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Egypt: Part 3 

What happened to Egypt? 

Genesis 13.10 

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • October 13, In the year of our Lord Christ, 2019 

Prelude: 

  1. Think of how beautiful Egypt must have been at her glorious height. 
    1. Then numerous armies have pounded and looted Egypt, yet, 
    2. look at what is still left! 
      1. The Lord cut off their water, yet, 
      2. look at the beauty of what they left behind? 
  2. How did it once look 
    1. with an abundance of water and greenery, and 
    2. with all its structures and treasures in place? 
  3. However, they sinned repeatedly against the Lord and 
    1. the nation and the land paid for it. 
    2. The glory of Egypt has fallen and shall never recover. 
  4. Last week, I made the point 
    1. that the 10 plagues did a huge amount of damage to Egypt, but 
    2. that later the Lord decimated Egypt again and 
      1. in a much worse way, 
      2. cutting off much of their water by natural causes and 
        1. sending foreign armies to pound Egypt and 
        2. to loot their treasures and to destroy their infrastructure. 
    3. I want to continue on that theme now. 

Persuasion: 

  1. The Lord Decimated Egypt Again 
    1. Jeremiah 43.10–13

      10 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them. 11 When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword. 12 I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them and carry them away captive. And he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment, and he shall go out from there in peace. 13 He shall also break the sacred pillars of Beth Shemesh that are in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire.”

      – Jeremiah 43.10–13
      1. Nebuchadnezzar would attack Egypt, 
        1. killing some Egyptians and 
        2. taking others to captivity. 
      2. Notice what Nebuchadnezzar would do, according to verses 12 and 13: 
        1. He would burn the places that housed Egypt’s gods, and 
        2. he would carry the gods, 
          1. which would include all the treasures associated with them, 
          2. back to Babylon, and 
        3. he would array himself with the land of Egypt. 
          1. All of Egypt’s treasures and anything else that he wanted, 
          2. he would take and use it for himself. 
      3. Moreover, he would break the sacred pillars of Beth Shemesh, 
        1. not the Beth-Shemesh where we went in Israel, but 
        2. the words mean: House or Temple of the Sun. 
          1. Egypt worshiped the sun god. 
          2. However, since it was a dead and false god, 
            1. Nebuchadnezzar could destroy it. 
      4. Whenever you read about Egypt or watch something, 
        1. they will always bring up that looters have taken things away. 
        2. Those looters were not small bands of men, 
          1. whom the locals could have and would have stopped, but 
          2. we are talking about a massive military might 
            1. coming in and the locals not being able to stop them. 
            2. They looted most of Egypt. 
              1. What they left behind were in comparison less in value, or 
              2. it was hidden from them, or 
              3. they just had enough, more than enough to carry back, or 
              4. it was just too heavy. 
                1. Although I have since learned that an odd opening that I saw in one of the pyramids 
                2. was actually a tunnel that the looters had made. 
                  1. They took something out of the king’s chamber 
                  2. that was so large it could not go through the normal entrance, but 
                  3. it was so large and extremely valuable 
                  4. that they were willing to cut a new tunnel through rock to get the item or items out. 
      5. Again, I say to you 
        1. that what is left, 
          1. which I take to be few and less valuable in comparison to the past, 
        2. is magnificent. 
    2. Jeremiah 46.19–20 is God affirming Egypt’s great past beauty and glory:

      19 O you daughter dwelling in Egypt,
      Prepare yourself to go into captivity!
      For Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.
      20 Egypt is a very pretty [beautiful, NIV] heifer,
      But destruction comes, it comes from the north [Babylon].

      – Jeremiah 46.19–20
    3. Daniel 11.40–43 shows another army (the Greeks) centuries later:

      40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels.”

      – Daniel 11.40–43
      1. After Alexander the Great’s death, 
        1. his kingdom was divided among his four generals. 
        2. This passage prophesies of the Greeks fighting one another. 
      2. A Greek leader would enter the Glorious Land, the land of Israel, but 
        1. he would not enter and conquer Edom, Moab, and Ammon, yet, 
        2. Egypt would not escape from the Greek leader’s wrath. 
      3. Look at verse 43 
        1. that shows what he would do in Egypt. 
        2. What Nebuchadnezzar left behind and 
          1. what Egypt had rebuilt and new treasures that they had acquired, 
          2. this Greek leader would loot also, and 
            1. when he was finished, 
            2. Libyans and Ethiopians would see an advantage and 
              1. they would loot what was leftover. 
              2. When Egyptologists speak of looting in Egypt, 
                1. they may not realize 
                2. that they are confirming what the Bible says. 
    4. Joel 3.19 gives another reason for Egypt’s demise:

      19 “Egypt shall be a desolation,
      And Edom a desolate wilderness,
      Because of violence against the people of Judah,
      For they have shed innocent blood in their land.”

