Ezekiel Chapter 31
Ezekiel 31
Egypt Will Fall as Assyria Did Before
Ezekiel 31 continues the prophecy against Egypt by using Assyria as an example and warning. Assyria had once been like a mighty cedar in Lebanon, towering above the nations, watered richly, broad in branches, beautiful in greatness, and sheltering many peoples under its shadow. Yet Assyria’s greatness became the occasion for pride, and the LORD brought it down. Egypt must learn from Assyria’s fall. If God cut down the mighty cedar of Assyria, He could also cut down Pharaoh and Egypt. The chapter teaches that no nation, however ancient, wealthy, powerful, or beautiful, can stand when pride lifts itself against God. The uploaded notes emphasize Assyria as the great tree, the pride that brought it down, the nations mourning over its fall, and the warning that Egypt would share the same fate.
A. The glory of the mighty tree.
1. Ezekiel 31:1-2, Introduction to the prophecy regarding Egypt.
Ezekiel 31:1, And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 31:2, Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?
In the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month gives another specific date in Ezekiel’s prophecies against Egypt. This word came only about a month before Jerusalem’s final fall. The people of Judah were still tempted to look to Egypt, but the LORD now shows that Egypt herself stood under judgment.
The word of the LORD came unto me again establishes that this is not Ezekiel’s political theory. The God of Israel speaks over Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Judah, and every nation.
Speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude means the message is for both ruler and people. Pharaoh’s pride and Egypt’s national strength are addressed together.
Whom art thou like in thy greatness? is the question that frames the chapter. Egypt was ancient, proud, and powerful. Her greatness seemed unmatched. Yet God brings forward Assyria as the example. Egypt should look at Assyria’s rise and fall and learn that greatness does not make a nation immune from divine judgment.
2. Ezekiel 31:3-6, The strength and the greatness of the tree of Assyria.
Ezekiel 31:3, Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
Ezekiel 31:4, The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
Ezekiel 31:5, Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
Ezekiel 31:6, All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon presents Assyria as a mighty cedar tree. Lebanon was famous for its cedars, and the image communicates height, strength, beauty, and majesty. Assyria had been a massive empire in the recent past, and its greatness was still remembered.
God had used tree imagery earlier in Ezekiel 17 for kingdoms and rulers.
Ezekiel 17:22, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:
Ezekiel 17:23, In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
With fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature shows Assyria’s reach and influence. Its branches spread out. Its shadow covered many. Its height made it appear superior to other nations.
His top was among the thick boughs means Assyria rose high among the powers of the earth. It stood above the surrounding nations.
The waters made him great means Assyria’s growth came from resources, providence, and support outside itself. The image may point to the Tigris and Euphrates river systems, the wealth of conquered nations, and the many tributaries that fed the empire. Egypt, sustained by the Nile, should have understood the lesson. Watered greatness is still dependent greatness.
The deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants means the tree flourished because it had abundant supply. Assyria’s power did not arise from itself alone. God’s providence allowed it to grow.
Sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field pictures the water supply spreading to other trees. Assyria’s empire affected and supplied many nations under its system.
Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field means Assyria became greater than other nations. Its empire towered over surrounding kingdoms.
His boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters again emphasizes that Assyria’s greatness came through abundant resources. Its strength was real, but it was not independent of God.
All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs means many peoples found shelter or place under Assyria’s empire. The birds represent smaller nations, rulers, and peoples living within or under Assyria’s power.
Under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young continues the image of nations dwelling under Assyria’s shadow.
Under his shadow dwelt all great nations shows Assyria’s imperial reach. Many nations lived under Assyria’s dominance, protection, fear, or influence. Egypt also thought of herself this way, as a sheltering great power. But Assyria’s fall proved that such greatness could be cut down.
3. Ezekiel 31:7-9, The incomparable greatness of the mighty tree of Assyria.
Ezekiel 31:7, Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.
Ezekiel 31:8, The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
Ezekiel 31:9, I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
Thus was he fair in his greatness means Assyria had not only strength, but beauty and majesty. Empires often have an outward glory: architecture, armies, wealth, order, roads, power, and influence. Assyria had that kind of greatness.
In the length of his branches points to the reach of Assyria’s influence. Its branches extended far beyond its own center.
For his root was by great waters repeats the source of Assyria’s strength. The tree was rooted in abundant water. Yet even deeply rooted trees can be cut down when pride provokes God’s judgment.
The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him heightens the picture. Even compared with the greatest trees, Assyria stood out. The garden of God language points to unmatched beauty and created splendor.
The fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches means other nations could not compare with Assyria in its day. Its greatness was unmatched among the trees.
Nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty means Assyria’s glory was extraordinary. Yet the glory itself was not the problem. Pride in that glory was the problem.
I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches is the key theological statement. Assyria did not make itself beautiful. The LORD says, I have made him fair. Even the greatness of pagan empires exists under God’s sovereign permission and providence.
This same truth applies to all rulers and kingdoms. God raises up and removes kings.
