Egypt: Alas the day

Today's Devotional is based off Ezekiel 30:1-19.
 God's word against Egypt continues.

God tells the people to prepare for 

“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
³     For the day is near,
    the day of the Lord is near;
it will be a day of clouds,
    a time of doom for the nations.
⁴ A sword shall come upon Egypt,
    and anguish shall be in Cush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
    and her wealth is carried away,
    and her foundations are torn down.

A time of hardship is coming for the people of Egypt, a time of doom and the sword, for her wealth to the carried away.



It won't be just Egypt who falls but all who support her as well. 

Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.

⁶ “Thus says the Lord:
Those who support Egypt shall fall,
    and her proud might shall come down;
from Migdol to Syene
    they shall fall within her by the sword,

All these nations and cities will be devastated.
So that they will know that "I AM THE LORD" (says the Lord God).
Egypt and all her helpers will be broken ... so that folks will know this fundamental truth.   God is the Lord, there is none other. 

The Lord will allow Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babyton 

• to destroy the land
• draw swords against Egypt
• Fill the land with the slain

God will

• dry up the Nile
• sell the land in to the hands of evildoers
• bring desolation upon the land and everything in it
• he will do this using the hands of foreigners.
• destroy the idols
• put an end to images in Memphis
• no more princes of Egypt

 ¹⁴ I will make Pathros a desolation
    and will set fire to Zoan
    and will execute judgments on Thebes.
¹⁵ And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium,
    the stronghold of Egypt,
    and cut off the multitude of Thebes.
¹⁶ And I will set fire to Egypt;
    Pelusium shall be in great agony;
Thebes shall be breached,
    and Memphis shall face enemies by day.
¹⁷ The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword,
    and the women shall go into captivity.
¹⁸ At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark,
    when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt,
and her proud might shall come to an end in her;
    she shall be covered by a cloud,
    and her daughters shall go into captivity.
¹⁹ Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt.

 The Lord has spoken.
It will be as he has said.

And so Egypt will know that the God is the Lord.
The Lord God is so specific in his judgements against Egypt.  Spelling out what will happen to her and her allies. 

Egypt, the land that Israel turned to time and again for help.   Who in the Old Testament first treated Israel well and then led to a time of horrid captivity.  The land to which eventually Joseph would feel with his young family when warned by angels to do so.

Egypt with its many gods needed to learn a fundamental truth.   The same truth we all need to learn.

GOD IS THE LORD.   

Not the Nile, not Ra, Not the pharoahs, nothing else.  Nothing that we make out as important.  Not traditions, tv, blogging, family, life, health, work etc.  NOTHING.

ONLY God is the Lord.

Recognize that fundamental truth. 
Learn from the mistakes the Egypt made.