Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 854. Bible Study: Ezekiel 29 (Future? Prophecy against Egypt)
Transcript
- 0:00We are now on chapter 29 from the book of Ezekiel, A prophecy
- 0:06against Egypt. First, let's pray Dear Lord,
- 0:10please help us understand this and help us to grasp what you
- 0:19want us to understand after we read this.
- 0:22And we we just need to have the Holy Spirit reveal to us the
- 0:29truth and we ask this in Jesus name.
- 0:32So when it comes to prophecy, it, it is challenging.
- 0:37And I really don't think that anyone who studies prophecy
- 0:41truly has a full comprehension on what is foretold because
- 0:47it's, there's enough of uncertainty about specific
- 0:54details more or less like the timeline of when it happens.
- 1:00It will happen someday, but we don't know exactly when it's
- 1:04going to happen. And there are people who talk
- 1:07about timelines and so they, you know, some can have very good
- 1:14insight and it's it is kind of helpful.
- 1:19And there are certainly signs in the news that biblically
- 1:26prophesied events look like they are ramping up and they appear
- 1:33to be tied to current events in the news.
- 1:37And if you are, if you don't see this or you don't believe this,
- 1:43I would suggest watching a couple videos, recent videos
- 1:47that Jack Hibbs from Calvary Chapel out in California did.
- 1:52It's called Real Life with Jack Hibbs.
- 1:55It's a great introduction. It's biblical prophecy.
- 1:58I think one O 1 and he, I've seen two of the episodes that he
- 2:04produced and they they are really good.
- 2:08The second one I and I pretty much agreed with everything he
- 2:12put forth. And I think it is true when we
- 2:16look at prophecy that our opinions can change on it.
- 2:19We can say that, well, I think this has already happened in the
- 2:22past because of this. But then when new information
- 2:26comes out or when we see something in the world, then
- 2:29we're like, I don't know if that really was the complete
- 2:31fulfillment. It looks like it might be
- 2:34something future that's coming. And, and I, I think people you
- 2:38know, who are studious with reading the Bible can have their
- 2:43opinions changed with new information that becomes
- 2:46available with, I mean, we're only as good as the information
- 2:50that we have. And then when future things
- 2:52happen, then it could change things we believed.
- 2:58So this is this is what Jack Hibbs was saying, is that when
- 3:04you're studying prophecy, you should have 3 buckets, past,
- 3:07present, and future. And when you look at the text,
- 3:10you need to put that text into one of those buckets to
- 3:13determine where it fits. And, and I agree with that.
- 3:17And he did say, you know, that can change.
- 3:19You know, as you read, as you study, as you get revelation
- 3:21from the Holy Spirit, you may change the bucket that you put
- 3:25it in. And I thought that was a great
- 3:26analogy of studying prophecy. And so I would recommend both of
- 3:31his videos. However, I want to say a
- 3:34cautionary thing because I don't ever like to take anybody's
- 3:39words out of context and I wish he would have elaborated a
- 3:43little bit more on this. In the second video, he
- 3:47basically said like prophecy has ceased, and I believe there are
- 3:53certain religious denominations that believe prophecy has
- 3:57ceased. I don't believe that because of
- 4:03what it says in the Bible. And so I, I would like to point
- 4:09out anytime I would disagree with anybody, it has to be based
- 4:12on Scripture. I do believe that any, you know,
- 4:18any kind of prophecy that would contradict the Bible is a false
- 4:22prophet. There's no question about that.
- 4:24The the Bible tells us that. So you have to be discerning
- 4:31with people who give prophetic words and I think there is a lot
- 4:37of abuse in that. And Jesus said there would be
- 4:39many false prophets. However, I believe that biblical
- 4:47truths can come to people through dreams, through the Holy
- 4:52Spirit, and they can foretell of events that will happen in the
- 4:58future. And sometimes they're symbolic.
