mh_parser/vol_split/26 - Ezekiel/Chapter 29.xml

<div2 id="Ez.xxx" n="xxx" next="Ez.xxxi" prev="Ez.xxix" progress="61.18%" title="Chapter XXIX">
<h2 id="Ez.xxx-p0.1">E Z E K I E L.</h2>
<h3 id="Ez.xxx-p0.2">CHAP. XXIX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ez.xxx-p1" shownumber="no">Three chapters we had concerning Tyre and its
king; next follow four chapters concerning Egypt and its king. This
is the first of them. Egypt had formerly been a house of bondage to
God's people; of late they had had but too friendly a
correspondence with it, and had depended too much upon it; and
therefore, whether the prediction reached Egypt or no, it would be
of use to Israel, to take them off from their confidence in their
alliance with it. The prophecies against Egypt, which are all laid
together in these four chapters, were of five several dates; the
first in the 10th year of the captivity (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.1" parsed="|Ezek|29|1|0|0" passage="Eze 29:1">ver. 1</scripRef>), the second in the 27th (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.17" parsed="|Ezek|29|17|0|0" passage="Eze 29:17">ver. 17</scripRef>), the third in the 11th year
and the first month (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.30.20" parsed="|Ezek|30|20|0|0" passage="Eze 30:20"><i>ch.</i> xxx.
20</scripRef>), the fourth in the 11th year and the third month
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.31.1" parsed="|Ezek|31|1|0|0" passage="Eze 31:1"><i>ch.</i> xxxi. 1</scripRef>), the
fifth in the 12th year (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.32.1" parsed="|Ezek|32|1|0|0" passage="Eze 32:1"><i>ch.</i>
xxxii. 1</scripRef>), and another in the same year, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.17" parsed="|Ezek|29|17|0|0" passage="Eze 29:17">ver. 17</scripRef>. In this chapter we have, I.
The destruction of Pharaoh foretold, for his dealing deceitfully
with Israel, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.1-Ezek.29.7" parsed="|Ezek|29|1|29|7" passage="Eze 29:1-7">ver. 1-7</scripRef>.
II. The desolation of the land of Egypt foretold, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.8-Ezek.29.12" parsed="|Ezek|29|8|29|12" passage="Eze 29:8-12">ver. 8-12</scripRef>. III. A promise of the
restoration thereof, in part, after forty years, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.13-Ezek.29.16" parsed="|Ezek|29|13|29|16" passage="Eze 29:13-16">ver. 13-16</scripRef>. IV. The possession that
should be given to Nebuchadnezzar of the land of Egypt, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.17-Ezek.29.20" parsed="|Ezek|29|17|29|20" passage="Eze 29:17-20">ver. 17-20</scripRef>. V. A promise of mercy
to Israel, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.21" parsed="|Ezek|29|21|0|0" passage="Eze 29:21">ver. 21</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxx-p1.12" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29" parsed="|Ezek|29|0|0|0" passage="Eze 29" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ez.xxx-p1.13" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.1-Ezek.29.7" parsed="|Ezek|29|1|29|7" passage="Eze 29:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxx-p1.14">
<h4 id="Ez.xxx-p1.15">Pride of Pharaoh; The Ruin of
Pharaoh. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p1.16">b. c.</span> 589.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxx-p2" shownumber="no">1 In the tenth year, in the tenth <i>month,</i>
in the twelfth <i>day</i> of the month, the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p2.1">Lord</span> came unto me, saying,   2 Son of
man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy
against him, and against all Egypt:   3 Speak, and say, Thus
saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p2.2">God</span>; Behold, I
<i>am</i> against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon
that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river
<i>is</i> mine own, and I have made <i>it</i> for myself.   4
But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy
rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of
the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick
unto thy scales.   5 And I will leave thee <i>thrown</i> into
the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt
fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor
gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and
to the fowls of the heaven.   6 And all the inhabitants of
