Ezekiel 29:17–21

This prophecy concerning Egypt has particular importance. It is composed of three distinct prophecies. Notice that Ezekiel 29:17-21 is a prophecy of a very different date, introduced here because of its relation to what comes before it in the same chapter.

In order of time this is not the last prophecy of Ezekiel. The one given in Ezek. 29:17 comes two years later. But this great vision is the only one that could fittingly close the book. At the start God showed the prophet His glory. A little later he saw that glory leave the defiled temple, which would soon lie in ruins. Now he sees it return to that greater and more wonderful dwelling-place on earth, spread out before him so that he may describe it to the house of Israel.

We now have Nebuchadnezzar named outright as the instrument of this judgment, and at a notable moment. Unlike the other prophecies it stands with, this one carries a date: the twenty-seventh year, the first month, the first day of the month. At that time Tyre had just fallen, after a thirteen-year siege by Nebuchadnezzar. This fully proved the prophecy Ezekiel had made about it long before. It made God known as the One whose judgment it was — and so as the One who held the conqueror himself in His hand.

It naturally follows the prophecy against Tyre. It shows the LORD balancing two things: the huge cost Nebuchadnezzar paid for that hard-won city, whose wealth mostly escaped his grasp, and the conquest of Egypt — rich plunder for the conqueror and for his greedy army, disappointed until now. No wonder the land of Egypt was to lie waste a long time, though not for ever.

We have seen with the Assyrian that God punishes a nation He has used as His instrument, because of its pride. He also gives wages to a nation that has served His purpose without knowing it. God used Nebuchadnezzar and his army to punish Tyre, yet "neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her" (Ezek. 29:18). So God gave "the land of Egypt" to Nebuchadnezzar, so that he and his army could take the spoil to "be the wages for his army" (verse 19). How little we know of the ways of God in the conflicts of the world. Behind the scenes God works His sovereign will to carry out His purposes.

"On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them, and they will know that I am the LORD" (v. 21). We have no account that it happened so. But we need none. So the LORD spoke, and so we are sure it was. Israel revived. Ezekiel delivered His message among them, and they then knew who He is — the One who wanted them to know what was coming before it came.

The great Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Tyre. Ezekiel 29:18 refers to it. The verse speaks of his having "no wages" for the long years he spent over it, because the Tyrians had time to remove all their treasure. Still judgment from God did come on the proud and rich and joyous city, and her glory departed.

This word comes right after the prophecy against Tyre, and it belongs there. It shows Jehovah balancing accounts. Nebuchadnezzar spent a vast amount on that hard-won city, and most of its wealth escaped his grasp. Against that God sets the conquest of Egypt — rich plunder for the conqueror and for his greedy army, disappointed until now.

Jehovah considered that wages were due to Nebuchadnezzar for his service in destroying Tyre. The wealth of Egypt was Jehovah's repayment to the instrument of His righteous judgements. It included the silver and gold that Necho had carried there from Jerusalem.

God punishes a nation He has used as His instrument when that nation grows proud, as we have seen with the Assyrian. He also gives wages to a nation that has served His purpose without knowing it. God used Nebuchadnezzar and his army to punish Tyre, yet "neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had performed against her." So God gave "the land of Egypt" to Nebuchadnezzar. He and his army could take the spoil, and it would "be the wages for his army." How little we know of the ways of God in the conflicts of the world. Behind the scenes God works His sovereign will to carry out His purposes.

We must distinguish accurately between grace and government. When we look at God in government, we see Him displaying His power in righteousness. He punishes evildoers and pours out vengeance on His enemies. He overthrows empires, upturns thrones, destroys cities, and sweeps away nations, tribes and peoples.

As soon as the people had gone into captivity, God hands the "sword" of government over to the Gentile king, and the "times of the Gentiles" begin… Up to this point Israel had been God's servant, however unfaithful… The Gentile king now takes the place of the Lord's servant, though in another sense.

At that time Tyre had just fallen, after a thirteen-year siege by Nebuchadnezzar. So the prophecy Ezekiel had made about it long before was proved true. This showed that the judgment was God's, and that the conqueror himself was therefore in God's hand… Nebuchadnezzar was head of the new Gentile power God had raised up. As king of kings he owed everything to the Hand that raised him, and God would have him learn that lesson.

Though God may hire a Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek. 29:18), the bread in our Father's house is not for hired workers — though in the far country one might think so… Anyone who thinks of wages must be valuing himself too highly. Anyone who reckons himself really "little" is ready to appreciate the gift of God.

Jehovah counted that wages were due to Nebuchadnezzar for his service in destroying Tyre. That wealthy trading city gave its captors little plunder, because Tyrian ships had already carried much of its treasure west. Egypt's wealth included the silver and gold that Necho had carried there from Jerusalem. All of it was Jehovah's repayment to the instrument of His righteous judgements.

