A LAMENTATION FOR PHARAOH AND FOR EGYPT He ended his prophecies on the Pharaoh of Egypt by a bitter lamentation for him, and by another for his multitude who fell by the sword among the uncircumcised; His mighty men collapsed together with the nations that leaned on him. 1- A lamentation for the Pharaoh of Egypt 1-10 . 2- A lamentation for Pharaoh’s multitudes 11-16. 3- A lamentation for Pharaoh together with the nations 17-32. 1- A LAMENTATION FOR THE PHARAOH OF EGYPT The final lamentation started for Pharaoh, followed for his multitude, then for the nations following his example or leaning on him. This lamentation came two months after the prophet and the captives got the news of the occupation of Jerusalem. The lamentation started as such: “He said to him: ‘You are like a young lion among the nations, And you are like a monster (crocodile) in the seas”(Ez 32:2). He thought of himself as a lion protecting the nations against the king of Babylon. And he did not realize that he is just a crocodile confined within his river; who is not capable of coming out of Egypt to save Jerusalem or any other nation from the hand of the king of Babylon. Assuming that he is capable of saving, he provoked the king of Judah; yet when Jerusalem was besieged, he could not save it. He turned out as one who troubles the water with his feet; he would not have rest, and would not let others have rest. This is “the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers” (Ez 32:2). In chapter 29, the great monster boasted saying: “The river is mine and, I have made it” (Ez 29:3, 9). That haughty spirit did not only destroy that monster, but also destroyed the fish that stuck to his scales. He burst forth with the rivers of his pride over the rivers of others, and troubled their waters with his feet (Ez 32:2). That is why his judgment became great and bitter, that brought death also to others. God spread His net to draw in it that monster together with the fish (the many nations) that follow his lead, or those sticking to his scales (32:3; 29:4). The Lord’s chastisements are: a- He again mentions the same punishment that came in chapter 29. He will bring him out of the midst of his rivers, the object of his pride and haughtiness; He will cast him on the dry ground to die together with the fish stuck to him; and will let him be prey to the birds of heaven and the beasts of the field. b- That monster, having been proud of his river, and what it brings of flood that gives fertility to the land, and riches to his person. Instead of the flood of water, “God will water the land with the flow of the monster’s blood, even to the mountains, and the riverbeds will be full of it “(Ez 32:6). Pride will turn the water into a flow of the blood of the proud, that carries a smell of death that will disgust everyone: the high mountains and the low riverbeds. Instead of the words of boasting that would draw many to take refuge in him, the smell of death would come out to disgust everyone from him. c- Losing its blood, that great monster will be transformed into a corrupt corpse cast on the mountains and in the waterbeds. After assuming to be the support for others, he turns into a corrupt burden, something that all wish to get rid of. God will turn him and those around him into captives in countries they have not known (Ez 32:9). d- It will not stop at his perdition, and that of the nations under his protection; at 5 turning the water of the river into deadly blood; at turning him into a corrupt corpse, that the mountains and waterbeds wish to get rid of. But the activity of his pride will reach up to the sun, the moon, and the other stars; being said: “‘When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven I will make dark over you, and bring darkness on your land,’ Says the Lord God”(Ez 32:7, 8). It is a bitter portrait of the sign of the end, as proclaimed by the Lord Christ Himself (Mat 24:29), and of the signs of the antichrist (Rev 8:12). It is as though the judgment of the proud man, is but a pledge of the great tribulation, and a shadow of the era of the antichrist! What are these heavens that its light is covered, but man’s loss of every heavenly thought, and every taste of the eternal life?! What are these stars that darken, but the inner spiritual energies and the senses of the body?! Instead of being the cause of inner enlightenment by the Holy Spirit, it turns into a source of darkness and perdition of the soul. Covering the sun with clouds, implies that the soul will see her Christ - the Sun of Righteousness - no more, to give her light. The moon not giving its light, implies that the Church life with its worship and preaching, will have no more effect on man. As to the land on which darkness prevails, that is the body of man, instead of being a holy temple, enlightened by the Lord, it would become a place for darkness. In short, pride