The Sword Of The King Of Babylon Is Against You

The Sword Of The King Of Babylon Is Against You

Would God be fair?

AS PART of God’s judgment on his people, King Nebuchadnezzar had brought Jewish exiles to Babylon in two separate deportations in 605 and 597 B.C. In August 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem. The exiles learned of this in January 585 B.C. Realizing that God really did exist and that Jerusalem had been destroyed just as God had foretold, the exiles no doubt wondered whether God would also judge the heathen nations as he had promised. The Egyptians in particular were no doubt gloating over the destruction of Jerusalem and what they perceived to be their own self-sufficiency and power.

Then on March 3, 585 B.C., the Lord sent a message for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to Ezekiel the prophet in Babylon (Ezekiel 32:1). God’s message, assuring the exiles that he would judge Egypt, came in the form of a funeral song that would be sung by all the nations at Egypt’s death (v. 16).

God said to Pharaoh:

You think of yourself as a strong young lion among the nations, but you are really just a sea monster, heaving around in your own rivers, stirring up mud with your feet.

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will send many people to catch you in my net and haul you out of the water. I will leave you stranded on the land to die. All the birds of the heavens will land on you, and the wild animals of the whole earth will gorge themselves on you. I will cover the hills with your flesh and fill the valleys with your bones. I will drench the earth with your gushing blood all the way to the mountains, filling the ravines to the brim. When I blot you out, I will veil the heavens and darken the stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give you its light. Yes, I will bring darkness everywhere across your land. Even the brightest stars will become dark above you. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!

And when I bring your shattered remains to distant nations that you have never seen, I will disturb many hearts. Yes, I will bring terror to many lands, and their kings will be terrified because of all I do to you. They will shudder in fear for their lives as I brandish my sword before them on the day of your fall.

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. I will destroy you with the swords of mighty warriors—the terror of the nations. They will shatter the pride of Egypt, and all its hordes will be destroyed. I will destroy all your flocks and herds that graze beside the streams. Never again will people or animals disturb those waters with their feet. Then I will let the waters of Egypt become calm again, and they will flow as smoothly as olive oil, says the Sovereign Lord. And when I destroy Egypt and wipe out everything you have and strike down all your people, then you will know that I am the Lord. (vv. 2-15)

God’s judgment fell on Egypt when Nebuchadnezzar invaded in approximately 568 B.C. Just as the Babylonians defeated Judah, they conquered Egypt twenty years later (29:12). God was just in all his dealings with the nations.

Reflection

The Jews exiled in Babylon needed reassurance that God would deal justly with Egypt just as he had with Israel. Do you ever question whether God is dealing justly with some of the world’s present nations? God may be patient with evil for a time, but there will be justice for all in the end.

The Lord is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness.

Psalm 98:9