Egypt shall know that I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p2.3">Lord</span>, because they have been a staff of reed to
the house of Israel.   7 When they took hold of thee by thy
hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they
leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at
a stand.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p3" shownumber="no">Here is, I. The date of this prophecy
against Egypt. It was in the <i>tenth year of the captivity,</i>
and yet it is placed after the prophecy against Tyre, which was
delivered in the eleventh year, because, in the accomplishment of
the prophecies, the destruction of Tyre happened before the
destruction of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar's gaining Egypt was the
reward of his service against Tyre; and <i>therefore</i> the
prophecy against Tyre is put first, that we may the better observe
that. But particular notice must be taken of this, that the first
prophecy against Egypt was just at the time when the king of Egypt
was coming to relieve Jerusalem and raise the siege (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.37.5" parsed="|Jer|37|5|0|0" passage="Jer 37:5">Jer. xxxvii. 5</scripRef>), but did not answer
the expectations of the Jews from them. Note, It is good to foresee
the failing of all our creature-confidences, then when we are most
in temptation to depend upon them, that we may <i>cease from
man.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p4" shownumber="no">II. The scope of this prophecy. It is
directed against <i>Pharaoh king of Egypt, and against all
Egypt,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.2" parsed="|Ezek|29|2|0|0" passage="Eze 29:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. The
prophecy against Tyre began with the people, and then proceeded
against the prince. But this begins with the prince, because it
began to have its accomplishment in the insurrections and
rebellions of the people against the prince, not long after
this.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p5" shownumber="no">III. The prophecy itself. Pharaoh Hophrah
(for so was the reigning Pharaoh surnamed) is here represented by a
<i>great dragon,</i> or crocodile, that <i>lies in the midst of his
rivers,</i> as Leviathan in the waters, to <i>play therein,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.3" parsed="|Ezek|29|3|0|0" passage="Eze 29:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. Nilus, the
river of Egypt, was famed for crocodiles. And what is the king of
Egypt, in God's account, but a <i>great dragon,</i> venomous and
mischievous? Therefore says God, <i>I am against thee. I am above
thee;</i> so it may be read. How high soever the princes and
potentates of the earth are, there is a <i>higher than they</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.5.8" parsed="|Eccl|5|8|0|0" passage="Ec 5:8">Eccl. v. 8</scripRef>), a God above
them, that can control them, and, if they be tyrannical and
oppressive, a God against them, that will be free to reckon with
them. Observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p6" shownumber="no">1. The pride and security of Pharaoh. He
<i>lies in the midst of his rivers,</i> rolls himself with a great
deal of satisfaction in his wealth and pleasures; and he says,
<i>My river is my own.</i> He boasts that he is an absolute prince
(his subjects are his vassals; Joseph bought them long ago,
<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.47.23" parsed="|Gen|47|23|0|0" passage="Ge 47:23">Gen. xlvii. 23</scripRef>),—that he
is a sole prince, and has neither partner in the government nor
competitor for it,—that he is out of debt (what he has is his
<i>own,</i> and none of his neighbours have any demands upon
him),—that he is independent, neither tributary nor accountable to
any. Note, Worldly carnal minds please themselves with, and pride
themselves in, their property, forgetting that whatever we have we
have only the use of it, the property is in God. We ourselves are
not our own, but his. Our <i>tongues are not our own,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.12.4" parsed="|Ps|12|4|0|0" passage="Ps 12:4">Ps. xii. 4</scripRef>. Our river is not <i>our
own,</i> for its springs are in God. The most potent prince cannot
call what he has his own, for, though it be so against all the
world, it is not so against God. But Pharaoh's reason for his
pretensions is yet more absurd: <i>My river is my own,</i> for <i>I
have made it for myself.</i> Here he usurps two of the divine
