Ezekiel 30 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application

Ezekiel 30 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The date of the prophecy in Ezekiel 30 is given to us in verse 20, the 11th year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, 586 BC.

• Below is a list of kings of Judah and dates for their reign:

  • Amon (642-640 BC)

  • Josiah (640-609 BC)

  • Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum, 609 BC)

  • Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)

  • Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)

  • Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)

WHAT WE STUDIED PREVIOUSLY

• Ezekiel 1 – Ezekiel had a vision of 4 living creatures, 4 wheels, and God’s throne.

• Ezekiel 2 – God commissioned Ezekiel to be a prophet to his rebellious countrymen.

• Ezekiel 3 – The end of the heavenly vision. Ezekiel ate a scroll of God’s words, and God called him to be a watchman over the people of Judah.

• Ezekiel 4 – Ezekiel prophesies with an object lesson in the street by laying on his side for 430 days, eating rations of bread, and creating a siege scene with a brick that represents Jerusalem.

• Ezekiel 5 – After the 430 days, Ezekiel cut off his hair divided it up into 3 parts and used it as a symbol for what would happen to the people of Jerusalem.

• Ezekiel 6 – Ezekiel prophesies against the idol worshipers in Judah, telling them their bodies will be thrown at the feet of their powerless gods.

• Ezekiel 7 – God spoke to Ezekiel about the day of His judgement. The end was near for the citizens of Jerusalem, and their doom was on the horizon.

• Ezekiel 8 – Ezekiel saw a vision of the Temple in Jerusalem. God guided him through the courts and gates of the Temple and showed him the secret idolatries that filled God’s house.

• Ezekiel 9 – God sends a man with a writing case to mark the foreheads of those who hated the idolatries of Judah. Afterwards, God sends 6 executioners to kill everyone in Jerusalem who didn’t have the mark.

• Ezekiel 10 – God’s glory departed the inner sanctuary of the Temple and ascended to His throne carried by the 4 living creatures.

• Ezekiel 11 – God announced judgement on the wicked rulers of Judah. They thought they were safe in Jerusalem, like meat in a cauldron, but God promised to bring them out for death and captivity. At the end of the chapter, God spoke of a future day, when He would regather a remnant of His people and give them a new heart and new spirit.

• Ezekiel 12 – Ezekiel prophesied about the downfall of King Zedekiah by carrying his possessions out of his house as if he were going into exile. God promised that His judgement was near, and anyone who suggested otherwise would be put to shame.  

• Ezekiel 13 – God confronted the false prophets and sorceresses amongst the people of Judah. The false prophets falsely claimed to speak with the authority of God, and the sorceresses hunted the souls of God’s people through witchcraft and divination.

• Ezekiel 14 – God condemned the elders of Judah who harbored love for idols in their hearts. He told Ezekiel Jerusalem would not be spared even if righteous men like Noah, Daniel, and Job lived there.

• Ezekiel 15 – God compared the citizens of Jerusalem to useless vine wood that was good for nothing except to burn.

• Ezekiel 16 – God compared his people to a young woman who he had raised and cared for. When she grew up, she turned her back on God and prostituted herself with foreign nations and idols.

• Ezekiel 17 – Ezekiel spoke a parable to the people of Judah about two great eagles. The parable indicated that the King of Judah would betray Babylon and be uprooted by them.

• Ezekiel 18 – The people of Judah were accusing God of punishing them for the sins of their ancestors. God clarified that each man was responsible and would be held accountable only for his own sins.

• Ezekiel 19 – God lamented the unfaithfulness of His people through two laments, the lament of the lion cubs and the lament of the vine.

• Ezekiel 20 - The elders of Israel wanted to consult with God, but God refused them based on their continual and cyclical rebellion against His laws. God spoke of His future judgement on Judah and His future grace that would restore the nation.

• Ezekiel 21 – Ezekiel spoke of the sword of the Lord that God had sharpened to punish Judah. The king of Babylon stood at a fork in the road, and God was going to direct him and his army to Jerusalem.

• Ezekiel 22 – God condemned Judah for a litany of sins and their total neglect of any attempt to keep His commands. He told them He would melt them down like metal within the furnace of Jerusalem.

• Ezekiel 23 – God illustrated the unfaithfulness of Israel and Judah with a story about two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah.

• Ezekiel 24 – God compared Jerusalem to a corroded pot that would be emptied and melted down. In the second half of the chapter, Ezekiel’s wife died, and God instructed him not to mourn for her publicly as a sign of the fate of the citizens of Jerusalem and their beloved city.

• Ezekiel 25 – God prophesied against Ammon, Edom, Seir, Moab, and the Philistines.

• Ezekiel 26 - God prophesied against the city of Tyre. God was going to judge them by bringing the nations against them and destroying them. Babylon would attack first, followed by the Greeks under the command of Alexander the Great (332 BC). 

• Ezekiel 27 – God described the downfall of the city of Tyre. His judgement on them was going to take them from the mountain of wealth, power, and influence, down to obscurity in the depth of the sea, never to rise again.

• Ezekiel 28 - God rebuked the king of Tyre, because in his pride, he elevated himself to the status of a God. Some believe the language is comparing the downfall of Tyre’s king to the fall of Satan. God promised to restore Judah, but Tyre would never be restored.

• Ezekiel 29 - A prophecy against Egypt and the pride of Pharaoh. Pharaoh was like a dragon in the Nile, but God would draw him out with a hook and cast him into the desert. God would humble Egypt to a lowly nation and give them over to the Babylonians.

OUTLINE:

• EGYPT’S DOOM ON THE DAY OF THE LORD (30:1-19):

  • Ezekiel was told to prophesy about the “day of the Lord” against Egypt.

  • On that day, Egypt would be in anguish. Her foundations would be torn up and her wealth carried away.

  • Egypt’s pride would fall and her allies would fall with it.

  • God had appointed the Babylonians, under the command of Nebuchadnezzar, to be His sword against Pharaoh.

  • The land of Egypt would be full of slain bodies, the Nile would be dried up, and God would put an end to the idolatry in the land.

  • God’s anger would be directed at prominent cities, including Memphis, Migdol, On, Pathros, Zoan, Thebes, and others.

  • When God executed His judgement against Egypt, He said, “Then they will know that I am the Lord” (30:19).

• PHARAOH’S BROKEN ARM (30:20-26):

  • God was going to brake Pharaoh’s arm and make His sword fall from His hand.

  • In contrast, God was going to strengthen the arm of the king of Babylon and give him His own sword.

  • God said, “I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (30:26).

APPLICATION:

• What are some ways that God might break the arm of a nation? This remains relevant when we think about modern politics, foreign policy, and national strength.

• God could lay the groundwork to bring down a nation years in advance. He could install weak leadership, cause a downturn in a country’s economy limiting their ability to prepare for war, allow Satan’s influences to feminize the masculine population of a nation, or bring about a decades long string of events that drains the citizens of patriotism and fighting spirit.  

• It’s also possible for God to break a nation’s arm in the moment of combat. He could blind a nation to the warning signs of a surprise attack, give the enemy army a topographical advantage on the battlefield, affect weather to favor an outcome, influence a general to make a strategic mistake, cause an army to lose courage, or empower the opposing army with superior strategy, zeal, or weaponry.

• National news outlets always report the outcome of war as a series of secular choices, military strategy, and government foreign policy.

• It’s interesting that the Bible generally refers to the outcome of war as a decision made by God.