The Daughters of the Nations

                                                        Ezekiel 32:16-32

 

January 18, 2024

 

This is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord God.”

In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:

Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’ They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes. The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

“Assyria is there, and all her company, its graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

“Elam is there, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. They have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are placed among the slain.

“Meshech-Tubal is there, and all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living.  And they do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living. But as for you, you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.

“Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the pit.

“The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

“When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord God.  For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”

The Pharaoh and the people of Egypt are not that different from you and me; they were living for themselves, and they had gods whom they trusted in, much like many of us.  Little gods, that have no authority or power when it comes to the reality that God is the same today as yesterday.

 

Do you recall the words of Jesus, in John’s gospel 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  Jesus, the Son of God, the Son who loves His Father, who loves you and me, said not my will but yours, and took your place of punishment, as a lamb without blemish.  The pure and holy meet the requirements of the full payment of sin, and gave you the right to choose, to receive the gift of redemption or reject it. 

Do you recall these words of Jesus speaking to Thomas, His disciples: “And you know the way to where I am going.”  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The last word is “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Let me end this paper with this insight: The thief Jesus is warning you about is real; he is a liar and a deceiver.  He came to destroy all that is good and holy, and his desire is for you to put faith and worship in anything but the Lord Jesus Christ.  Many are doing so, putting themselves in the place of God, but God tells us: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”   (Matthew 6:33).  What are these things: love, joy, peace, hope, and life in the full?  Not fear, not hate, but all the things listed above.   And let me end with these words from our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, found in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

No one is without excuse; Romans 1:20, ^“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse.”

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

 

Ezekiel 32:1-15

 

January 17, 2024

 

A Lament over Pharaoh and Egypt

 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: “You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers. Thus says the Lord God:  I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples, and they will haul you up in my dragnet.  And I will cast you on the ground; on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you, and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you.  I will strew your flesh upon the mountains and fill the valleys with your carcass.  I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood, and the ravines will be full of you.  When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.  All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord God.

“I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known.  I will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you when I brandish my sword before them. They shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.

“For thus says the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most ruthless of nations. “They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt, and all its multitude shall perish.  I will destroy all its beasts from beside many waters, and no foot of man shall trouble them any more, nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.  I will make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil,
declares the Lord God. When I make the land of Egypt desolate, and when the land is desolate of all that fills it, when I strike down all who dwell in it, then they will know that I am the Lord.

The dragnet and the many people God is referring to is the Babylonian army that would come against Egypt and its people.  And can you imagine this great nation being destroyed? It brought fear to all other nations and peoples, but not to the people of Babylon.  

 

Let us bring this into our timeline. If a nation came against the USA and destroyed us, killed our leaders and people, the world would be in fear.  Are we that much different than the people of Egypt?  I thank not, they believed they were too powerful and too great a military for such a thing to happen, and so do we.

 

One problem was that they did not put God in the equation and were trusting in themselves and not God. How is that different from the United States of America?

 

From the Back Porch, 

 

Bob Rice 

Pharaoh to Be Slain

                                                          Ezekiel 31:1-18

 

November 15, 2023

 

Pharaoh to Be Slain

In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: 'Whom are you like in your greatness?  Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade and of towering height, its top among the clouds. The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall, making its rivers flow around the place of its planting, sending forth its streams to all the trees of the field.  So, it towered high above all the trees of the field; its boughs grew large and its branches long from abundant water in its shoots.  All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth to their young, and under its​ shadow lived all great nations. It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down to abundant waters.  The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor the fir trees equal its boughs; neither were the plane trees like its branches; no tree in the garden of God was its equal in beauty.  I made it beautiful in the mass of its branches, and all the trees of Eden envied it, that were in the garden of God.

“Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height, I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out.  Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it. On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field.  All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they’re all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man, with those who go down to the pit.

“Thus says the Lord God: On the day the cedar went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.  I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the world below.  They also went down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were its arm, who lived under its shadow among the nations.

“Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.

“This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God.”

The title is; Pharaoh to Be Slain, and yet God is telling Ezekiel about a great tree, and most of us wonder why?  We also must understand this had great meaning to the people of Ezekiel time, and it was about what was going to happen to Egypt and Pharaoh.  I ran across this Commentary by Paul Macisker.

“This chapter portrays the fall of the Assyrian empire, and uses it as a warning of what will one day happen to Egypt. Assyria is metaphorically portrayed as a magnificent cedar tree that ended up being cut down by foreign nations, and thrown down to the pit of Sheol. Ezekiel received this revelation in 587 BC, just 18 years after Assyria and Egypt had been defeated at the Battle of Carchemish. This continues Ezekiel's previous oracles against Egypt, as recorded in chapters 29 and 30.