prerogatives, to be the author and the end of his own being and
felicity. He only that is the great Creator can say of this world,
and of every thing in it, <i>I have made it for myself.</i> He
calls his river his own because he <i>looks not unto the Maker
thereof, nor has respect unto him that fashioned it long ago,</i>
<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.22.11" parsed="|Isa|22|11|0|0" passage="Isa 22:11">Isa. xxii. 11</scripRef>. What we
have we have received from God and must use for God, so that we
cannot say, We made it, much less, We made it for ourselves; and
why then do we boast? Note, Self is the great idol that all the
world worships, in contempt of God and his sovereignty.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p7" shownumber="no">2. The course God will take with this proud
man, to humble him. He is a great dragon in the waters, and God
will accordingly deal with him, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.4-Ezek.29.5" parsed="|Ezek|29|4|29|5" passage="Eze 29:4,5"><i>v.</i> 4, 5</scripRef>. (1.) He will draw him out
of his rivers, for he has <i>a hook and a cord</i> for this
<i>leviathan,</i> with which he can manage him, though none on
earth can (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.41.1" parsed="|Job|41|1|0|0" passage="Job 41:1">Job xli. 1</scripRef>):
"<i>I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers,</i> will
cast thee out of thy palace, out of thy kingdom, out of all those
things in which thou takest such a complacency and placest such a
confidence." Herodotus related of this Pharaoh, who was now king of
Egypt, that he had reigned in great prosperity for twenty-five
years, and was so elevated with his successes that he said that
<i>God himself would not cast him out of his kingdom;</i> but he
shall soon be convinced of his mistake, and what he depended on
shall be no defence. God can force men out of that in which they
are most secure and easy. (2.) <i>All his fish</i> shall be drawn
out with him, his servants, his soldiers, and all that had a
dependence on him, as he thought, but really such as he had
dependence upon. These shall <i>stick to his scales,</i> adhere to
their king, resolving to live and die with him. But, (3.) The king
and his army, the dragon and all the fish that stick to his scales,
shall perish together, as fish cast upon dry ground, and shall be
<i>meat to the beasts and fowls,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.5" parsed="|Ezek|29|5|0|0" passage="Eze 29:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. Now this is supposed to have had
its accomplishment soon after, when this Pharaoh, in defence of
Aricius king of Libya, who had been expelled his kingdom by the
Cyrenians, levied a great army, and went out against the Cyrenians,
to re-establish his friend, but was defeated in battle, and all his
forces were put to flight, which gave such disgust to his kingdom
that they rose in rebellion against him. Thus was he left <i>thrown
into the wilderness, he and all the fish of the river</i> with him.
Thus issue men's pride, and presumption, and carnal security. Thus
men justly lose what they might call their own, under God, when
they call it their own against him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p8" shownumber="no">3. The ground of the controversy God has
with the Egyptians; it is because they have cheated his people.
They encouraged them to expect relief and assistance from them when
they were in distress, but failed them (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.6-Ezek.29.7" parsed="|Ezek|29|6|29|7" passage="Eze 29:6,7"><i>v.</i> 6, 7</scripRef>): <i>Because they have been
a staff of reed to the house of</i> Israel. They pretended to be a
staff for them to lean upon, but, when any stress was laid upon
them, they were either weak and could not or treacherous and would
not do that for them which was expected. They <i>broke under
them,</i> to their great disappointment and amazement, so that they
<i>rent their shoulder</i> and <i>made all their loins to be at a
stand.</i> The king of Egypt, it is probable, had encouraged
Zedekiah to break his league with the king of Babylon, with a
promise that he would stand by him, which, when he failed to do, to
any purpose, it could not but put them into a great consternation.
God had told them, long since, that the Egyptians were broken
reeds, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.30.6" parsed="|Isa|30|6|0|0" passage="Isa 30:6">Isa. xxx. 6, 7</scripRef>.
