“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.”
The Egypt prophecy closes with two promises: a horn that buds for Israel, and an opened mouth for the prophet. Both carry the same date, "in that day" — so which day is that, and how much of it has already come?
A Prophecy Slipped Into Another
The verse does not belong to the same moment as the chapter's opening. One writer marks the seam:
J. N. DarbyThis 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.
The setting is the long siege of Tyre, which left the conqueror unpaid. God gave him Egypt as his wages instead — and that payment has a second effect:
W. T. P. WolstonGod 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).
The Horn
The promise speaks of a horn. That picture had a settled meaning:
Morrish Bible DictionaryPeople 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.
So the promise is that the power of a broken, exiled nation will grow again — and God says He will cause it.
Budding, Not Blazing
The word chosen is the language of a plant, not a sunrise. One commentator traces the slow growth through history:
Numerical Bible NotesThe 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 leaves the phrase "in that day." One writer explains its settled sense:
T. B. Baines"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.
The Opening of the Mouth
The second promise is personal: the prophet gets his voice back. His silence had a limit and a subject:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinIn 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.
No Record, No Doubt
Scripture never reports the fulfilment of this verse. One commentator refuses to treat that as a gap:
William KellyWe 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.
Summary
- Occasion — These words come from a later date. They sit here because Egypt paid the bill Tyre never paid.
- Horn — The symbol of exaltation and power; God breaks the horns of the wicked and lifts the horn of His people.
- Budding — Growth, not a flash. Jehoiachin left prison, Daniel rose high, and the people returned under Cyrus. Then prophets announced Messiah.
- Mouth — The prophet's silence was about Israel only; when it ended, he spoke to them again.
- Knowledge — Both gifts have one aim. Israel would know the LORD, and know what was coming before it came.