A Lament for Egypt

 Ezekiel 30:1-12

 

January 9, 2024

 

A Lament for Egypt

The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: 'Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’ For the day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.  A sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Cush, when the slain fall in Egypt, and her wealth is carried away, and her foundations are torn down.

Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.  “Thus says the Lord: Those who support Egypt shall fall, and her proud might shall come down; from Migdol to Syene they shall fall within her by the sword, declares the Lord God.  And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries, and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I have set fire to Egypt, and all her helpers are broken. “On that day, messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom; for, behold, it comes!  “Thus says the Lord God: 'I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.  He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land, and they shall draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.  And I will dry up the Nileand will sell the land into the hand of evildoers; I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it, by the hand of foreigners; I am the Lord; I have spoken.

 

I have a strong feeling many of my readers in the USA will not agree with this writer.  God often uses men who are not the most socially acceptable, just not nice people, and they come across as bullies, rude, and even say things that a leader should not say.  President Trump is such a man, and so was Nebuchadnezzar, whom God used to bring judgment on Israel, Judah, Tyre, and Egypt, and the nations that were aligned with them.

 

As we study the Scripture, we must be open to this one truth: God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts are much higher than ours.  God often used men and even women whom we would not have used to both bless and bring judgment. 

 

The danger is that often we are aligning against God’s will and purpose when we allow our desires to be against God’s purpose and will.

 

In the case of our ex-president, I voted for him and will do so again, and yet I do not care for his social skills, but I do believe he loves our Nation and puts it above the one-world people who want open borders and be like Europe.  May I remind you that people came from Europe for freedom of religion, to not be under a king, and to live as a free people?  To have laws that cover all people and not just the lower class, and that was what our government was founded on, we are in danger of losing that because we have no understanding of history or the ways of God. 

 

I’m not sure most of us would want to hang out with either King Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus, but both were used by God to bring both freedom and judgment.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The Puzzle and Life

 

 

The Puzzle and Life

 

Is your life like a Puzzle?

 

My brother and his wife, Chris, gave Jan and me a puzzle of the manger setting for Christmas, and Fred's last word as they left was you need to finish this by Christmas.  That gave us two days, and guess what, it's still not finished.

 

But it been a big learning experience, in that Jan likes to work the puzzle before we get the outer border finished.  Shortcuts in our lives, like trying to work outside of God’s framework, will always end up in a redo.  

 

What puzzle have open my eyes to is the gaps in one life, the pieces must fit perfectly, the slight gap and your life, like the puzzle, will not fit. Since Jan and I have been married for over 60 years, we had many gaps, and most were mine.  I was 27 years old when I was confronted by men who had a personal relationship with Christ; I had a Baptist or religious understanding of Christ.  So, in a hotel room in Victoria, Texas, I ask Jesus to forgive my many sins and take over the management of my life.  And now the piece began to come together.  No, I had learn how to get my needs met outside of  Christ for 27 years, and it has been a battle allowing Him to make the pieces fit without the gaps.

 

As I grew in my faith, I began to study the Scripture, and I read in Galatians 5:22-23, these words, “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

 

I can testify before God and man that my wife is the love of my life, but for years, I had men who loved me enough to tell me the truth. Bob, you are too harsh with Jan; you need to show more kindness.  Have the pieces of my life at age 84, all fit in the puzzle. No, it seems God is showing me that I must allow him to teach me patience and self-control.

 

This thought came into my mind: no one wants to use an architect who did not give them a sound foundation to build on.  I can testify that God, your Creator and Redeemer, is the perfect architect.

 

 

I woke up about 1:30 this morning, realizing I had not given Jan her new medication.  As I lay there, after doing so, I began thinking on the subject of how, if you wanted your life to fit together, like the puzzle we are about to complete, it would require you to allow the Lord who loves you more than you will ever grasp to guide you.  I lay there until 3:05, and had asked the Lord to let me write on this tomorrow, but as my friend Forrest told me many years ago, obedience brings blessing, and so I went ahead and wrote this paper.

 

It has not been the best time for our family. We lost our sister. My brother-in-law and Doris's two girls exhibit love in an amazing way for Doris.  One of Joe's amazing gifts from God was the ability to fix things and solve problems; it was very hard for him not to fix Doris.  Jan and I both have come down with a bad cough, and mine has settled into my chest, and I was hoping to sleep.  As I lay in bed, all kinds of thoughts filled my mind, none of which were areas that the pieces were not in the rearview mirror of my life, like language, drinking, sex desire, and just wanting to be the center of my small world.  As always, when I began to write, the Spirit of God took my mind not to others but to myself.  I have a long way to go to be Christ-like in the area of patience and self-control; it only takes getting in my car to make that become a reality.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

God’s judgment against Egypt

 

Ezekiel 29:14-21

 

January 7, 2024

 

 

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.  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.  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.”

In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “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.  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.  I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored because they worked for me, declares the Lord God.

“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.”

God’s judgment against Egypt was to bring them back but never to the glory they once had.  Once more we see the Lord wanting Israel and I believe Egypt to understand, that He only was the Lord.

 

One must remember that God's ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are higher than ours.  So when He tells us that King Nebuchadnezzar worked for Him against Tyre and Egypt was his payment.  And once more it was so Israel would know that God was the Lord.