Rabshakeh had told them so, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.36.6" parsed="|Isa|36|6|0|0" passage="Isa 36:6">Isa.
xxxvi. 6</scripRef>. And now they found it so. It was indeed the
folly of Israel to trust them, and they were well enough served
when they were deceived in them. God was righteous in suffering
them to be so. But that is no excuse at all for the Egyptians'
falsehood and treachery, nor shall it secure them from the
judgments of that God who is and will be the avenger of all such
wrongs. It is a great sin, and very provoking to God, as well as
unjust, ungrateful, and very dishonourable and unkind, to put a
cheat upon those that put a confidence in us.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxx-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.8-Ezek.29.16" parsed="|Ezek|29|8|29|16" passage="Eze 29:8-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxx-p8.5">
<h4 id="Ez.xxx-p8.6">Fall and Restoration of
Egypt. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p8.7">b. c.</span> 589.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxx-p9" shownumber="no">8 Therefore thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p9.1">God</span>; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and
cut off man and beast out of thee.   9 And the land of Egypt
shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I <i>am</i>
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p9.2">Lord</span>: because he hath said, The
river <i>is</i> mine, and I have made <i>it.</i>   10 Behold,
therefore I <i>am</i> against thee, and against thy rivers, and I
will make the land of Egypt utterly waste <i>and</i> desolate, from
the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.   11 No
foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass
through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.   12
And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the
countries <i>that are</i> desolate, and her cities among the cities
<i>that are</i> laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I
will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse
them through the countries.   13 Yet thus saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p9.3">God</span>; At the end of forty years will I
gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered:
  14 And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will
cause them to return <i>into</i> the land of Pathros, into the land
of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom.  
15 It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt
itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that
they shall no more rule over the nations.   16 And it shall be
no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth
<i>their</i> iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after
them: but they shall know that I <i>am</i> the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p9.4">God</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p10" shownumber="no">This explains the foregoing prediction,
which was figurative, and looks something further. Here is a
prophecy,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p11" shownumber="no">I. Of the ruin of Egypt. The threatening of
this is very full and particular; and the sin for which this ruin
shall be brought upon them is their pride, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.9" parsed="|Ezek|29|9|0|0" passage="Eze 29:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. They said, <i>The river is mine
and I have made it;</i> therefore their land shall spue them out.
1. God is against them, both against the king and against the
people, <i>against thee and against thy rivers.</i> Waters signify
<i>people and multitudes,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.17.15" parsed="|Rev|17|15|0|0" passage="Re 17:15">Rev.
xvii. 15</scripRef>. 2. Multitudes of them shall be cut off by the
sword of war, a sword which God will bring upon them to destroy
<i>both man and beast,</i> the sword of civil war. 3. The country
shall be depopulated. The <i>land of Egypt shall be desolate and
waste</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.9" parsed="|Ezek|29|9|0|0" passage="Eze 29:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>),
the country not cultivated, the cities not inhabited. The wealth of
both was their pride, and that God will take away. It <i>shall be
utterly waste (wastes of waste,</i> so the margin reads it), <i>and
desolate</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.10" parsed="|Ezek|29|10|0|0" passage="Eze 29:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>); <i>neither men nor beasts shall pass through it,
nor shall it be inhabited</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.11" parsed="|Ezek|29|11|0|0" passage="Eze 29:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>); it shall be <i>desolate in
the midst of the countries that are so,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.12" parsed="|Ezek|29|12|0|0" passage="Eze 29:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. This was the effect not so
much of those wars spoken of before, which were made by them, but
of the war which the king of Babylon made upon them. It shall be
desolate from one end of the land to the other, <i>from the tower
of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.</i> The sin of pride is
enough to ruin a whole nation. 4. The people shall be dispersed and
scattered among the nations (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.12" parsed="|Ezek|29|12|0|0" passage="Eze 29:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), so that those who thought the
balance of power was in their hand should now become a contemptible
people. Such a fall does a haughty spirit go before.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p12" shownumber="no">II. Of the restoration of Egypt after
awhile, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.13" parsed="|Ezek|29|13|0|0" passage="Eze 29:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>.