- 5:00I mean, dreams happen throughout the Bible, but as it gets to
- 5:04prophecy ceasing, there's a couple verses in the Bible that
- 5:10contradict saying prophecy has ceased.
- 5:13And maybe if he would have expanded a little bit more and
- 5:18he would have not said prophecy has ceased because first of all,
- 5:25the gifts of the Spirit. So let's go to let's see now.
- 5:35OK, sorry. OK, gifts, gifts of the Spirit
- 5:38in first Corinthians 12 verse 8. This is written by Paul and it
- 5:44talks about to each OK, let's see.
- 5:49I guess I got need to scoot up. I'll just go to the very top of
- 5:52it. First Corinthians 12 verse one.
- 5:56Now about the gifts of the Spirit.
- 5:58Brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.
- 6:01You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you
- 6:05were influenced and LED astray to mute idols.
- 6:09Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by
- 6:13the Spirit of God says Jesus be cursed, and no one can say Jesus
- 6:19is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
- 6:22There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit just
- 6:26distributes them. There are different kinds of
- 6:29service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of
- 6:32working, but in all of them and in everyone, it is the same God
- 6:36at work. Now to each one the
- 6:39manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
- 6:44So when people are born again, the Holy Spirit gives gifts.
- 6:48The Holy Spirit decides what kind of gifts that he gives to a
- 6:51person. In verse 8 it says to one there
- 6:55is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a
- 6:58message of knowledge. By this that by means of the
- 7:02same spirit to another faith, by the same spirit to another gifts
- 7:08of healing, by that one spirit to another miraculous powers, to
- 7:13another prophecy to another, distinguishing between spirits,
- 7:19to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and still to
- 7:23another interpretation of the those tongues.
- 7:27All these are the work of 1 and the same Spirit, and He
- 7:31distributes them to each one just as he determines.
- 7:36So I believe the Holy Spirit is still active today, and I
- 7:40believe that when people become born again, the Holy Spirit
- 7:45gives them whatever gifts he thinks are appropriate.
- 7:49We have to remember verse 7 says they're given for the common
- 7:53good. So I believe that prophecy still
- 7:57does come to people. And then there are a couple more
- 8:00verses that talk about this in the Bible.
- 8:04Joel, who is a prophet, said, and this is a quote, this is
- 8:09actually from God speaking to him.
- 8:12Verse OK, Joel chapter 2, verse 28 And afterward I will pour out
- 8:19my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will
- 8:24prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, Your young men
- 8:31will see visions. Then in Acts, in Act 2 verse 17,
- 8:41it says in the last days, God says I will pour out my spirit
- 8:48on all people. Your sons and daughters will
- 8:51prophecy, your young men will see visions, your old men will
- 8:56dream dreams. And if you don't think that's
- 9:00happening to people, all you need to do is maybe search on
- 9:06YouTube because you will find that many people of all ages are
- 9:10having dreams and visions. And there is a common theme
- 9:18among these people. And they are all talking like
- 9:21the prophets of the past saying repent and turn to God and
- 9:27prepare yourself for the arrival of Jesus now.
- 9:33And everybody's kind of feeling a sense of urgency about this.
- 9:36And I didn't see this until like rather recently.
- 9:43It seems like a lot of people are doing that and they're also
- 9:45having visions of tribulation and, and I don't know.
- 9:49So there's a there's a lot that's happening right now.
- 9:52And we don't base our faith on someone else's dreams.
- 9:56Of course we don't. But to deny that those things
- 9:59happen today, I think that contradicts the Bible, at least
- 10:04the way I understand the Bible. So anyway, that's the only word
- 10:08of warning I would get. Other otherwise, everything that
- 10:11he said I agree with. And I see what exactly what he's
- 10:14saying. That was the one thing that
- 10:16stood out to me that I'm like, well, I don't know if I believe
- 10:19that. And that's what I mean He's,
- 10:22there's a lot of sound doctrine that comes from him.
