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Ezekiel Chapter
Twenty-nine
Ezekiel 29
Chapter Contents
The desolation of Egypt. (1-16) Also a promise of mercy
to Israel. (17-21)
Commentary on Ezekiel 29:1-16
(Read Ezekiel 29:1-16)
Worldly, carnal minds pride themselves in their property,
forgetting that whatever we have, we received it from God, and should use it
for God. Why, then, do we boast? Self is the great idol which all the world
worships, in contempt of God and his sovereignty. God can force men out of that
in which they are most secure and easy. Such a one, and all that cleave to him,
shall perish together. Thus end men's pride, presumption, and carnal security.
The Lord is against those who do harm to his people, and still more against
those who lead them into sin. Egypt shall be a kingdom again, but it shall be
the basest of the kingdoms; it shall have little wealth and power. History
shows the complete fulfilment of this prophecy. God, not only in justice, but
in wisdom and goodness to us, breaks the creature-stays on which we lean, that
they may be no more our confidence.
Commentary on Ezekiel 29:17-21
(Read Ezekiel 29:17-21)
The besiegers of Tyre obtained little plunder. But when
God employs ambitious or covetous men, he will recompense them according to the
desires of their hearts; for every man shall have his reward. God had mercy in
store for the house of Israel soon after. The history of nations best explains
ancient prophecies. All events fulfil the Scriptures. Thus, in the deepest
scenes of adversity, the Lord sows the seed of our future prosperity. Happy are
those who desire his favour, grace, and image; they will delight in his
service, and not covet any earthly recompence; and the blessings they have
chosen shall be sure to them for ever.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ezekiel》
Ezekiel 29
Verse 1
[1] In
the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word
of the LORD came unto me, saying,
The tenth year — Of
Jeconiah's captivity.
Verse 3
[3] Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee,
Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers,
which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
The great dragon —
The crocodile; our prophet, as well as Isaiah, compares the Egyptian king to
that devouring serpent, or dragon.
That lieth —
Not only at rest, but waiting for prey.
My river — My
kingdom, power, riches, and forces, all the strength and glory of Egypt.
Verse 4
[4] But
I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick
unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and
all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
Put hooks —
The Allegory is continued.
The fish —
The people of Egypt.
To stick — To
adhere to their king.
Verse 5
[5] And
I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy
rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought
together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field
and to the fowls of the heaven.
Leave thee —
When thus brought out, I will leave thee.
The wilderness —
The deserts of Libya and Syene.
All the fish —
The whole army of the Egyptians.
The open fields —
There was this king and his army ruined.
Gathered —
These were not buried, but left in the wilderness, a prey to wild beasts, and
birds.
Verse 7
[7] When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all
their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all
their loins to be at a stand.
Rent —
Didst them much mischief instead of benefiting them, as thou hast promised, Jeremiah 37:7.
Verse 10
[10]
Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make
the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto
the border of Ethiopia.
Syene —
Boundary between Ethiopia and Egypt; that is, all Egypt from north-east to
south-west.
Verse 11
[11] No
foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it,
neither shall it be inhabited forty years.
Forty years —
These forty years began about the thirtieth year of Jeconiah's captivity, and
end with the seventieth year of the captivity, which was the first of Cyrus.
Verse 14
[14] And
I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into
the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there
a base kingdom.
Pathros —
The southern part of Egypt, in which was the famous city Thebae, known for its
hundred gates.
Their habitation —
The ancient habitation of their fathers.
A base — A
low, tributary, dependent kingdom.
Verse 15
[15] It
shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more
above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over
the nations.
No more rule —
Though in the times of the Ptolemeys, it was considerable, yet then, even then
it did not rule the nations about her.
Verse 16
[16] And
it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their
iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know
that I am the Lord GOD.
Which —
Which sinful reliance on the arm of flesh provoked God to call to mind their
other iniquities.
When —
When they forgot God, and respected Egypt.
They —
The house of Israel.
