Ezekiel 32:1-16 – Fear the LORD and live right.

In Ezekiel 32 are the sixth and seventh segments of God’s judgment message on the nation of Egypt. The sixth is found in verses 1-16 painting Egypt as the blundering crocodile. The seventh is in verses 17-32 where Egypt is used to depict Shoel. In this reflection, we will deal with verses 1-16.

This message came to Ezekiel “in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month.” In other words, it was given in the 12th year of the captivity of Jehoiachin. In the first verse, Egypt’s pharaoh considered himself to be a young lion of the nations. He must have thought himself to be strong, powerful, and ferocious like a young lion. But God said he was more like a blundering crocodile.   

 

As a crocodile submerged in the river of Egypt, Pharaoh would emerge clumsily every now and then to muddy the water.  That is to say that he would appear occasionally to puzzle the political scene.   Two years earlier in Ezekiel 29:1-6, the same comparison was made where Pharoah and Egypt were referred to as the monster and the Nile respectively.  

 

This crocodile would encounter a dreadful end. Caught and captured in a net, it would be yanked out of the river and left to putrefy in the open field under the sun. Its blood would flow all over the place filling the mountain and the ravines. And its rotting carcass would be suitable food for the scavengers.  God Himself would cause the whole nation to be engulfed in terrible darkness where the sun, moon, and star would not shine.

 

The sight of Egypt's plight would petrify the nations. Great hordes of Egyptians would be killed and others carried into captivity by the invaders. God was bringing the Babylonians against Egypt to devastate the nation. After all that had taken place, the river will once again flow smoothly like oil. The devastation of Egypt would be a lament to be chanted by many while proving that the Lord indeed is God.

 

Fear while is a terrifying experience can be a good motivator to keep us living rightly. It acts as a reminder of why we need to live a godly life for God. We fear when we become conscious of our personal failing. We also fear when we consider how our sin has offended God. All this will motivate us not to pander to sin but to live for the glory of God.