would utterly destroy man; would let him lose Christ, Sun of Righteousness Sun of Righteousness; and the Church, the shining moon. It would destroy his inner energies, corrupt his heart and body; and darken all his thoughts. Heaven and earth, would become dark to him; the sun and the moon would be as though they do not exist; and the stars would fall down in him. e- Before that overall desolation of the soul and the body, as well as of the mind and the heart, a state of terror and trembling would prevail over the other nations and their kings: “Yes, I will make many peoples astonished at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid of you when I brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall” (Ez 32:10). The perdition of the proud terrifies the hearts of sinners; as they feel that their judgment drew near. 2-A LAMENTATION FOR PHARAOH’S MULTITUDE Chastisement will not stop at Pharaoh, but will reach to his multitude, which would fall by the swords of mighty warriors like the king of Babylon. The pride of Pharaoh, his multitudes, and even his animals will shake. If Pharaoh represents the proud soul, his multitude represent the energies of the soul, that work for either its edification or for its destruction. Its animals refer to the body with its senses and energies. Perdition will cover man with all the possibilities of both his soul and body. As to the abundant waters that dry up; these are God’s graces and free gifts, withdrawn by God from the proud soul. 3- A LAMENTATION FOR PHARAOH TOGETHER WITH THE NATIONS At the end of that prophecy against Pharaoh and his multitude, He included in the 6 lamentation for him, “the daughters of the famous nations” (Ez 32:18); that should also be mourned for; as all of them have fallen to the lower parts of the earth together with those going down to the pit. By those daughters, He probably meant the nations that were affiliated to Pharaoh, his army, and his authority; in a bond like that between women and their men, seeking their protection. It is the destiny of the multitude of nations, to go down to the lower parts of the earth, to the pit, slain among the circumcised. This expression was repeated often in this section (Ez 32:19, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31). After being mighty, feared and respected in the land of the living, they were slain and cast down with their uncleanness (uncircumcised), to the pit. He presented to Pharaoh and his multitude, living examples of great nations, that were mighty in the land of the living, then ended up slain by the sword and cast among the uncircumcised down to the pit; like Assyria (Ez 32:22), Elam (Ez 32:24, Mashech and Tubal (Ez 32:26), Edom (Ez 32:29), and all the Sidonians (Ez 32:30). We talked before about those nations or kingdoms, except for Elam, that refers to Elam the son of Shem (Gen 10:22). In the days of Abraham, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, led the kings of the east in invading the Jordan (Gen 14:1-11). That kingdom extended beyond the River Tigris, east of the kingdom of Babylon; south of Assyria, and Media; north of the Persian Gulf; and west to Persia. Its capital was Shushan (Susa, Shusan); hence the Elamites were called Shushanites. In the eighth century B.C., the kings of Assyria conquered Elam, and hired its men in their army; to attack Jerusalem (Is 22). The Persians connected it to their empire; and in recognition of its importance, they made Shushan their capital (Dan 8:2). The Elamites were among the peoples that were carried to Samaria to inhabit it after the captivity of Judah. And when the Jews returned from captivity, it was the remnants of those immigrants who opposed the idea of rebuilding the temple anew (Ezra 4:9). Around the year 200 B.C., the Elamites regained their power, and certain of their kings seized on cities in Babylon. Nowadays Elam is a part of Persia, by the name Khorestan. 7 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF E ZEKIEL 32 MAKE ME A CUB, AND NOT A CROCODILE! Pharaoh wore the skin of a cub to protect nations; Yet he was a crocodile who devoured the nations around him like fish! With an arrogant spirit, he claimed that it was him who made the Nile of Egypt by his own hands; and did not realize that through his pride, his feet troubled the water of the Nile. He neither rested, nor left the nations around him to rest! Because of him heaven made its stars dark; and darkness was brought upon the land. His soul (heaven) got corrupted; so also his body (earth)! O Lord, let me be a cub; A son of You, You the Lion who comes from the tribe of Judah! Grant me humility; so as not to trouble the water of grace in my heart! Let Your light shine in me, O the Sun of Righteousness! Let my soul be enlightened like a new heaven! Let my body be sanctified like a new earth!
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