 

I wonder what it will take for the people of the United States of America to wake up to an understanding that Jesus Christ is the Lord.  Will we have to become like an Egypt?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Prophecy Against Egypt

 

Ezekiel 29:1-13

 

January 6, 2024

 

Prophecy Against Egypt

In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; 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.’  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.  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. 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 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.  Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast, and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

 

“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I made it, 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.  No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.  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.

 

We should give thought to how detailed our God is. In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.  Ezekiel is very clear on the exact time he heard from the Lord and the prophecy that would take place.  

 

Why is God upset with Pharaoh? He was like the devil in that he was a liar.  And second, he was taking credit for what God had created.  One should be very careful in taking credit for what God has done; each of us would be wise to give God the credit for anything that he has allowed us to do.

 

We have much prophecy in the Scriptures that is yet to come, and we also have prophecy that has been fulfilled, yet we have not, at this time, discovered that truth.  It is important to understand that Jesus said you are children of your father, the devil, who has no understanding of Truth.  We have many of them; we call them skeptics, but they are not seeking the truth; they are looking to disprove the Scriptures.  As Jesus stated, they are sons and daughters of the evil one; they are unbelievers.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Israel Gathered in Security

 Ezekiel 28:25-26

 

January 5, 2024

 

Israel Gathered in Security

“Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob.  And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”

 

God used Cyrus as a tool to do this; He has also done this other times, and in 1948 God restored Israel as a nation.  But it took many years before we had a President who moved our Embassy to Jerusalem.  On December 6, 2017, President Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and stated that the American embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Today we once more see Israel in a war with evil people who want to destroy the Jewish people.  We see foolish college students wanting the nation destroyed, and we see the foolishness of the country that has allowed the migration from the Middle Eastern nations to poison their thinking against Israel.

This we do know that God has spoken and a time is soon coming when Israel's Messiah will return and set up His kingdom in Jerusalem.  And all of Israel's enemies will live in peace with them.  

Let us end this paper with a promise God made to Abram before God Changed his name to Abraham.  "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.  (Genesis 12:2-3)  And our God is a promise, Keeper.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Lament over the King of Tyre-January 3, 2924

 

Ezekiel 28:11-19

January 3, 2024

A Lament over the King of Tyre

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: 'You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created, they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub.  I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire, you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.  In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.  By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries;
so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.  All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”

Pride, the Scriptures have a lot to say on that subject.  Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 16:5 “The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

This is much greater than a lament of the King of Tyre; it is the source of how pride always puts self before God.  We believe that the king of Tyre or the devil would consider our accomplishments, our beauty, and our clever minds to be a product of ourselves.

Yes, this is about the King of Tyre, but he was not an anointed guardian cherub.  The King of Tyre was not a signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.  But Lucifer was, and like the King of Tyre, they allowed pride to be their downfall.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, are we exempt from pride?  If you believe that you are, it is time to conduct a serious evaluation of your life.  You and I live in a world full of pride, fear, and self.  It is so easy to become prideful that you do not have the problems others have, and it is always because you do not do such foolish things as they do.  Did you get that? You are smarter and more resourceful; you, yes, you and I can take credit for our accomplishment.  Is that prideful, unless you give the glory to God for the Wisdom that He has bestowed on each of us to bless others, and help them, looking to our Lord, who is the source of all wisdom, Truth, and understanding? 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Lament over the King of Tyre

 

 

 

Ezekiel 28:11-19

A Lament over the King of Tyre

 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection,  full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.  You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond,  beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings.  On the day that you were created, they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub.

I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.  You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.
In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so, I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.  By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries;​ so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you, you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”

As a student of the Word and a follower of Christ, I am sure that this is a dual prophecy, in that the king of Tyre was not in the garden of Eden, nor was any man blameless after the fall.  So, I looked at “Got Questions” and I believe they did a very actuate reporting: “However, some of the descriptions in Ezekiel 28:11–19 go beyond any mere human king. In no sense could an earthly king claim to be “in Eden” or to be “the anointed cherub who covers” or to be “on the holy mountain of God.” Therefore, most Bible interpreters believe that Ezekiel 28:11-19 is a dual prophecy, comparing the pride of the king of Tyre to the pride of Satan. Some propose that the king of Tyre was actually possessed by Satan, making the link between the two even more powerful and applicable.

Before his fall, Satan was indeed a beautiful creature (Ezekiel 28:12–13). He was perhaps the most beautiful and powerful of all the angels. The phrase “guardian cherub” possibly indicates that Satan was the angel who “guarded” God’s presence. Pride led to Satan’s fall. Rather than give God the glory for creating him so beautifully, Satan took pride in himself, thinking that he himself was responsible for his exalted status. Satan’s rebellion resulted in God casting Satan from His presence and will eventually result in God condemning Satan to the lake of fire for all eternity (Revelation 20:10).

Like Satan, the human king of Tyre was prideful. Rather than recognize God’s sovereignty, the king of Tyre attributed Tyre’s riches to his own wisdom and strength. Not satisfied with his extravagant position, the king of Tyre sought more and more, resulting in Tyre taking advantage of other nations, expanding its own wealth at the expense of others. But just as Satan’s pride led to his fall and will eventually lead to his eternal destruction, so will the city of Tyre lose its wealth, power, and status. Ezekiel’s prophecy of Tyre’s total destruction was fulfilled partially by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 29:17–21) and ultimately by Alexander the Great.

 

From our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice