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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Ezekiel XXXII].</TITLE>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
<CENTER>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E Z E K I E L.</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXII.</FONT>
<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
</CENTER>
<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Still we are upon the destruction of Pharaoh and Egypt, which is
wonderfully enlarged upon, and with a great deal of emphasis. When we
read so very much of Egypt's ruin, no less than six several prophecies
at divers times delivered concerning it, we are ready to think, Surely
there is some special reason for it. And,
I. Perhaps it may look as far back as the book of Genesis, where we
find
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+15:14"><I>ch.</I> xv. 14</A>)
that God determined to judge Egypt for oppressing his people; and,
though that was in part fulfilled in the plagues of Egypt and the
drowning of Pharaoh, yet, in this destruction, here foretold, those old
scores were reckoned for, and that was to have its full accomplishment.
II. Perhaps it may look as far forward as the book of the Revelation,
where we find that the great enemy of the gospel-church, that makes war
with the Lamb, is spiritually called Egypt,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+11:8">Rev. xi. 8</A>.
And, if so, the destruction of Egypt and its Pharaoh was a type of the
destruction of that proud enemy; and between this prophecy of the ruin
of Egypt and the prophecy of the destruction of the antichristian
generation there is some analogy. We have two distinct prophecies in
this chapter relating to Egypt, both in the same month, one on the 1st
day, the other that day fortnight, probably both on the sabbath day.
They are both lamentations, not only to signify how lamentable the fall
of Egypt should be, but to intimate how much the prophet himself should
lament it, from a generous principle of love to mankind. The
destruction of Egypt is here represented under two similitudes:--
1. The killing of a lion, or a whale, or some such devouring creature,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:1-16">ver. 1-16</A>.
2. The funeral of a great commander or captain-general,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:17-32">ver. 17-32</A>.
The two prophecies of this chapter are much of the same length.</P>
</FONT>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Fall of Egypt; Lamentation for Pharaoh.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 587.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth
month, in the first <I>day</I> of the month, <I>that</I> the word of the
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me, saying,
&nbsp; 2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt,
and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and
thou <I>art</I> as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy
rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst
their rivers.
&nbsp; 3 Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; I will therefore spread out my net
over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring
thee up in my net.
&nbsp; 4 Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth
upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven
to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole
earth with thee.
&nbsp; 5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the
valleys with thy height.
&nbsp; 6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou
swimmest, <I>even</I> to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full
of thee.
&nbsp; 7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and
make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give her light.
&nbsp; 8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee,
and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring
thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou
hast not known.
&nbsp; 10 Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings
shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword
before them; and they shall tremble at <I>every</I> moment, every man
for his own life, in the day of thy fall.
&nbsp; 11 For thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>; The sword of the king of
Babylon shall come upon thee.
&nbsp; 12 By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to
fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall
spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be
destroyed.
&nbsp; 13 I will destroy also all the beasts thereof from beside the
great waters; neither shall the foot of man trouble them any
more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them.
&nbsp; 14 Then will I make their waters deep, and cause their rivers
to run like oil, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 15 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the
country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I
shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know
that I <I>am</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 16 This <I>is</I> the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her:
the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament
for her, <I>even</I> for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the
Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
Here,
I. The prophet is ordered to <I>take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king
of Egypt,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
It concerns ministers to be much of a serious spirit, and, in order
thereunto, to be frequent in taking up lamentations for the fall and
ruin of sinners, as those that have not desired, but dreaded, the
woeful day. Note, Ministers that would affect others with the things of
God must make it appear that they are themselves affected with the
miseries which sinners bring upon themselves by their sins. It becomes
us to weep and tremble for those that will not weep and tremble for
themselves, to try if thereby we may set them a weeping, set them a
trembling.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. He is ordered to show cause for that lamentation.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. Pharaoh has been a troubler of the nations, even of his own nation,
which he should have procured the repose of: He is <I>like a young lion
of the nations</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
loud and noisy, hectoring and threatening as a lion when he roars.
Great potentates, if they by tyrannical and oppressive, are in God's
account no better than beasts of prey. He is like <I>a whale,</I> or
dragon, like a crocodile (so some) <I>in the seas,</I> very turbulent
and vexatious, as the <I>leviathan</I> that <I>makes the deep to boil
like a pot,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+41:31">Job xli. 31</A>.
When Pharaoh engaged in an unnecessary war with the Cyrenians he
<I>came forth with his rivers,</I> with his armies, <I>troubled the
waters,</I> disturbed his own kingdom and the neighbouring nations,
<I>fouled the rivers,</I> and made them muddy. Note, A great deal of
disquiet is often given to the world by the restless ambition and
implacable resentments of proud princes. Ahab is he that troubles
Israel, and not Elijah.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. He that has troubled others must expect to be himself troubled; for
the Lord is righteous,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+7:25">Josh. vii. 25</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(1.) This is set forth here by a comparison. Is Pharaoh like a <I>great
whale,</I> which, when it comes up the river, gives great disturbance,
a leviathan which Job cannot <I>draw out with a hook?</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+41:1">Job xli. 1</A>),
yet God has a net for him which is large enough to enclose him and
strong enough to secure him
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
<I>I will spread my net over thee,</I> even the army of the Chaldeans,
a <I>company of many people;</I> they shall force him out of his
fastnesses, dislodge him out of his possessions, throw him like a great
fish upon dry ground, <I>upon the open field</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
where being out of his element, he must die of course, and be a prey to
the birds and beasts, as was foretold,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+29:5"><I>ch.</I> xxix. 5</A>.
What can the strongest fish do to help itself when it is out of the
water and lies gasping? <I>The flesh</I> of this great whale shall be
<I>laid upon the mountains</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>)
and the <I>valleys</I> shall be <I>filled with his height.</I> Such
numbers of Pharaoh's soldiers shall be slain that the dead bodies shall
be scattered upon the hills and there shall be heaps of them piled up
in the valleys. Blood shall be shed in such abundance as to swell the
rivers in the valleys. Or, Such shall be the bulk, such the height, of
this leviathan, that, when he is laid upon the ground, he shall fill a
valley. Such vast quantities of blood shall issue from this
<I>leviathan</I> as shall <I>water the land of Egypt,</I> the land
wherein <I>now he swims,</I> now he sports himself,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
It shall reach <I>to the mountains,</I> and the waters of Egypt shall
again be <I>turned into blood</I> by this means: <I>The rivers shall be
full of thee.</I> The judgments executed upon Pharaoh of old are
expressed by the <I>breaking</I> of <I>the heads of leviathan in the
waters,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+74:13,14">Ps. lxxiv. 13, 14</A>.
But now they go further; this old serpent not only has now his head
bruised, but is all crushed to pieces.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(2.) It is set forth by a prophecy of the deep impression which the
destruction of Egypt should make upon the neighbouring nations; it
would put them all into a consternation, as the fall of the Assyrian
monarchy did,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+31:15,16"><I>ch.</I> xxxi. 15, 16</A>.
When Pharaoh, who had been like a blazing burning torch, is <I>put
out</I> and <I>extinguished</I> it shall make all about him look black,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
The heavens shall be hung with black, the <I>stars darkened,</I> the
sun eclipsed, and the moon be deprived of her borrowed light. It is
from the upper world that this lower receives its light; and therefore
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
when the <I>bright lights of heaven</I> are <I>made dark</I> above,
darkness by consequence is <I>set upon the land,</I> upon the earth; so
it shall be on the land of Egypt. Here the plague of darkness, which
was upon Egypt of old for three days, seems to be alluded to, as,
before, the turning of the waters into blood. For, when former
judgments are forgotten, it is just that they should be repeated. When
their privy-counsellors, and statesmen, and those that have the
direction of the public affairs, are deprived of wisdom and made fools,
and the things that belong to their peace are hidden from their eyes,
then their lights are darkened and the land is in a mist. This is
foretold,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+19:13">Isa. xix. 13</A>.
<I>The princes of Zoan have become fools.</I> Now upon the spreading of
the report of the fall of Egypt, and the bringing of the news to remote
countries, <I>countries which they had not known</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
people shall be much affected, and shall feel themselves sensibly
touched by it.
[1.] It shall fill them with vexation to see such an ancient, wealthy,
potent kingdom thus humbled and brought down, and the pride of worldly
glory, which they have such a value for, stained. The <I>hearts of many
people</I> will be <I>vexed</I> to see the word of the God of Israel
fulfilled in the destruction of Egypt, and that all the <I>gods of
Egypt</I> were not able to relieve it. Note, The destruction of some
wicked people is a vexation to others.
[2.] It shall fill them with admiration
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
They shall be <I>amazed at thee,</I> shall wonder to see such <I>great
riches</I> and power <I>come to nothing,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+18:17">Rev. xviii. 17</A>.