- 10:26And then cause I've seen many of his videos.
- 10:29So I'm not trying to say anything negative.
- 10:33I'm just pointing out something that I disagree with.
- 10:38And whenever I recommend a video, it would be something
- 10:42that I would have watched. And I do compare everything.
- 10:45I don't care who it is and how respected they are.
- 10:48I will compare it with the Bible and I think we all should do
- 10:52that, no matter who it is and what is said, take it back to
- 10:55the Bible and pray about it too. So anyway, that was a little bit
- 10:59long there. So let's get into the Word of
- 11:03God Now. I would love to cover multiple
- 11:08chapters here because they're all about Egypt.
- 11:11And again, this is one that as I was reading it, I started
- 11:16thinking, this sounds like it's probably future prophecy, but it
- 11:21could be a little bit of both. It could be one of those types
- 11:25of prophecies where it has a partial, partial fulfillment in
- 11:28the past, but yet a future fulfillment also.
- 11:33And I'll point out as we go along where I see it being more
- 11:40like future. So OK, let's get started.
- 11:43In the 10th year, in the 10th month, on the 12th day, the word
- 11:47of the Lord came to me. Son of man, set your face
- 11:49against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophecy against him and
- 11:54against all Egypt. Speak to him and say, this is
- 11:58what the sovereign Lord says. I am against you, Pharaoh, king
- 12:03of Egypt, you great monster, lying among your streams.
- 12:09You say the Nile belongs to me. I made it for myself.
- 12:14But I will put hooks in your jaws and make your fish of your
- 12:17streams stick to your scales. I will pull you out from among
- 12:22the streams with all the fish sticking to your scales.
- 12:25I will leave you in the desert and leave you in the desert.
- 12:29You and all the fish of your streams.
- 12:31You will fall on the open field and not be gathered or picked
- 12:36up. I will give you as food to the
- 12:40beast of the earth and the birds of the sky.
- 12:44So I'll stop right there because that is something that happens
- 12:48during God's wrath. And, and so you can find that in
- 12:54Revelation 19 verse 17. Here's what it says.
- 12:59And I saw an Angel standing in the sun who cried out in a loud
- 13:03voice to all the birds flying in mid, mid air.
- 13:07Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you
- 13:12may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and and the mighty of
- 13:17horses, and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free
- 13:20and slave, great and small. And then it says, I mean, then
- 13:25it says, Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and
- 13:27their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on
- 13:33the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and
- 13:37with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its
- 13:39behalf. With these signs he had deluded
- 13:42those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its
- 13:46image. The two of them were thrown
- 13:48alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
- 13:52The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of
- 13:55the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on
- 13:59the flesh. So the sword coming out of the
- 14:03rider on the horse is actually Jesus.
- 14:06There's another reference to him where it describes him as this.
- 14:10So this would be very similar to, you know, maybe it happened
- 14:16partially, but this is kind of what he says about the end
- 14:20times. And then Ezekiel 3917 also says
- 14:25the Son of Man. This is what the Sovereign Lord
- 14:27says. Call out to every kind of bird
- 14:30and all the wild animals assemble and come together from
- 14:34all around to the sacrifice. I am preparing for you, the
- 14:38great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel.
- 14:41There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
- 14:43You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the
- 14:47Princess of the earth, as if they were Rams and lambs, goats
- 14:51and bulls, all of them fattened animals from Vashon at the
- 14:57sacrifice I am preparing for you.
- 14:59You will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you
- 15:03are drunk at my table. You will eat your fill of horses
- 15:07and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind, declares
- 15:10the Sovereign Lord. I will display my glory among
- 15:13the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I
- 15:16inflict and the hand I laid on them.
- 15:19From that day forward, the people of Israel will know that
- 15:22I am the Lord their God, and the nations will know that the
- 15:27people of Israel went into exile for their sin because they were
- 15:31unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and
- 15:35handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by
- 15:38the sword. I dealt with them according to
- 15:40their uncleanness and their offenses.