This prophecy naturally follows the one against Tyre, because it shows Jehovah balancing two things. On one side is the vast cost Nebuchadnezzar poured into that hard-won city, whose wealth mostly escaped his grasp. On the other is the conquest of Egypt — a rich prize for the conqueror and for his greedy army, disappointed until now.

Egypt as a nation was proud of its governmental power. She had said, "The Nile is mine, and I made it" (Ezek. 29:9). God would not allow this claim, nor let her keep what He had given to Nebuchadnezzar for His own purposes. Every nation had to bow to him. It was God's arrangement, for he was "the mighty one of the nations." Tyre gave him no wages, so Egypt would be his repayment, and her judgment would lead on to Israel's blessing.

Zedekiah should have sought help from God; instead he turned treacherously to Egypt. Egypt pictures the world, which God has delivered His people out of by His grace. To seek its help in anything is a grievous offence in His sight. Judgement fell first on Judah, and a few years later on Egypt too.

Egypt was to be the spoil given him in place of the wages he failed to get for his service against Tyre. He had been doing God's work, whether he saw it that way or not. Yet after thirteen years of siege, in which "every head was made bald, and every shoulder was rubbed bare," he found nothing left in the end but a ruin — which was no surprise.

God punishes a nation He has used as His instrument when that nation grows proud, as we have seen with Assyria. But He also pays wages to a nation that has served His purpose without knowing it… How little we know of God's ways in the conflicts of the world. Behind the scenes God works His sovereign will to carry out His purposes.

We must not confuse grace with government. When we look at God in government, we see Him showing His power in the way of righteousness. He punishes evildoers and pours out vengeance on His enemies. He overthrows empires, upturns thrones and destroys cities. He sweeps away nations, tribes and peoples.

As soon as the people had gone into captivity, God handed the "sword" of government to the Gentile king, and the "times of the Gentiles" began. Israel had been God's servant up to this point, though faithless in that position. See Isaiah 43:10 — "You are my… servant whom I have chosen." The Gentile king now takes the place of the Lord's servant, though in another sense.

Tyre had just fallen, and this fully proved the prophecy Ezekiel had made about it long before. God showed Himself to be the One whose judgment it was, and therefore the One in whose hand the conqueror himself stood… Nebuchadnezzar was head of the new Gentile power that God had raised up. As king of kings he owed everything to the Hand that raised him, and God would have him learn the lesson of it.

This prophecy about Egypt has particular importance... Note that Ezekiel 29:17-21 is a prophecy from a very different date. It stands here because of its link to what comes before it in the same chapter.

God had given Nebuchadnezzar the supreme power. Egypt as a nation was proud of its governmental power. She had said, "The river is mine, and I made it" (Ezek. 29:9). God would not allow this claim... Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre by land and water for thirteen years without success. If Tyre gave him no wages, Egypt should be his payment, and her judgment would lead to Israel's blessing (Ezek. 29:18-21).

People in the East wore horns as a symbol of exaltation and power. The LORD was David's horn of salvation. He exalted the horn of His people, and broke the horns of the wicked. Ps. 18:2; Ps. 75:10; Ps. 148:14.

The budding of the horn speaks only of a partial and fairly slow revival for the people of God. At its beginning it shows itself in what the end of the book of Kings tells us about the changed treatment of Jehoiachin. Remember that all these prophecies date from his captivity. Nebuchadnezzar's successor brought him out of his prison and gave him a place above all the subject kings around him. Later we also have Daniel's exaltation... soon followed by the return of the people to the land under Cyrus. So the horn of Israel was indeed budding. In the prophets of that period, such as Haggai and Zechariah, we have hints of a further and more wonderful budding of the horn. It comes in the announcement of Messiah's coming. Israel's sins still got in the way, as we know, and Messiah Himself came only to be rejected. But that belongs to the people's side, not God's.

"That day," then, is clearly a well understood phrase. Used without any special connection, it means the period of Messiah's reign and Israel's blessing.

In chapter 24:27 Ezekiel had received a promise. When the man who escaped from Jerusalem at its fall reached him, the prophet would no longer be silent. This silence clearly does not mean that he never said a word, for he prophesied what we read in chapters 25-32. He was to be silent about Israel. The chapters in between, before the messenger came, concern other nations. And now that promised messenger arrived, and he could speak again to prophesy about Israel.

We have no account that it was so. But we need none. So the LORD spoke, and so we are sure it was. Israel revived. Ezekiel delivered His message among them, and they then knew who He is — the One who wanted them to know what was coming before it came.