Note, Those that admire with complacency the pomp of this world will
admire with consternation the ruin of that pomp, which to those that
know the vanity of all things here below is no surprise at all.
[3.] It shall fill them with fear: even <I>their kings</I> (that think
it their prerogative to be secure) shall be <I>horribly afraid for
thee,</I> concluding their own house to be in danger when their
neighbour's is on fire. <I>When I shall brandish my sword before them
they shall tremble every man for his own life.</I> Note, When the sword
of God's justice is drawn against some, to cut them off, it is thereby
brandished before others, to give them warning. And those that will not
be admonished by it, and made to reform, shall yet be frightened by it,
and made to tremble. They shall <I>tremble at every moment, because of
thy fall.</I> When others are ruined by sin we have reason to quake for
fear, as knowing ourselves guilty and obnoxious. <I>Who is able to
stand before this holy Lord God?</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
(3.) It is set forth by a plain and express prediction of the
desolation itself that should come upon Egypt.
[1.] The instruments of the desolation appear here very formidable. It
is the <I>sword of the king of Babylon,</I> that warlike, that
victorious prince, that shall <I>come upon thee</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
the <I>swords of the mighty,</I> even the <I>terrible of the nations,
all of them</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
an army that there is no standing before. Note, Those that delight in
war, and are upon all occasions entering into contention, may expect,
some time or other, to be engaged with those that will prove too hard
for them. Pharaoh had been forward to quarrel with his neighbour and
to come forth <I>with his rivers,</I> with his armies,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
But God will now give him enough of it.
[2.] The instances of the desolation appear here very frightful, much
the same with what we had before,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+29:10-12,30:7"><I>ch.</I> xxix. 10-12; xxx. 7</A>.
<I>First,</I> The multitude of Egypt shall be destroyed, not decimated,
some picked out to be made examples, but all cut off. Note, The numbers
of sinners, though they be a multitude, will neither secure them
against God's power nor entitle them to his pity. <I>Secondly,</I> The
pomp of Egypt shall be spoiled, the pomp of their court, what they have
been proud of. Note, in renouncing the pomps of this world we did
ourselves a great kindness, for they are things that are soon spoiled
and that cheat their admirers. <I>Thirdly,</I> The cattle of Egypt,
that used to feed by the rivers, shall be destroyed
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
either cut off by the sword or carried off for a prey. Egypt was famous
for horses, which would be an acceptable booty to the Chaldeans. The
rivers shall be no more frequented as they have been by man and beast,
that came thither to drink. <I>Fourthly,</I> The <I>waters of
Egypt,</I> that used to flow briskly, shall now grow deep, and slow,
and heavy, and shall <I>run like oil</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
a figurative expression signifying that there should be such universal
sadness and heaviness upon the whole nation that even the rivers should
go softly and silently like mourners, and quite forget their rapid
motion. <I>Fifthly,</I> The whole country of Egypt shall be stripped
of its wealth; it shall be <I>destitute of what whereof it was full</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
corn, and cattle, and all the pleasant fruits of the earth; when those
are <I>smitten that dwell therein</I> the ground is untilled, and that
which is gathered becomes an easy prey to the invader. Note, God can
soon empty those of this world's goods that have the greatest fulness
of those things and are full of them, that enjoy most and have their
hearts set upon those enjoyments. The Egyptians were full of their
pleasant and plentiful country, and its rich productions. Every one
that talked with them might perceive how much it filled them. But God
can soon make their <I>country destitute of that whereof it is
full;</I> it is therefore our wisdom to be full of treasures in heaven.
When the country is made destitute,
1. It shall be an instruction to them: <I>Then shall they know that I
am the Lord.</I> A sensible conviction of the vanity of the world, and
the fading perishing nature of all things in it, will contribute much
to our right knowledge of God as our portion and happiness.
2. It shall be a lamentation to all about them: <I>The daughters of the
nations shall lament her</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
either because, being in alliance with her, they share in her
grievances and suffer with her, or, being admirers of her, they at
least share in her grief and sympathize with her. They shall lament
<I>for Egypt and all her multitude;</I> it shall excite their pity to
see so great a devastation made. By enlarging the matters of our joy we
increase the occasions of our sorrow.</P>
<A NAME="Eze32_17"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_20"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_24"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_25"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_26"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_27"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_28"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_29"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_30"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_31"> </A>
<A NAME="Eze32_32"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Fall of Egypt; Egypt's Destruction Completed.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 587.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth
<I>day</I> of the month, <I>that</I> the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto me,
saying,
&nbsp; 18 Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them
down, <I>even</I> her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto
the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the
pit.