The Assyrian capital, Nineveh, fell to an alliance of Babylonians, Medes and Scythians in 612 BC. The city of Harran fell in 609 BC, and the Assyrians retreated to their last remaining stronghold at Carchemish. Egypt was a vassal state of the Assyrian empire and marched to defend Assyria. Pharaoh Necho II was delayed for some time by King Josiah of Judah, who ended up being killed at the battle of Megiddo in about 609 BC. The Assyrian and Egyptian armies were decisively defeated by Nebuchadnezzar and his allies at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC. This marked the end of the Assyrian empire, the end of Egypt's intervention in the Near East, and the establishment of the Babylonian Empire. So, in 587 BC when Ezekiel received this revelation, the fall of Assyria was a recent and painful memory for Egypt.

Egypt was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 568 BC, although the extent of his conquest is not clear, as only minimal historical records of it survive. It was again conquered by the Persian king Cambyses in 525 BC. Neither conquest seems to have completely fulfilled the prophecies of Ezekiel 29 to 30 and Jeremiah 42 to 44. However, in the end times, Egypt is one of the countries that will fall to the Antichrist according to Daniel 11:42. So it is likely that this chapter in Ezekiel has an end-time fulfilment, and not just an historic one.

In verse 18, Ezekiel warns that Egypt will end up being thrown down into the pit, just like Assyria. In chapter 28.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

 

Ezekiel 30:20-26

 

January 14, 2023

 

Egypt Shall Fall to Babylon

In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword. Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries.  And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded.  I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt.  And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

 

Have you noticed the precision of our God as He tells Ezekiel what He is about to do and how He is going to do it?  God uses the description of a broken arm to show that He has weakened Pharaoh king of Egypt. But Pharaoh, like many who believe they and their faith in wealth and power can save them, or bet on the wrong god.  And God makes Pharaoh weaker but allows the king of Babylon to grow stronger. 

 

That is the overview, but it is not the theme. The theme is that God wants you and me and everyone to know He is the Lord. The Roman Empire was like the USA in a few ways it built roads and brought structure to areas that needed, them the Greeks brought language and Education to the world, but both became very evil, and none of them have returned to the glory and power they once enjoyed and it will happen to nations and people who do not receive are know that God is the Lord.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice 

--

They will know that I am the Lorde

  

Ezekiel 30:13-19

 

January 13, 2024

 

“Thus says the Lord God: 'I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis; there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt; so, I will put fear in the land of Egypt. I will make    Pathros a desolation and will set fire to Zoan and will execute judgments on Thebes.  And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the multitude of Thebes.  And I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium shall be in great agony; Thebes shall be breached, and Memphis shall face enemies by day. The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword, and the women shall go into captivity.  At Tehaphnehes, the day shall be dark, when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt, and her proud might shall come to an end in her; she shall be covered by a cloud, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus, I will execute judgments on Egypt.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

 

As one studies Scripture, it is wise to look up words, such as Memphis, so that is what I have done.  “Memphis was an idolatrous city, the site of many heathen temples and practices. Because of the many evils committed by Memphis, God cursed it, bringing Divine judgment on the city and its people. It was destroyed and eventually abandoned.”

 

When it comes to these cities in Egypt, we also see God’s judgment: Pathros, Zoan, and Thebes.  “Pelusium, the city at the easternmost mouth of the Nile (modern Tell el-Farama), which formed the natural entry to Egypt from the north-east, on the route upriver to *Memphis. It was near this strategic entry-point that *Cambyses defeated the Egyptians in 525 BC.” 

 

What does it take to make people listen to God and to acknowledge Him as God?  What about a nation like Egypt, which was brought low by its idolatry?  And you who go by the name of Christian, who are your idols?  And you are quick to say we have no idols imagines we worship, but God has spoken on what an idol is, anything you put before Him.  

Does your nation, those you love, have to have God say, “Now they will know that I am God”?  My mind always goes back to Jonah's hate for the sinful people of Nineveh and not wanting to share God's message with them, in fear they would repent, and they did when they heard it.

If you are a follower of Christ, you have been called to be His ambassador to your nation, tell them about God’s love for them, and call them to repent.  I believe we are in the last days, and that puts me in good fellowship with Paul, Peter, and John, and the disciples of Jesus.

The question, for each of us, is what will we do with Jesus?  He came to give your life in the full, and those idols only come to bring you pride, arrogance, and fear; they cannot give you hope, real joy, or peace, but Jesus can.  Maybe you need to encounter Jesus for the first time by faith in His written word, Romans 10:9-10, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.”

I encountered Jesus in a hotel room in Victoria, Texas, 55 years ago. It took a week before my mouth confessed what God had done for me.  My wife said you are different. What happened to you, and I shared what God had done for me.  I had lived for 27 years getting my needs met outside of Christ, and it has taken a long time to learn how to be His follower.  Your flesh wants to be in charge, but you must learn how to allow the Spirit of Christ that lives in you to be in charge.  He is the Master, and you and I who are in Christ, and He in us are the servants; is it not time to serve Him, and receive His blessing?  Speak out to those you come in contact with about how God has brought you peace and life in full.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

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