- 15:42I hid my face from them. Therefore, this is what the
- 15:46Sovereign Lord says. I will restore the fortunes of
- 15:49Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and
- 15:54I will be zealous for my holy name.
- 15:58They will forget their shame in all their unfaithfulness they
- 16:01showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land, with no
- 16:05one to make them afraid. When I have brought them back
- 16:08from the nations and have gathered them from the countries
- 16:11of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the
- 16:15sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am
- 16:19the Lord their God. For though I sent them into
- 16:22exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land,
- 16:26not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide my face
- 16:30from them, for I will pour out my spirit on the people of
- 16:34Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.
- 16:37So here again, we see God when this happens in the very end, I
- 16:43guess right before the millennial reign, God's Spirit
- 16:47is being will be poured out on all the people and they're not
- 16:50going to have a question about who God is.
- 16:53They're not going to question Jesus.
- 16:54Their eyes will be open because the Holy Spirit will show them
- 16:59that this is the truth. So anyway, this this little
- 17:05verse 5 in chapter 29 talks about the beasts of the earth
- 17:10and the birds of the sky not being gathered or picked up and
- 17:13they're giving us food. And it says right after that in
- 17:17verse 6, then all who live in Egypt will know that I am the
- 17:21Lord. It just very much sounds the
- 17:23same to me. You have been a staff of Reed
- 17:27for the people of Israel. When they grasp you with their
- 17:30hands, you splintered and you tore open their shoulders.
- 17:33When they leaned on you, you broke their back.
- 17:36You broke and their backs were wrenched.
- 17:38Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says.
- 17:40I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast.
- 17:46Egypt will become a desolate wasteland.
- 17:50Then they will know that I am the Lord, because you said the
- 17:54Nile is mine. I made it.
- 17:56Therefore, I'm against you and against your streams, and I will
- 18:00make the land of Egypt a rune and a desolate waste.
- 18:05From MGD to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush, the foot of
- 18:11neither man nor beast will pass through it.
- 18:15No one will live there for 40 years.
- 18:20So when I read that, OK, I will make the land of Egypt desolate
- 18:24among devastated lands, and her cities will lie desolate 40
- 18:28years among rune cities, and I will disperse the Egyptians
- 18:33among the nations and scatter them through the countries.
- 18:37So this is exactly what God did to Israel and he's saying he's
- 18:43going to do this to Egypt also. And so I was curious that like,
- 18:49when was Egypt desolate for 40 years?
- 18:55That's what I was wondering and and that's what I searched and
- 19:00what I found was I don't know, I did this a day ago and so I'm
- 19:07not finding where I have that. But what I found was that there
- 19:13was no OK this is what. When were Egyptians dispersed
- 19:17from Egypt? Based on historical and
- 19:19archaeological records, there was no single mass or permanent
- 19:24dispersal of the indigenous Egyptian population from Egypt
- 19:29in antique antiquity. Instead, the country experienced
- 19:34various periods of foreign rule, rule Assyrian, Persian or which
- 19:39is modern day Iran, Greek, which I think is also like Yevon,
- 19:46which is like modern day Turkey or part of it, Roman and Arab
- 19:50beginning around 525 BCE, which resulted in the political rather
- 19:56than demographic end of the Egyptian power.
- 20:01So. And it says like 20th century
- 20:06forgotten exodus following the 1956 Suez, Suez Crisis and the
- 20:11rise of nationalist policies under President Nassar, a large
- 20:17portion of Egypt, foreign residents, including many Jews,
- 20:20Greeks and Italians were forced to leave or fled the country.
- 20:24So that could perhaps be in the 1950s and 1960s.
- 20:29But since the 1950s or 1960s, was it desolate with no man and
- 20:36no beast for 40 years? I don't think so.