&nbsp; 19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid
with the uncircumcised.
&nbsp; 20 They shall fall in the midst of <I>them that are</I> slain by the
sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her
multitudes.
&nbsp; 21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the
midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they
lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.
&nbsp; 22 Asshur <I>is</I> there and all her company: his graves <I>are</I>
about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:
&nbsp; 23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her
company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by
the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living.
&nbsp; 24 There <I>is</I> Elam and all her multitude round about her grave,
all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down
uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused
their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their
shame with them that go down to the pit.
&nbsp; 25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all
her multitude: her graves <I>are</I> round about him: all of them
uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused
in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with
them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of <I>them
that be</I> slain.
&nbsp; 26 There <I>is</I> Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves
<I>are</I> round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the
sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
&nbsp; 27 And they shall not lie with the mighty <I>that are</I> fallen of
the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons
of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but
their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though <I>they were</I>
the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
&nbsp; 28 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised,
and shalt lie with <I>them that are</I> slain with the sword.
&nbsp; 29 There <I>is</I> Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with
their might are laid by <I>them that were</I> slain by the sword: they
shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to
the pit.
&nbsp; 30 There <I>be</I> the princes of the north, all of them, and all
the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their
terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie
uncircumcised with <I>them that be</I> slain by the sword, and bear
their shame with them that go down to the pit.
&nbsp; 31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his
multitude, <I>even</I> Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword,
saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
&nbsp; 32 For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and
he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with <I>them
that are</I> slain with the sword, <I>even</I> Pharaoh and all his
multitude, saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
This prophecy concludes and completes the burden of Egypt, and leaves
it and all its multitude in the pit of destruction.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. We are here invited to attend the funeral of that once flourishing
kingdom, to lament its fall, and to take a view of those who attend it
to the grave and accompany it in the grave.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
1. This dead corpse of a kingdom is here brought to the grave. The
prophet is ordered to <I>cast them down</I> to the pit
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>),
to foretel their destruction as one that had authority, as Jeremiah was
set over the kingdoms,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:10">Jer. i. 10</A>.
He must speak in God's name, and as from him who will cast them down.
Yet he must foretel it as one that had an affectionate concern for
them; he must <I>wail for the multitude of Egypt,</I> even when he
<I>casts them down.</I> When Egypt is slain, let her have an honourable
funeral, befitting her quality; let her be buried <I>with the daughters
of the famous nations,</I> in their burying-places and with the same
ceremony. It is but a poor allay to the reproach and terror of death to
be buried with those that were famous; yet this is all that is allowed
to Egypt. Shall Egypt think to exempt herself from the common fate of
proud and imperious nations? No; she must take her lot with them
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
"<I>Whom dost thou surpass in beauty?</I> Art thou so much fairer than
any other nation that thou shouldst expect therefore to be excused? No;
others as fair as thou have sunk into the pit; <I>go down</I>
therefore, and <I>be thou laid with the uncircumcised.</I> Thou art
like them and art likely to lie among them. The multitude of Egypt
shall all <I>fall in the midst of those that are slain with the
sword,</I> now that there is a general slaughter made among the
nations." Egypt with the rest must drink of the bloody cup, and
therefore she is <I>delivered to the sword,</I> to the sword of war
(but, in God's hand, the sword of justice), is delivered to be publicly
executed. <I>Draw her and all her multitude;</I> draw them either as
the dead bodies of great men are drawn in honour to the grave, in a
hearse, or as malefactors are drawn in disgrace to the place of
execution, on a sledge; draw them to the pit, and let them be made a
spectacle to the world.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
2. This corpse of a kingdom is bid welcome to the grave, and Pharaoh is
made free of the congregation of the dead, and admitted into their
regions, not without some pomp and ceremony. As the surprising fall of
the king of Babylon is thus illustrated, <I>Hell from beneath is moved
for thee to meet thee at thy coming,</I> and to introduce thee into
those mansions of darkness
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+14:9">Isa. xiv. 9</A>,
&c.), so here
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
<I>They shall speak to him out of the midst of hell,</I> as it were
congratulating his arrival and calling him to join with them in
acknowledging that which neither he nor they would be brought to own
when they were in their pomp and pride, that it is in vain to think of
contesting with God, and none ever hardened their hearts against him
and prospered. They shall say to him, and to those that pretended to
help him, Where are you now? What have you brought your attempts to at
last? Divers nations are here mentioned as gone down to the grave
before Egypt that are ready to give her a scornful reception and
upbraid her with coming to them at last. These nations here spoken of
were probably such as had been of late years ruined and wasted by the
king of Babylon, and their princes cut off; let Egypt know that she has
<I>neighbour's fare.</I> When she goes to the grave she does but
<I>migrare ad plures--migrate to the majority;</I> there are
<I>innumerable before her.</I> But it is observable that though Judah
and Jerusalem were just about this time, or a little before, utterly
ruined and laid waste, yet they are not mentioned here among the
nations that welcome Egypt to the pit; for though they suffered the
same things that these nations suffered, and by the same hand, yet the
kind intentions of their affliction, and its happy issue at last, and
the mercy God had yet in reserve for them, altered the property of it;
it was not to them a <I>going down to the pit,</I> as it was to the
heathen; they were not <I>smitten as others were,</I> nor <I>slain
according to the slaughter of other nations,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+27:7">Isa. xxvii. 7</A>.