      – Joel 3.19
    5. Zechariah 14.18 may be symbolic

      18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

      – Zechariah 14.18
    6. Ezekiel 29–32 shows what happened to Egypt. 
      1. This section on Egypt is long, and 
        1. I do not have the time to show it all to you, but 
        2. I will give you some highlights, 
          1. which includes most of chapter 29. 
          2. I encourage you to read all four chapters, 
            1. remembering what I have shown you on the screen and 
            2. what I have shown you from the Scriptures. 
      2. 29.2–3 • Egypt’s Arrogant Boast of Creatorship

        29.2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt. 3 Speak, and say, “Thus says the Lord GOD:

        Behold, I am against you,
        O Pharaoh king of Egypt,
        O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers,
        Who has said,
        ‘My River is my own;
        I have made it for myself.’”
        1. Egypt did not glorify God. 
        2. Egypt claimed to be the Creator. 
      3. 29.8–12 • Egypt Waste and Desolate 40 Years

        29.8 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast. 9 And the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the LORD, because he said, ‘The River is mine, and I have made it.’ 10 Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. 11 Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”
      4. 29.13–16 • Egypt a Lowly Kingdom

        29.13 “Yet, thus says the Lord GOD: ‘At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore.’”
        1. The captives would return, but 
        2. Egypt would never again be a superpower, 
          1. instead the country would be among the nations at the bottom. 
          2. There are 195 nations in the world. 
            1. In one list Egypt is listed 158th. 
            2. It is considered a Third World nation. 
        3. Its status in the world among the nations fulfills this prophecy. 
      5. 29.17–20 • Babylon Paid with Egyptian Wages

        29.17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says the Lord GOD.”
        1. This reveals why the Lord let Nebuchadnezzar pillage Egypt. 
        2. Note that Nebuchadnezzar worked for the Lord, 
          1. although he did not know it. 
          2. He would learn later, as shown in the Book of Daniel. 
        3. When you watch a show or do some reading about Egypt, and 
          1. they mention looters, 
          2. you can know that the greatest of Egypt’s looters was Babylon. 
            1. They searched for it everywhere. 
            2. We have only found what they and others did not find. 
      6. 30.12 • Aliens Would Waste Egypt

        30.12 “I will make the rivers dry,
        And sell the land into the hand of the wicked;
        I will make the land waste, and all that is in it,
        By the hand of aliens.
        I, the LORD, have spoken.”
      7. 31.15–17 • Surrounding Nations Mourn Egypt’s Fall

        31.15 “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘In the day when it went down to hell [Sheol, DR], I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the depths of the earth. 17 They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm dwelt in its shadows among the nations.”
        1. The Lord pictured Egypt and other nations as trees in His Garden. 
        2. Powerful nations do not fall without harming other nations. 
      8. 32.11–13 • Egypt’s Pomp Plundered

        32.11 “For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you. 12 By the swords of the mighty warriors, all of them the most terrible of the nations, I will cause your multitude to fall.

        They shall plunder the pomp of Egypt,
        And all its multitude shall be destroyed.
        13 Also I will destroy all its animals
        From beside its great waters;
        The foot of man shall muddy them no more,
        Nor shall the hooves of animals muddy them.
        1. The Babylonians plundered and destroyed Egypt more than others did. 
        2. Others basically came in later and cleaned up what Babylon left. 

Exhortation: 

  1. Judgment on Egypt just foreshows judgment on or of all the earth. 
    1. What you read in the Hebrew Bible foreshadows 
      1. what you read in the New Testament. 
      2. David was a type of the Christ. 
      3. Animal sacrifices foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ. 
      4. The Flood was a type of worldwide judgment yet to come. 
      5. The Day of the Lord on Egypt assures us that the final Day of the Lord is on its way. 
    2. The laws, experiences, and events of earth also have spiritual lessons. 
      1. God warned Egypt, but 
      2. they failed to listen to Him. 
        1. They paid for it with a destruction 
        2. from which they shall never recover. 
  2. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Church ages ago 
    1. that a much greater event than what happened to Egypt 
    2. is on the way.

      6 …it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power…

      – 2 Thessalonians 1.6–9
      1. Are you ready for that day to come? 
      2. Do not delay any longer:

        “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

        – Acts 22.16