“Why the Decline?” – FBC Morning Light (8/29/2024)

Well, a good Thursday morning to you. Today in our Bible reading, we're in Ezekiel chapter 29, as well as Jeremiah 33 and 34.

And I want to zero in on Ezekiel 29 and focus on the nation of Egypt.

Now, when you think of Egypt, what do you think of today? You think of the pyramids, you think of the Sphinx, you think it might be an interesting place to go visit someday, maybe.

You think of the Nile River, probably think of the Suez Canal. Yeah, there are things that come to mind.

But what doesn't come to mind, at least doesn't come to my mind, is we don't think of Egypt as being one of the world's superpowers.

In fact, I did a little checking to see, you know, where does Egypt rank in terms of world powers?

And it's interesting, because a few years ago, it ranked number nine. At the beginning of 2021,

I think it was, it was ranked number 12. In 2022, it was ranked 13th.

And January of this year, it was ranked 15th in terms of military power in the world.

Now, that's still formidable, because there are a whole bunch of nations that fall far below 15.

But nevertheless, when you think of ancient Egypt, though, you think of the number one superpower.

I mean, in the times of the earlier pharaohs and the dominion, the dominance that Egypt had over the entire

Mediterranean world, Eastern Mediterranean world, it was the superpower.

But it is no more. I mean, it's a very powerful nation in its region, but it's not what it once was.

Why is that? Why is that? Well, we might argue, well, that's just the way things go in the world.

Nations come, nations go, they rise to power, they lose their power. But why?

Why? Is it all simply a matter of human explanation?

Well, in Ezekiel 29, verses 14 to 16, we find that in the case of Egypt, it is because of God's decree.

So chapter 29 really is a proclamation against Egypt, and the Lord says in verse 3,

I am against you, O pharaoh, king of Egypt, O great monster who lies in the midst of the rivers, who has said,

My river is my own, I have made it for myself. What pride, what arrogance, what typical behavior on the part of dominant leaders in nations in this world.

But the Lord says, I will put hooks in your jaws and cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales.

I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, and all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales. I will leave you in the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers, you shall fall in the open field.

You shall not be picked up or gathered. I have given you as food to the beasts of the field and to the birds of the heavens.

And the Lord says, Egypt is going to lose its status as the superpower that it was because God's bringing judgment upon Egypt.

And so when we get down to verses 14 and following, the Lord promises that He's going to bring some restoration to Egypt, but listen to what

He says. He says, at the end of 40 years, I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered.

I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom.

There'll be a lowly kingdom. It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms. It shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.

And so it is still to this day. Egypt does not rule over the nations of the world and even the nations of the region.

And then the Lord says this, and here's the point of it all. No longer shall it be, no longer shall

Egypt be the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turn to follow them.

Then they shall know that I am the Lord God. So there's a multidimensional problem here.

Egypt was powerful and Israel was diminished in power, and when

Israel felt threatened, they would run to Egypt for help instead of turning to the Lord in repentance and faith, asking for God to deliver them and finding

God faithful to do so. Instead of trusting in God, they turned to Egypt for help. Well, the

Lord says, Egypt is not going to be able to help you. In fact, I'm going to bring Egypt to destruction and they're going to be a lowly country.

And he does so using the Babylonians. We're going to see more of that tomorrow. But the point

I want us to get today is that Egypt is where she is today, a lesser power than she was a few thousand years ago.

Because of God's decree and God's judgment. And even still to this day,

Israel does not put their confidence in Egypt, not at all.

In fact, Israel doesn't look to Egypt for military alliance and help and deliverance at all.

They can enter into alliances and that helps strengthen the region. But that's not the security of Israel is not found in Egypt.

They're not looking to Egypt for help. All right. And why is that? Again, because God decreed it so.

Our Father and our God, we thank you for your power and your authority. We thank you that you rule over the nations.

And Lord, Egypt even stands today as a reminder of who you are.

And it should cause us to know that you are the Lord God. You alone are the

Lord God. Help us to remember that today. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. All right.