Verse 17
[17] And
it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the
first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
In the seven and twentieth year — Of Jeconiah's captivity, the year after the conquest of Tyre.
Verse 18
[18] Son
of man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service
against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled: yet had
he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served
against it:
Caused —
The army, and commanders were weary of the siege, but the immovable resolution
of the king kept them on.
A great service — It
was service to the justice of God. It was great service both for hardness of
work, heaviness of burdens, and length of the siege, thirteen years together.
Made bald —
Through age, or sicknesses, or continued wearing of helmets.
Peeled —
Galled with carrying burdens.
No wages —
For though Tyre was very rich, when first besieged, much wealth was carried
away during the siege, much spent and wasted in the siege, and what was left,
preserved by articles of surrender.
Verse 19
[19]
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her
spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.
Her multitude —
Common people, who shall be made captives, and servants or slaves.
Her prey —
What she had before taken from others.
The wages —
God will be behind-hand with none, who do any service for him; one way or other
he will recompence them. None shall kindle a fire at his altar for nought.
Verse 20
[20] I
have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it,
because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD.
They —
The Babylonians.
For me —
God's work was doing by them, tho' they thought nothing less.
Verse 21
[21] In
that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will
give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know
that I am the LORD.
The horn —
Jehoiakim, who was then advanced by Evil-Merodach.
The opening of the mouth — Thou shalt have liberty, to open thy mouth in comforting the good among
them, and to give praise to God.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Ezekiel》
29 Chapter 29
Verses 1-21
I Will bring again the Captivity of Egypt.
God’s dealings with heathen nations
1. The goodness and mercy of God extend to heathens. He hath a care
of them in their captivity, and after they have suffered His appointed time He
will show kindness to them.
2. The afflictions of nations and persons may be long, yet not
without end; they may suffer seven and seven years, yea, twenty, thirty, forty
years together, which is a long time, and then see an end of their sufferings.
3. God sometimes deals more favourably with heathens than with His
own people. “At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians,” but it was
the end of seventy years before He gathered the Jews out of Babylon: His own
people were thirty years, or near upon, longer under the Babylonish yoke than
the Egyptians. There was just cause for this; God’s people had sinned worse
than the heathens, and so provoked Him above them.
4. Nothing is too hard for God, or can hinder the fulfilling of His
will. The Egyptians were scattered among the nations, here a family and there a
family, and that forty years together; so mingled with the people of other
countries that they had well nigh forgotten Egypt, and had so drunk in the
manners and customs of the places where they lived that they were neutralised
thereunto; they were so rooted among the nations that it seemed impossible to
pluck them up, and plant them in their own countries; yet notwithstanding these
things, saith God, “I will gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were
scattered.” The Jews had lain longer n Babylon, and were like dry bones in the
grave, without hope (Ezekiel 37:11); but God made good His
word; He brought them out with a strong hand, breaking in pieces gates of
brass, and cutting in sunder bars of iron.
5. It is the same hand, the same God, that drives men out of their
countries and comforts, into deep and long afflictions abroad, and brings them
back out of the same, to enjoy their countries and comforts. (W. Greenhill,
M. A.)
Verses 17-20
Because they wrought for Me.
Service done for God rewarded
I. The disposal of
states and nations is the work of Divine providence.
1. Do we examine this dispensation in reference to the authority of
God? It is unquestionably His prerogative: He has a right to do what He will
with His own.
2. Do we consider it in connection with the Divine power? Nothing is
too hard for the Lord; no difficulties lie in His way.
3. Do we survey the relation it has to the righteousness of God? He
is the moral governor of the universe, “who renders to every man according to
their works.” Individuals can be rewarded or punished in another world; but
communities are judged only in this.
4. Do we think of it in application to our own times? Unless we fix
upon this principle we shall be in danger of debasing ourselves by joining in
worldly parties and political rage; of feeling too much confidence in one class
of men and too much fear of another; of prescribing the course of events, and
suffering disappointment and mortification when our favourite measures are
subverted.