- 20:41And at least I'm not finding it. I mean, I haven't lived forever,
- 20:45so I don't know if there was a period of time, but at least
- 20:48what I'm finding and searching for this, it says that there's
- 20:52no record of that. So therefore I would believe
- 20:56that this is a future prophecy. So that means there's going to
- 20:59be a time period when Egypt is going to be decimated.
- 21:03And we look at all the stuff that's happening in the Middle
- 21:06East right now and all these allies and this friction.
- 21:09I mean, there always has been. So at any moment in history,
- 21:13this could eventually come together.
- 21:15But when you start, we're going to get to names of countries
- 21:20coming up and you'll notice that the these are all like kind of
- 21:25allied today. And so everybody is watching and
- 21:28they're all watching because of Bible prophecy.
- 21:33And the significance of this is to take the Bible seriously and
- 21:38to, to truly repent and turn to Christ, like turn away from sin.
- 21:45You want to be prepared. If this is happening right now,
- 21:50it may come on sudden. And there may be, I mean, when
- 21:54we're talking about Egypt being completely devastated, then we,
- 21:59we don't know when our last day is.
- 22:02So it's very foolish to think I have more time.
- 22:06I can deal with this later. No, deal with it now.
- 22:10And that is a wise thing to do. But of course, you can do
- 22:14whatever you want. But when you start seeing things
- 22:17like this, like what the Bible's talking about happening in your
- 22:20news, then it's not a time to be careless with your with God and
- 22:30your relationship with God. So anyway, verse 13 from chapter
- 22:3729 in an Ezekiel. Yet this is what the sovereign
- 22:40Lord says. At the end of the 40 years, I
- 22:43will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were
- 22:45scattered. I will bring them back from
- 22:48captivity and return them to Upper Egypt, the land of their
- 22:53ancestry. There they will be a lowly
- 22:56Kingdom. It will be the lowliest of
- 22:58kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the other
- 23:03nations. I will make it so weak that it
- 23:06will never again rule over nations.
- 23:09Egypt will no longer be a source of confidence for the people of
- 23:13Israel, but will be a reminder of their sin in turning to her
- 23:18for help. Then they will know that I am
- 23:21the sovereign Lord. So we can see right here that
- 23:23God's just not happy about Israel going to Egypt for help,
- 23:27which they did historically. Historically many times.
- 23:30He wants people to rely on Him. So OK, then there's like verse
- 23:3617. This is where people may get
- 23:41confused with the prophecy because then it starts talking
- 23:45about Nebuchadnezzar. Like it names Nebuchadnezzar
- 23:48king of Babylon. Well, he was here on earth at a
- 23:51certain time, so that would be passed.
- 23:55And if you associate it with the preceding part that I just read,
- 24:02then you would think, oh, these all this all goes together
- 24:05because it's all in the same chapter.
- 24:07But what you should pay attention to is the timing that
- 24:12he gives Ezekiel. He says in the 27th year, in the
- 24:17first month, on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me.
- 24:22So this is, you know, when he, the prior passage that I read
- 24:28was in the 10th year, this one is in the 27th year.
- 24:34So you have a 17 year gap between and, and that's what,
- 24:39you know, like God can give like a vision of something and then a
- 24:43vision of something else. And it doesn't necessarily mean
- 24:46that they're related. Or he could speak about one
- 24:49thing and then now he's speaking about another thing.
- 24:51And that's how prophecy can be confusing because you, you if
- 24:56you're not reading it carefully, then you'll just read through it
- 24:59and think, oh, this all applies together.
- 25:01And he's talking about the king of Nebuchadnezzar, king of
- 25:03Babylon. So that was a long time ago that
- 25:06all happened. But when you look into it, you
- 25:08see that no, you know, there's these are two separate visions
- 25:12are words from God. And the what I just read does
- 25:17not seem like it happened yet. So it should be future.
- 25:20Now. This one seems like it is past.