Egypt shall lie <i>desolate forty years</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.12" parsed="|Ezek|29|12|0|0" passage="Eze 29:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>) and then <i>I will bring again
the captivity of Egypt,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.14" parsed="|Ezek|29|14|0|0" passage="Eze 29:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>. Some date the forty years from Nebuchadnezzar's
destroying Egypt, others from the desolation of Egypt some time
before; however, they end about the first year of Cyrus, when the
seventy years' captivity of Judah ended, or soon after. Then this
prediction was accomplished, 1. That God will gather the Egyptians
out of all the countries into which they were dispersed, and make
them to <i>return to the land of their habitation,</i> and give
them a settlement there again, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.14" parsed="|Ezek|29|14|0|0" passage="Eze 29:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Note, Though God will find out
a way to humble the proud, yet he will not contend for ever, no,
not with them in this world. 2. That yet they shall not make a
figure again as they have done. Egypt shall be <i>a kingdom</i>
again, but it shall be the <i>basest of the kingdoms</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.15" parsed="|Ezek|29|15|0|0" passage="Eze 29:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>); it shall have but
little wealth and power, and shall not extend its conquests as
formerly; it shall be the tail of the nations, and not the head. It
is a mercy that it shall become a kingdom again, but, to humble it,
it shall be a despicable kingdom; it shall be a long time before it
recover any thing like its ancient lustre. For two reasons it shall
be thus mortified:—(1.) That it may not domineer over its
neighbours, that it may not <i>exalt itself above the nations,</i>
nor <i>rule over the nations,</i> as it has done, but that it may
know what it is to be low and despised. Note, Those who abuse their
power will justly be stripped of it; and God, as King of nations,
will find out a way to maintain the injured rights and liberties,
not only of his own, but of other nations. (2.) That it may not
deceive the people of God (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.16" parsed="|Ezek|29|16|0|0" passage="Eze 29:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>): <i>It shall no more be the confidence of the house
of Israel;</i> they shall no more be in temptation to trust in it
as they have done, which is a sin that <i>brings their iniquity to
remembrance,</i> that is, provokes God to punish them not for that
only, but for all their other sins. Or it <i>puts them in mind</i>
of their idolatries to return to them, <i>when they look</i> to the
idolaters, to repose a confidence in them. Note, The creatures we
confide in are often <i>therefore</i> ruined, because there is no
other way effectually to cure us of our confidence in them. Rather
than Israel shall be ensnared again, the whole land of Egypt shall
be laid waste. He that once <i>gave Egypt for their ransom</i>
(<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p12.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.43.3" parsed="|Isa|43|3|0|0" passage="Isa 43:3">Isa. xliii. 3</scripRef>) will now
give Egypt for their cure; and it shall be destroyed rather than
Israel shall not in this particular be reformed. God, not only in
justice, but in wisdom and goodness to us, breaks those
creature-stays which we lean too much upon, and makes them to be no
more, that they may be no more our confidence.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ez.xxx-p12.8" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.17-Ezek.29.21" parsed="|Ezek|29|17|29|21" passage="Eze 29:17-21" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Ez.xxx-p12.9">
<h4 id="Ez.xxx-p12.10">A Promise to Nebuchadnezzar. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p12.11">b. c.</span> 589.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ez.xxx-p13" shownumber="no">17 And it came to pass in the seven and
twentieth year, in the first <i>month,</i> in the first <i>day</i>
of the month, the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p13.1">Lord</span>
came unto me, saying,   18 Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus:
every head <i>was</i> made bald, and every shoulder <i>was</i>
peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the
service that he had served against it:   19 Therefore thus
saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p13.2">God</span>; Behold, I will
give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he
shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey;
and it shall be the wages for his army.   20 I have given him
the land of Egypt <i>for</i> his labour wherewith he served against
it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p13.3">God</span>.   21 In that day will I cause the horn
of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the
opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that
I <i>am</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ez.xxx-p13.4">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p14" shownumber="no">The date of this prophecy is observable; it
was in the twenty-seventh year of Ezekiel's captivity, sixteen