II. Men may serve
God really when they do not serve Him by design. Nebuchadrezzar is called the
servant of God, as well as the Apostle Paul--but observe the difference between
them; and, as God will derive glory from all His creatures, inquire which of
these characters you are resembling. The former serves God, only from the
influence of an overruling Providence--the latter, from the operation of Divine
grace.
III. None can be
losers by anything they do for God. Even services done for Him by worldly men
obtain a temporal reward. The Egyptian females (Exodus 1:20-21). Jehu was a vain,
ostentatious, wicked prince, but “the Lord said unto Jehu,” etc. (2 Kings 10:30). So here, “I have
given Nebuchadrezzar the land of Egypt,” etc. This is indeed a poor recompense.
It may appear splendid and important in the eye of the vain and the sensual,
but the righteous are fax from envying it. Egypt was all the remuneration of
Nebuchadrezzar--and what could it do for him? What is it to him now? Ye
servants of the most high God, who know Him and love Him; He has provided some
better thing for you. He who noticed the hardships endured by the poor soldiers
before Tyre, when every head was bald and every shoulder peeled, will not
suffer you to labour in vain: He sees your difficulties; considers the burdens
under which you bend; He hears your groans, and your sighs--when without are
fightings, and within are fears. Is it a vain thing to serve the Lord? You will
find your reward in the very nature of your work; you will find it in the glow
of pleasure which attends virtuous exertion; you will find it in the approving
testimony of your own conscience; you will find it in the esteem of the wise
and good; you will find it in the blessing of them that were ready to perish;
you will find it in the applause of your Lord and Saviour--“Well done,” etc. (W.
Jay.)
Service for God always rewarded
1. This passage affords us a striking view of and insight into some
of the mysterious acts of God’s Providence. We behold how He can maintain His
throne in the midst of the commotions of the universe; that no earthquake,
throe, or agony in the terrestrial world can shake the foundations of its pillars
or remove it from its steadfastness; and as the Governor of the world, we are
struck with the harmony of all His actions, and the power whereby He extracts
the good from every ill! If the sins of nations or individuals were always
immediately followed with the punishment they merit, this world would not be a
state of probation; obedience would not be voluntary, but forced; we should
walk, not by faith, but by sight; we should not honour God by our confidence in
His perfections and in the dispensations of His Providence. To destroy is easy,
and discovers little perfection; it is the perfection of a tyrant. But the
wisdom of God appears in making even the wrath of man to praise, and engaging
that the remainder of that wrath He will restrain. This, then, is the plan upon
which He acts in the government of the world, and hence He is called a wise
Governor.
2. Behold an instance of the goodness and severity of God! Long did
He spare that rebellious nation, the Jews; often did He warn them, sending His
prophets to call them to a sense of their duty towards Him. But they steeled
their hearts against conviction, and would none of His advice. At last He
complains of them, they were like bullocks unaccustomed to the yoke; He fed
them at His own stall; He gave them His easy yoke of duties, which ought to
have been delightful, coming from so kind a hand; but, alas! they would not
draw it in by gentle treatment; He goaded them by corrections; they kicked
against the pricks, and ran back upon His chastisements; they were like a
backsliding heifer! But behold the severity of God! The cup of their iniquity
was full; Manasseh had greatly contributed to it; he had expressed a great
quantity of the roots of bitterness into their portion, and his successors
after him, with the exception of Josiah, added to it; till Zedekiah completed
the measure and drew down on them wrath to the very uttermost.
3. Service of any kind done for God never goes unrewarded. None can
be losers by anything they do for Him: in one way or other He will surely
recompense them. He is independent of the creature; the cause can never be
dependent on its effect; He could act both in the natural and moral world
without human agency; and doubtless He would have done so had it been as
agreeable to His wisdom as it was easy to His power. But where would be the
reward of the faithful steward? In the moral world the power which He
manifested on the day of Pentecost might be again exerted. But what room, then,
for the work of faith, the labour of love, and the patience of hope? (J.
Summerfield, M. A.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》