Ezekiel 29:18

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.