years after the prophecy in the former part of the chapter, and
almost as long after those which follow in the next chapters; but
it comes in here for the explication of all that was said against
Egypt. After the destruction of Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar spent two
or three campaigns in the conquest of the Ammonites and Moabites
and making himself master of their countries. Then he spent
thirteen years in the siege of Tyre. During all that time the
Egyptians were embroiled in war with the Cyrenians and one with
another, by which they were very much weakened and impoverished;
and just at the end of the siege of Tyre God delivers this prophecy
to Ezekiel, to signify to him that that utter destruction of Egypt
which he had foretold fifteen or sixteen years before, which had
been but in part accomplished hitherto, should now be completed by
Nebuchadnezzar. The prophecy which begins here, it should seem, is
continued to the <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.30.20" parsed="|Ezek|30|20|0|0" passage="Eze 30:20">twentieth
verse</scripRef> of the next chapter. And Dr. Lightfoot observes
that it is the last prophecy we have of this prophet, and should
have been last in the book, but is laid here, that all the
prophecies against Egypt might come together. The particular
destruction of Pharaoh-Hophrah, foretold in the former part of this
chapter, was likewise foretold <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.44.30" parsed="|Jer|44|30|0|0" passage="Jer 44:30">Jer.
xliv. 30</scripRef>. This general devastation of Egypt by
Nebuchadnezzar was foretold <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.43.10" parsed="|Jer|43|10|0|0" passage="Jer 43:10">Jer.
xliii. 10</scripRef>. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p15" shownumber="no">I. What success God would give to
Nebuchadnezzar and his forces against Egypt. God gave him <i>that
land,</i> that he might <i>take the spoil</i> and <i>prey</i> of
it, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.19-Ezek.29.20" parsed="|Ezek|29|19|29|20" passage="Eze 29:19,20"><i>v.</i> 19, 20</scripRef>.
It was a cheap and easy prey. He subdued it with very little
difficulty; the blood and treasure expended upon the conquest of it
were inconsiderable. But it was a rich prey, and he carried off a
great deal from it that was of value. Their having been divided
among themselves, no doubt, gave a common enemy great advantage
against them, who, when they had been so long preying upon one
another, soon made a prey of them all. <i>En! quo discordia cives
perduxit miseros—What wretchedness does civil discord bring!</i>
Jeremiah foretold that Nebuchadnezzar should <i>array himself with
the land of Egypt as a shepherd puts on his coat,</i> which
intimates what a rich and cheap prey it should be.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p16" shownumber="no">II. Upon what considerations God would give
Nebuchadnezzar this success against Egypt; it was to be a
recompence to him for the hard service with which he had caused his
army to serve against Tyre, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.18 Bible:Ezek.29.20" parsed="|Ezek|29|18|0|0;|Ezek|29|20|0|0" passage="Eze 29:18,20"><i>v.</i> 18, 20</scripRef>. 1. The taking of Tyre
was a tedious piece of work; it cost Nebuchadnezzar abundance of
blood and treasure. It held out thirteen years; all that time the
Chaldean army was hard at it, to make themselves masters of it. A
large current of the sea, between Tyre and the continent, was
filled up with earth, and many other difficulties which were
thought insuperable they had to struggle with; but so great a
prince, having begun such an undertaking, thought himself bound in
honour to push it on, whatever it cost him. How many thousand lives
have been sacrificed to such points of honour as this as! In
prosecuting this siege <i>every head was made bald, and every
shoulder peeled,</i> with carrying burdens and labouring in the
water when they had a strong tide and a strong town to contend
with. Egypt, a large kingdom, being divided within itself, is
easily conquered; Tyre, a single city, being unanimous, is with
difficulty subdued. Those that have much to do in the world find
some affairs go on a great deal more readily and easily than
others. But, 2. In this service God own that they <i>wrought for
him,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.20" parsed="|Ezek|29|20|0|0" passage="Eze 29:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. He
set them at work, for the humbling of a proud city and its king,
though <i>they meant not so, neither did their heart think so,</i>
who were employed in it. Note, Even great men and bad men are tools
that God makes use of, and are <i>working for him</i> even when
they are pursuing their own covetous and ambitious designs; so
wonderfully does God overrule all to his own glory. Yet, 3. For
this service he had <i>no wages</i> nor <i>his army.</i> He was at
a vast expense to take Tyre; and when he had it, though it was a
very rich city, and he promised himself good plunder for his army
from it, he was disappointed; the Tyrians sent away by ship their
best effects, and threw the rest into the sea, so that they had
nothing but bare walls. Thus are the children of this world
ordinarily frustrated in their highest expectations from it.
