persecute and take pleasure in the sorrows and sufferings of God’s people.
Ezekiel 30 – The Third Judgment
We are amid God’s judgment on the nations for their treatment of Israel. The current focus is Egypt. The prophecy’s date isn’t specified, but it likely followed Ezekiel 29:1, in Ezekiel’s tenth year of exile in Babylon.
A Storm of God’s Judgment (Ezekiel 30:1-9)
Following the pattern of earlier prophecies, the LORD addressed Ezekiel as “son of man” and commanded him to “prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!” (which means, Oh no! The day of the Lord is near, a day of clouds, Ezekiel 30:2).
With Jerusalem under siege, Ezekiel was to proclaim that a storm of God’s judgment would soon fall upon all the nations, for “the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day” (Ezekiel 30:3). Egypt and her allies, including Ethiopia (Cush), Libya, Lydia, and Chub, were doomed (Ezekiel 30:5). Egypt’s pride in her strength would fail, and her lands and cities would be laid waste (Ezekiel 30:6-7). The Egyptians would know it was the LORD as their cities burned (Ezekiel 30:8). When news of Egypt’s fall reached Ethiopia, that nation would be terrified and say of their demise, “lo, it cometh” (Ezekiel 30:9).
Nebuchadnezzar, God’s Agent (Ezekiel 30:10-19)
The king of Babylon was appointed as God’s servant and the agent of His wrath (Ezekiel 30:10). Ezekiel was to declare that the “multitude of Egypt” would come to an end, with the people slain and driven from the land into captivity (Ezekiel 30:10-11). The rivers, streams, and irrigation canals fed by the Nile would be destroyed, and Egypt’s wealth would be plundered (Ezekiel 30:12). All of Egypt’s great cities would become desolate (Ezekiel 30:13-18), so that the people might know and confess “the LORD” as sovereign (Ezekiel 30:19).
Pharaoh’s Strength Would Fail (Ezekiel 30:20-26)
Ezekiel 30:20 introduced the fourth judgment of the LORD against the nations. In the eleventh year of Ezekiel’s exile, the LORD declared, “I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed” (Ezekiel 30:21).
Portrayed as a man with broken arms, Pharaoh’s strength would never be restored, nor would Egypt have the resilience to wage war against other nations again (Ezekiel 30:21-22). The LORD would scatter the Egyptians among the nations (Ezekiel 30:23), and Pharaoh would “groan…with the groanings of a deadly wounded man” (Ezekiel 30:24). Thus, Egypt would come to know and confess that the God of Israel is “the LORD” (Ezekiel 30:26).
Our study of the prophecies against Egypt will continue in our next Bible study.
Copyright © 2026 – Travis D. Smith
* Please subscribe to the Heart of a Shepherd daily devotionals by entering your name and email address at the bottom of today’s devotion.
The Internal Revenue Service recognizes Heart of A Shepherd Inc as a 501c3 public charitable organization. Your donation is welcome and supports the worldwide ministry outreach of www.HeartofAShepherd.com.
Heart of A Shepherd Inc.
7853 Gunn Highway
#131
Tampa, Florida 33626-1611
Heart of a Shepherd
A ministry of Pastor Travis D. Smith
Support Heart of a Shepherd
This ministry is made possible by the generous donations of our readers.
The post Though Slow to Wrath, God’s Judgments are Sure (Ezekiel 29-30) appeared first on “From The Heart of A Shepherd” by Pastor Travis D. Smith.
“}]]