But let us see who those are that have <I>gone to the grave</I> before
Egypt, that <I>lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword,</I> with whom she
must now take up her lodging.
(1.) There lie the Assyrian empire, and all the princes and mighty men
of that monarchy
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
<I>Asshur is there and all her company,</I> all the countries that were
tributaries to and had dependence upon that crown. That mighty
potentate who used to lie in state, with his guards and grandees about
him, now lies in obscurity, with his <I>graves about him</I> and his
soldiers in them, unable any longer to do him service or honour; they
are <I>all of them slain, fallen by the sword.</I> The number of their
months was <I>cut off in the midst,</I> and, being <I>bloody</I> and
<I>deceitful men,</I> they were not suffered to <I>live out half their
days.</I> Their <I>braves were set in the sides of the pit,</I> all in
a row, like beds in a common chamber,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
All their company is such as were <I>slain, fallen by the sword;</I> a
vast congregation there is of such, who had <I>caused terror in the
land of the living.</I> But as the death of those to whom they were a
terror put an end to their fears (in the grave <I>the prisoners rest
together</I> and <I>hear not the voice of the oppressor,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+3:18">Job iii. 18</A>),
so the death of these mighty men puts an end to their terrors. Who is
afraid of <I>a dead lion?</I> Note, Death will be a king of terrors to
those who, instead of making themselves blessings, make themselves
terrors, in their generation.
(2.) There lies the kingdom of Persia, which perhaps within the memory
of man at that time had been wasted and brought down: <I>There is Elam
and all her multitude,</I> the king of Elam and his numerous armies,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:24,25"><I>v.</I> 24, 25</A>.
They also had <I>caused their terror in the land of the living,</I> had
made a fearful noise and bluster among the nations in their day. But
Elam has now a grave by herself, and the graves of the common people
<I>round about her, fallen by the sword;</I> she has <I>her bed in the
midst of the slain</I> that went down <I>uncircumcised,
unsanctified,</I> unholy, and not in covenant with God. They have
<I>borne their shame with those that go down to the pit;</I> they have
fallen under the common disgrace and mortification of mankind, that
they die and are buried; nay, they die under particular marks of
ignominy, which God and man put upon them. Note, Those who cause their
terror shall, sooner or later, bear their <I>shame,</I> and be made a
terror to themselves. The king of Elam is <I>put in the midst of those
that are slain.</I> All the honour he can now pretend to is to be
buried in the chief sepulchre.
(3.) There lies the Scythian power, which, about this time, was busy in
the world. <I>Meshech</I> and <I>Tubal,</I> those barbarous northern
nations, had lately made a descent upon the Medes, and <I>caused their
terror</I> among them, lived among them upon free quarter for some
years, making every thing their own that they could lay their hands on;
but at length Cyaxares, king of the Medes, drew them by a wile into his
power, but off abundance of them, and obliged them to quit his country,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
There lie Meshech and Tubal, and all their multitude; there is a
burying place for them, with their chief commander in the midst of
them, <I>all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword.</I> These
Scythians, dying ingloriously as they lived, are not laid, as the other
nations spoken of before, in the bed of honour
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>):
<I>They shall not lie with the mighty,</I> shall not be buried in
state, as those are, even by consent of the enemy, that are slain in
the field of battle, that <I>go down to their graves with their weapons
of war</I> carried before the hearse, or trailed after it, that have
particularly <I>their swords laid under their heads,</I> as if they
could sleep the sweeter in the grave when they laid their heads on such
a pillow. These Scythians are not buried with these marks of honour,
but <I>their iniquities shall be upon their sons;</I> they shall, for
their iniquity, be left unburied, though they were the <I>terror</I>
even <I>of the mighty in the land of the living.</I>
(4.) There lies the kingdom of Edom, which had flourished long, but
about this time, at least before the destruction of Egypt, was made
quite desolate, as was foretold,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:13"><I>ch.</I> xxv. 13</A>.