Therefore, 4. He shall have the spoil of Egypt to recompense him
for his service against Tyre. Note, God will be behind-hand with
none for any service they do for him, but, one way or other, will
recompense them for it; none shall kindle a fire on his altar for
nought. The service done for him by worldly men, with worldly
designs, shall be recompensed with a mere worldly reward, which his
faithful servants, that have a sincere regard to his will and
glory, would not be put off with. This accounts for the prosperity
of wicked men in this world; God is in it paying them for some
service or other, in which he has made use of them. <i>Verily they
have their reward.</i> Let none envy it them. The conquest of Egypt
is spoken of as Nebuchadnezzar's <i>full reward,</i> for that
completed his dominion over the then known world in a manner; that
was the last of the kingdoms he subdued; when he was master of that
he became the <i>head of gold.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ez.xxx-p17" shownumber="no">III. The mercy God had in store for the
house of Israel soon after. When the tide is at the highest it will
turn, and so it will when it is at the lowest. Nebuchadnezzar was
in the zenith of his glory when he had conquered Egypt, but within
a year after he ran mad (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.28-Dan.4.37" parsed="|Dan|4|28|4|37" passage="Da 4:28-37">Dan.
iv.</scripRef>), was so seven years, and within a year or two after
he had recovered his senses he resigned his life. When he was at
the highest Israel was at the lowest; then were they in the depth
of their captivity, their bones dead and dry; but <i>in that day
the horn of the house of Israel shall bud forth,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.29.21" parsed="|Ezek|29|21|0|0" passage="Eze 29:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. The day of their
deliverance shall begin to dawn, and they shall have some little
reviving in their bondage, in the honour that shall be done, 1. To
their princes; they are the <i>horns of the house of Israel,</i>
the seat of their glory and power. These began to bud forth when
Daniel and his fellows were highly preferred in Babylon; Daniel
<i>sat in the gate of the city; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
were set over the affairs of the province</i> (<scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.49" parsed="|Dan|2|49|0|0" passage="Da 2:49">Dan. ii. 49</scripRef>); these were all <i>of the king's
seed, and of the princes,</i> <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Dan.1.3" parsed="|Dan|1|3|0|0" passage="Da 1:3">Dan. i.
3</scripRef>. And it was within a year after the conquest of Egypt
that they were thus preferred; and, soon after, three of them were
made famous by the honour God put upon them in bringing them alive
out of the burning fiery furnace. This might very well be called
the <i>budding forth of the horn of the house of Israel.</i> And,
some years after, this promise had a further accomplishment in the
enlargement and elevation of Jehoiachin king of Judah, <scripRef id="Ez.xxx-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.52.31-Jer.52.32" parsed="|Jer|52|31|52|32" passage="Jer 52:31,32">Jer. lii. 31, 32</scripRef>. They were both
tokens of God's favour to Israel, and happy omens. 2. To their
prophets. And <i>I will give thee the opening of the mouth.</i>
Though none of Ezekiel's prophecies, after this, are recorded, yet
we have reason to think he went on prophesying, and with more
liberty and boldness, when Daniel and his fellows were in power,
and would be ready to protect him not only from the Babylonians,
but from the wicked ones of his own people. Note, It bodes well to
a people when God enlarges the liberties of his ministers and they
are countenanced and encouraged in their work.</p>
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