- 25:24Here's what it says. Verse 17 In the 27th year, in
- 25:28the first month, on the first day, the word of the Lord came
- 25:31to me. Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, king
- 25:34of Babylon, drove his army in a hard campaign against Tyre.
- 25:40Every head was rubbed bare and every shoulder made raw.
- 25:44Yet he and his army got no reward from the campaign he led
- 25:48against Tyre. Therefore, this is what the
- 25:52sovereign Lord says. I am going to give Egypt to
- 25:55Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will carry off its
- 25:59wealth. He will pull, he will loot and
- 26:02plunder the land as pay for his army.
- 26:05I have given him Egypt as a reward for his efforts, because
- 26:10he and his army did it for me, declares the Sovereign Lord.
- 26:15On that day I will make a horn grow for the Israelites, and I
- 26:20will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am
- 26:26the Lord. Now a little bit later in
- 26:29several chapters there, it does talk about his mouth opening,
- 26:37like Ezekiel's mouth opening and I can't remember because I read
- 26:40a head and that so that later happens.
- 26:44But this, this verse 21, I don't fully understand it.
- 26:50On that day I will make a horn grow for the Israelites and I
- 26:55will open your mouth among them. I'm going to have to remember
- 26:57that when we get to the next later chapter that talks about
- 27:02when Ezekiel's mouth is opened again, then they will know that
- 27:06I am the Lord. So a horn is just representative
- 27:10of strength or power. And we see the horns represented
- 27:14in the Book of Revelation as well.
- 27:15So the horns that are referenced there are are powers, you know,
- 27:19it's power and strength and it could represent kings and
- 27:22kingdoms. So it's a very consistent theme
- 27:29in the Bible when horn is used. So that is actually the end of
- 27:34chapter 29. And I'll read the questions and
- 27:38answers and then stop this podcast because it's already
- 27:42long enough, and then to move on to the next chapter.
- 27:47So the 10th year of what? This was the beginning of how he
- 27:51started the prophecy. So this is probably a reference
- 27:54either to the 10th year of exile or to the 10th year of Ezekiel's
- 27:59prophetic ministry. It was typical at that time to
- 28:02date events by linking them to the reign of a king or to an
- 28:06incident of major proportion. What was this quote?
- 28:10Great monster? Ezekiel borrowed the image of a
- 28:13crocodile sunning on the banks of the Nile to describe
- 28:17Pharaoh's self assurance. Surrounded by water and desert,
- 28:20Egypt seemed safe from foreign invasion.
- 28:24Pharaoh, the powerful leader of a powerful country, was like a
- 28:27confident crocodile, a great monster.
- 28:30What were these hooks? Fish hooks were literally used
- 28:33in ancient times to lead prisoners into captivity.
- 28:37By inserting fish hooks into their jaws or noses and
- 28:42attaching the hooks to strong lines, 1 soldier could lead many
- 28:47prisoners into captivity. What does fish sticking to your
- 28:52scales mean? God was mocking Pharaoh as a
- 28:55ruler who believed that he created the great Nile River.
- 28:59Pharaoh was like a great crocodile with fish stuck to his
- 29:04scales. God would pull out of the Nile
- 29:07and it's streams, the Nile Delta, the crocodile, Egypt and
- 29:11the fish sticking to its scales. Either territories conquered by
- 29:15Egypt or Egypt's mercenaries. God would leave them in the
- 29:19desert where they would rot in the sun and be devoured by
- 29:24animals. What had Pharaoh done to Israel?
- 29:28It was on the strength of Egypt's promise of military aid
- 29:33that Judah called. The people of Israel had
- 29:35rebelled against Babylon, but Egypt failed to deliver.
- 29:40Ezekiel described Pharaoh's treachery as a staff of Reed.
- 29:44One could trust a wooden staff, but not a Reed from the Egyptian
- 29:49marshlands. Put your weight on a Reed and it
- 29:51will break, either poking your skin or wrenching your back.
- 29:55Judah leaned on Egypt, only to regret it later.
