Pride and Disobedience Caused Egypt's Captivity

 

Ezekiel 30

Egypt To Fall To Babylon

photo source: Clipart Gallery 

22 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand.  

25 So I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fail. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he reaches out with it against the land of Egypt. (NASB)

CONTEXT:

        These words were given by God to Prophet Ezekiel during the time when Israelites were captives of Babylon. Going back to the chapters ahead of Ezekiel 30, we'll know that God made Israelites, His cherished people, be captives of Babylon because of the iniquities and betrayal they committed against Him. God was deeply hurt which made Him come to a decision to punish His people and sent them to be captives of Babylon.

        Egypt entered the story when they meddled in the will of the Lord, the siege of Babylon in Israel, they sent help to the Israelites to fight against the siege. They came with a heart of pride claiming that the strength and blessings they possess came from no one but them (Ezekiel 29:9-10). Thus, this hardened the heart of The Lord which resulted punishment for them, that they will also fall into captivity of Babylon.

REALIZATION:

1. Do not go against the will of The Lord
2. Do not take pride of everything we have today

  

1.  Do not go against the will of The Lord because HIs will is greater than our will, as Jeremiah 29:11 says: 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares The Lord. 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'

    Just like the Israelites, we sometimes think that the difficulties we are experiencing today is because God turned His back on us, most of the time we tend to ask for help from other people just so we can continue on going on our own ways and disobey God. We fail to realize the sovereignty of God, that He is in control and in fact, He will never leave us (Psalm 94:14)

         Hence, however difficult it is, God has designed our path for our prosperity, we just have to hold on and have faith on Him, remember that good things comes to those who trust in Him.

 2. Do not take pride of everything we have today because Psalm 10:4 says: 'In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him, in all his thoughts there is no room for God.' God despises pride because it is making us distant from Him. Pride distorts our relationship with Him because it is the weapon of the enemy that enables them to pull us away from The Lord. The more we take pride, the more we disobey and the more we disobey, the more we ruin our relationship with God.

     And what happens next when a person continues on disobeying God? He will become like the Israelites, he will stop listening to Him, and he will stop communicating with Him. As an effect he will fall in the trap of the enemy and perhaps later blame The Lord for the consequences of his choices.

    In all times, let's practice humility and giving thanks to God in everything He is giving us, humble ourselves before our Creator.

PRAYER: 

            Lord, we thank You for today's realization, that You are in control and that You despises pride and disobedience. Lead and soften our hearts in obedience to Your will. Open our ears to listen to your voice. Use us to be an instrument of sharing the truth about You in words and action. May we never forget the salvation you have given us through Jesus Christ alone. Amen.