Among the sepulchres of the nations <I>there is Edom,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
There lie, not dignified with monuments or inscriptions, but mingled
with common dust, <I>her kings and all her princes,</I> her wise
statesmen (which Edom was famous for), and her brave soldiers. These
<I>with their might are laid by those that were slain by the sword;</I>
their might could not prevent it, nay, their might helped to procure
it, for that both encouraged them to engage in war and incensed their
neighbours against them, who thought it necessary to curb their growing
greatness. A great deal of pains they took to ruin themselves, as many
do, who <I>with their might,</I> with all their might, are <I>laid by
those that were slain with the sword.</I> The Edomites retained
circumcision, being of the seed of Abraham. But that shall stand them
in no stead; they shall <I>lie with the uncircumcised.</I>
(5.) There lie the <I>princes of the north, and all the Zidonians.</I>
These were as well acquainted with maritime affairs as the Egyptians
were, who relied much upon that part of their strength, but they have
<I>gone down with the slain</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>),
down to the pit. Now they are <I>ashamed of their might,</I> ashamed to
think how much they boasted of it and trusted to it; and, as the
<I>Edomites with their might,</I> so these <I>with their terror,</I>
are laid with those that are <I>slain by the sword</I> and are forced
to take their lot with them. They <I>bear their shame with those that
go down to the pit,</I> die in as much disgrace as those that are cut
off by the hand of public justice.
(6.) All this is applied to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who have no
reason to flatter themselves with hopes of tranquillity when they see
how the wisest, and wealthiest, and strongest, of their neighbours have
been laid waste
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
"<I>Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised;</I>
when God is pulling down the unhumbled and unreformed nations thou must
expect to come down with them."
[1.] It will be some extenuation of the miseries of Egypt to observe
that it has been the case of so many great and mighty nations before
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>):
<I>Pharaoh shall see them and be comforted;</I> it will be some ease to
his mind that he is not the first king that has been slain in
battle--his not the first army that has been routed, his not the first
kingdom that has been made desolate. Mr. Greenhill observes here, "The
comfort which wicked ones have after death is poor comfort, not real,
but imaginary." They will find little satisfaction in having so many
fellow-sufferers; the rich man in hell dreaded it. It is only in point
of honour that Pharaoh can <I>see and be comforted.</I>
[2.] But nothing will be an exemption from these miseries; for
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+32:32"><I>v.</I> 32</A>)
<I>I have caused my terror in the land of the living.</I> Great men
have caused their terror, have studied how to make every body <I>fear
them. Oderint dum metuant--Let them hate, so that they do but
fear.</I> But now the great God has <I>caused his terror in the land of
the living;</I> and therefore he laughs at theirs, because he sees that
<I>his day is coming,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:13">Ps. xxxvii. 13</A>.
In this day of terror Pharaoh <I>and all his multitude</I> shall be
<I>laid with those that are slain by the sword.</I></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. The view which this prophecy gives us of ruined states may show us
something,
1. Of this present world, and the empire of death in it. Come, and see
the calamitous state of human life; see what a dying world this is. The
strong die, the mighty die, Pharaoh and all his multitude. See what a
killing world this is. They are all <I>slain with the sword.</I> As if
men did not die fast enough of themselves, men are ingenious at finding
out ways to destroy one another. It is not only a great pit, but a
great cock-pit.
2. Of the other world. Though it is the destruction of nations as such
that perhaps is principally intended here, yet here is a plain allusion
to the final and everlasting ruin of impenitent sinners, of those that
are uncircumcised in heart; they are <I>slain by the sword</I> of
divine justice; their <I>iniquity is upon them,</I> and with it they
<I>bear their shame.</I> Those, Christ's enemies, that would not have
him to reign over them, <I>shall be brought forth</I> and <I>slain
before him,</I> though they be as pompous, though they be as numerous,
as Pharaoh and <I>all his multitude.</I></P>
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