Today's Quick Word
Today’s Quick Word
Ezekiel 29:9-10 “Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. ‘Because you said, “The Nile is mine; I made it, ” therefore I am against you […]
Ezekiel 29:9-10 “Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the LORD. ‘Because you said, “The Nile is mine; I made it, ” therefore I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt a ruin and a desolate waste from Migdol to Aswan, as far as the border of Cush.’”
The Old Testament gives us a portrait of God’s character: what he expects of the man he has formed in his own image and likeness; and how man is to operate in the world he has created for him. The apostle Paul says of the OT narrative: “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did” (1 Corinthians 10:6).
In the judgement that God pronounced against Egypt through Ezekiel, one of the particular sins of which that nation was most guilty was its pride of ‘ownership’ of the mighty, fertile Nile and its tributaries. The river systems of Egypt were one of the main sources of its greatness and prosperity. The Egyptians’ basic sin for which the sovereign LORD was about to punish them (appropriately. with comprehensive barrenness and devastation) was their claim, “It is mine; I made it”!
Do we look upon all the different resources with which God has entrusted us as things we ‘own’ and are therefore free to use as we will for our own advantage? Or do we see ourselves only as stewards of them, using them only for his purposes and his glory? Are our ‘Niles’ things like our more-than-adequate financial resources? … our ‘natural’ talents and abilities? … the natural resources for the use of which we will be held accountable? Are we careful about the impact on the environment of our use of all the ‘first world luxury’ items with which God blesses us, like air-conditioning, electricity, motor vehicles, etc? Are we too ready to discard perfectly good electronic devices in order to have the latest model? Do we remember to thank God for all these things?
“Pride of Man and earthly glory, sword and crown betray his trust; what with care and toil he buildeth, tower and temple, fall to dust. But God’s power, hour by hour, is my temple and my tower” (Joachim Neander).
– Bruce Christian
