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Ezekiel 30:25-26    I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp.  Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he brandishes it against Egypt.  I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them through the countries.  Then they will know that I am the LORD.

As the Sovereign Lord of all human history graciously reveals to his faithful prophet what he is about to do to the nation of Egypt, he repeatedly makes clear why he is taking this drastic, devastating action: “Then they will know that I am the LORD.”  Although the central thread of the Bible’s story is the outworking of God’s Plan of Salvation through his Chosen, Covenant people, and ultimately through his own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, his Sovereign rule applies to every nation, and not just his Covenant People.  So every event in human history, from its beginning in Creation (Genesis 1), is subject to his authority, and only occurs because he ordains it.

His warning to Egypt is gracious because he declares exactly what the problem is, and therefore gives them warning and the opportunity to repent and turn to him, and thus avoid the inevitable consequences of their action.  This same message applies ultimately to every nation throughout the whole world, and foreshadows what the situation will be on the Last Day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in power.

Now Jesus will come as Saviour for anyone, from any nation throughout history, who repents and comes to acknowledge that God IS ‘the LORD’ – the name he revealed to Moses as he prepared to release his people from Egypt’s cruel bondage (Exodus 3:14-15), and the name, as Jesus made clear from his consistent use of the term ‘I AM’ throughout his earthly ministry, pointed ultimately to himself.

But for anyone who, like Pharaoh, continues to ignore this gracious warning, it will be too late!  As the Apostle Paul says: “Therefore God exalted [the crucified, risen Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”  (Philippians 2:9-11).

In Chapter 33, God will reveal to Ezekiel what his responsibilities are in terms of sounding this warning, and what the consequences will be for either failing to sound, or failing to heed, the gracious warning!  Let us strive not to fail to do either.

– Bruce Christian