seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ezekiel 31:1 In the eleventh year, in the third month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes:
“‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?
3 Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
its top above the thick foliage.
4 The waters nourished it,
deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
all around its base
and sent their channels
to all the trees of the field.
5 So it towered higher
than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
and its branches grew long,
spreading because of abundant waters.
6 All the birds of the sky
nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
gave birth under its branches;
all the great nations
lived in its shade.
7 It was majestic in beauty,
with its spreading boughs,
for its roots went down
to abundant waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God
could not rival it,
nor could the junipers
equal its boughs,
nor could the plane trees
compare with its branches—
no tree in the garden of God
could match its beauty.
9 I made it beautiful
with abundant branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
in the garden of God.
3 Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
its top above the thick foliage.
4 The waters nourished it,
deep springs made it grow tall;
their streams flowed
all around its base
and sent their channels
to all the trees of the field.
5 So it towered higher
than all the trees of the field;
its boughs increased
and its branches grew long,
spreading because of abundant waters.
6 All the birds of the sky
nested in its boughs,
all the animals of the wild
gave birth under its branches;
all the great nations
lived in its shade.
7 It was majestic in beauty,
with its spreading boughs,
for its roots went down
to abundant waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God
could not rival it,
nor could the junipers
equal its boughs,
nor could the plane trees
compare with its branches—
no tree in the garden of God
could match its beauty.
9 I made it beautiful
with abundant branches,
the envy of all the trees of Eden
in the garden of God.
10 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, 11 I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside, 12 and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it. 13 All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches. 14 Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined for death, for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead.
15 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day it was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away. 16 I made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below. 17 They too, like the great cedar, had gone down to the realm of the dead, to those killed by the sword, along with the armed men who lived in its shade among the nations.
18 “‘Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendor and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.
“‘This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
So I thought this was about the fall of Egypt. And then I opened Bible=studys.org.
In the fifth oracle Egypt is compared with Assyria, its former ally. Assyria is said to have been a cedar in Lebanon. However, God cut him off, a reference to Assyria’s destruction at the hands of Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar’s father (in 612 B.C.). The implication for Egypt was clear: like Assyria, God says, "yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden".
Ezekiel filled this chapter with a metaphor/analogy comparing Egypt to a huge tree that dominates a forest to a king/nation that dominates the world (Dan. 4:1-12, 19-27). He reasoned that just as a strong tree like Assyria fell, so will Egypt. If the Egyptians tend to be proud and feel invincible, let them remember how powerful Assyria had fallen already.
We see from the fact that they were cast into hell, that they had committed sin. Nineveh, its capital, was a massive city. To see all of Assyria fall to such a fate, would bring thoughts of pity from the hardest heart. The last of this verse, seems to indicate that those already in hell, were somewhat comforted by knowing they were not the only ones to fall. What comfort this could possibly be, I cannot tell.
This is the commentary from the easy English site.The Lord spoke this to Ezekiel in June 587 BC. It is a message to the king and to the Egyptians. This part, from verses 2 to 9, is in the form of a poem.
Egypt was great and it was so proud of its importance. Assyria had been great once. It had been proud too. But it did not still exist. The Babylonians defeated Assyria in 612 BC. And Egypt’s power would end in the same manner. The Babylonians would destroy the power of Egypt.
The poem describes Assyria as a tree. The cedar of Lebanon is a tall and beautiful tree. This tree was the best one in the forest. Assyria was perhaps the most powerful nation that the world had known until that time.
Assyria became too proud of its power. Because of this, God gave it to the ‘ruler of the nations’. He was the king of the nation that was most cruel. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed Assyria. He defeated Assyria completely. He acted like a man who cuts down a tall tree. And that tree meant Assyria.
What happened to Assyria was to warn the nations. God hates proud persons and proud nations. In the end, all the great nations in the world become proud. God will destroy them all (Daniel 2:44).
The Lord had brought down the great tree, which meant Assyria. It fell with a loud noise and all the nations heard it. All of them felt the effect when Assyria fell. They all trembled because of fear. Many were sad because of the end of such a great nation. The army of Babylon then destroyed many of the nations that had been friendly with Assyria.
Egypt was also a proud country. And, like Assyria, God compares Egypt to a great tree. It was at that time like the best trees in the Garden called Eden. But because Egypt was proud, God would destroy it. God will cut down that tree as he had cut down all the previous great trees. In other words, God would destroy Egypt as he had destroyed great nations like Assyria in the past.
This was a clear message that the Lord would kill the king of Egypt. And he would punish the Egyptians. God destroyed Assyria, which was greater than Egypt. So, Egypt could not avoid its punishment, because God would destroy Egypt as well.
At first I thought the tree described here was a metaphor for the fall of Egypt..... but I'm wrong again..... the tree is Assyria..... and Egypt is warned that the same thing will happen to them. Nebuchadnezzar's father.... Nabopolassar..... took out Assyria. IMHO.... and I may be wrong..... Ezekiel is saying [paraphrased] "Just like Nabopolassar took down Assyria..... his son Nebuchadnezzar is going to take down Egypt.
It's New Year's day as I post this. The news is full of protests and violence all around the world. Nations are hurling everything from insults to missiles at each other. Great nations are fighting for total control..... some are big mouthed and loud..... others no doubt are working quietly behind the scenes.
There are three types of trees around my house. There's one that gives lots of shade but that tree is actually a weed and it has no roots. Then there's a little tree.... just getting established. It's been planted in a horrible spot for a new tree.... it gets all the hot wind in the summer..... and it rarely holds it's leaves during the summer..... but each year the trunk grows and it stands a little taller and pushes out a few more leaves that survive. The third tree has deep roots and long thin boughs that give off a lot of shade and it provides a good home for lots of birds. Not one of these trees can survive a chain saw.
I keep thinking..... the questions is..... "if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it.... does it make a sound?"
I keep thinking.... the answer is.... "they'll hear it in hell"
Ezekiel 31:16 I made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit.