- 30:00Why give the Egyptians special treatment?
- 30:03We can't be certain why God spared Egypt from the
- 30:05destruction he brought on other nations.
- 30:07Perhaps he was lenient with Egypt because it had spared
- 30:11Israel and Joseph's day, or because it offered refuge to
- 30:15Israelites fleeing from the Babylonian invasion.
- 30:19Though God spared Egypt, he nonetheless judged Egypt,
- 30:24removing its power and grandeur. And it also sounds like he
- 30:30didn't really spare them because they're going to be like food
- 30:33for the birds. So I don't think he really did.
- 30:36But they're, you know, he did let some of them escape.
- 30:41And you know, it could, it could be people's hearts that you know
- 30:45what God knows He created everyone, so he knows people's
- 30:49hearts. How?
- 30:50OK, so how was every head rubbed bare and every shoulder made
- 30:55raw? This may refer to extending the
- 30:59extended rubbing of helmets on their heads and the weight of
- 31:02military equipment on their shoulders over the 13 year
- 31:05campaign against Tyre. Or it may have been an idiom of
- 31:10that time used to express absolute exhaustion, similar to
- 31:14today when someone says I'm beat.
- 31:18So why didn't Nebuchadnezzar get anything from Tyre?
- 31:21Although Nebuchadnezzar conquered the mainland portion
- 31:25of Tyre in 572 BC, the people of Tyre retreated to the island
- 31:30portion of the city and remained there until the exhausted
- 31:33Babylonians left thirteen years later with nothing to show for
- 31:37their efforts. So again, this further supports
- 31:41the fact that Tyre has not been destroyed completely like we
- 31:45were reading in the prior chapters.
- 31:49So why did God say Nebuchadnezzar had conquered
- 31:52lands for him? God used the wicked
- 31:55Nebuchadnezzar as his unwitting servant to punish Judah, taking
- 32:00God's people into exile to purge them from their wicked ways.
- 32:04What kind of horn would grow in Israel?
- 32:07Horns symbolize strength and power.
- 32:11Mature, strong animals were ranked according to the size of
- 32:14their horns. The promise reassured Ezekiel
- 32:18that his prophecy was strong and would be fulfilled.
- 32:21Strength and honor would be restored to Israel.
- 32:25OK, that could very well be on that day.
- 32:29I just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
- 32:30But on that day I will make a horn grow.
- 32:34It says on that day, I don't know, it might mean something
- 32:40else too. I mean, when I first read it, I
- 32:43just thought that on that day there was going to be some
- 32:46powerful person, maybe that grew out of it for the Israelites,
- 32:52but I don't know, that would be my interpretation from that.
- 32:56But when God gives people words and visions, you know it's and
- 33:03there there is some consistency you see throughout the Bible
- 33:07that you can find that you kind of start to understand the
- 33:12symbolism that is used in dreams.
- 33:15But then other times you don't like, for example, we're going
- 33:18to see this a little bit later in a few chapters in the book of
- 33:21Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a big tree and
- 33:28Daniel prayed about it. He asked God for the
- 33:30interpretation and he received the interpretation.
- 33:35Nebuchadnezzar was that tree. Now we're going to see a
- 33:39reference to trees in a few chapters from now and which made
- 33:44me think about all the trees in the Bible.
- 33:47And I might do a separate podcast on that because it's
- 33:49really interesting because the type of tree has a significance
- 33:55when you start looking and searching a specific tree type
- 33:59it, it means the same thing throughout the text.
- 34:03And there's a purpose in it. It's not just a random tree
- 34:06that's named. There's there's something that
- 34:10is important to know. So like I said, that would be
- 34:13there's so many different trees that that'll be a separate
- 34:15podcast. But it was very interesting when
- 34:18I discovered that last night. So anyway, we will wrap up this
- 34:23chapter. If you're not subscribed, please
- 34:25do so please share this if you found it beneficial.
- 34:27Thank you.