Daniel 2:20, Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
Daniel 2:21, And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
So that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him means the surrounding nations admired and envied Assyria’s greatness. Yet being envied by nations is no protection from the LORD’s axe.
B. The ruin of the mighty tree.
1. Ezekiel 31:10-12, Directed by God, foreigners cut down the mighty tree of Assyria.
Ezekiel 31:10, Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;
Ezekiel 31:11, I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.
Ezekiel 31:12, And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height gives the reason for the fall. Assyria’s height became the occasion of pride. The tree was high because God allowed it to grow, but Assyria lifted itself up as though its greatness were self-made.
His heart is lifted up in his height reveals the inner sin. Pride entered the heart. The external height of the empire produced internal arrogance. This same satanic pattern appeared earlier in Ezekiel 28.
Ezekiel 28:17, Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
God’s hatred of pride is consistent throughout Scripture.
Proverbs 16:18, Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen means Assyria fell because God handed it over. The mighty one of the nations likely points to Babylon, the power God used to cut down Assyria’s greatness.
He shall surely deal with him means judgment would be decisive. Assyria would not escape the hand into which God delivered it.
I have driven him out for his wickedness shows that Assyria’s fall was moral, not merely military. God judged Assyria’s wickedness. Empires fall in history, but behind history stands the justice of God.
Strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off pictures foreign invaders as lumberjacks cutting down the giant tree. The same phrase, terrible of the nations, was used of Babylon’s destructive power against Egypt.
Ezekiel 30:11, He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
Upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen means Assyria’s empire collapsed everywhere. Its branches, once spreading in strength, now lay broken across the land.
His boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land means the very places associated with its nourishment and expansion now witness its ruin.
All the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him means the nations that once lived under Assyria’s protection or domination abandoned it when it fell. Empires attract dependents while strong, but those dependents vanish when the empire collapses.
Egypt must learn the lesson. If Assyria’s shadow vanished, Egypt’s shadow could vanish too.
2. Ezekiel 31:13-14, The ruin of the unmatched glory of the fallen tree.
Ezekiel 31:13, Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:
Ezekiel 31:14, To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain means the fallen tree still attracts attention, but no longer as a place of living shelter. Birds now gather on ruins. What once gave shade now becomes a dead structure.
All the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches continues the picture of fallen greatness. The branches no longer tower in majesty; they lie on the ground where beasts walk over them.
To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height gives the purpose of Assyria’s fall. God intended it as a lesson to other nations. No watered tree, no prosperous kingdom, no powerful empire should exalt itself because of its height.
Neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs means no nation should imagine itself beyond God’s reach. The taller the tree, the more obvious its fall when God cuts it down.
Neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water means even nations with great resources, supply, wealth, rivers, armies, and influence are mortal. Drinking water does not make a tree eternal.
For they are all delivered unto death is the great equalizer. Every nation, empire, king, and people stands under death. National glory cannot conquer mortality.
To the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit means the proud nations descend into death like ordinary men. The grave and the pit remove the illusions of greatness.
The pit language was also used of Tyre.
Ezekiel 26:20, When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
Death humbles what pride exalts. This is the lesson Egypt must learn from Assyria.
3. Ezekiel 31:15-17, Mourning and fear because of the fall of the mighty tree of Assyria.
Ezekiel 31:15, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.
Ezekiel 31:16, I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.
Ezekiel 31:17, They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning means Assyria’s fall produced grief and shock among the nations. When a power that great collapses, the world notices.
I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed continues the tree image. The waters that once fed the great cedar are restrained. The supply is cut off. For Egypt, this would have been a pointed warning because Egypt prided herself in the Nile and its waters.
The LORD had already spoken against Egypt’s rivers.
Ezekiel 29:10, Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.
Ezekiel 30:12, And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.
I caused Lebanon to mourn for him means even the place famous for cedars mourns over the fall of the great cedar. The imagery remains consistent: the forest world reacts to the fall of the greatest tree.
All the trees of the field fainted for him means the nations trembled and weakened at Assyria’s collapse. If Assyria could fall, any nation could fall.
I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall means the crash of Assyria shook the world. Great empires do not fall quietly.
When I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit shows the LORD’s hand behind the fall. Assyria was not merely defeated by military accident. God cast it down.
All the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth means the other fallen nations find a kind of grim comfort when Assyria joins them below. The proud tree that once made them envious is now brought down to their level.
This resembles the taunt over Babylon’s fall in Isaiah 14, where the dead are stirred by the arrival of another proud king.
Isaiah 14:9, Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth: it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Isaiah 14:10, All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword means Assyria’s allies, supporters, and dependents followed it into death and ruin.
They that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen refers to those who had been Assyria’s strength, allies, and dependents. They too shared in the fall. Those who rely on proud empires often share their judgment.
4. Ezekiel 31:18, A curse against Pharaoh and the kingdom of Egypt.
Ezekiel 31:18, To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.
To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? returns to the opening question. Egypt may think herself incomparable, but Assyria had been glorious too. Egypt may see herself as one of the great trees, but greatness does not prevent judgment.
Yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth gives the verdict. Egypt will join the other fallen powers. She will be brought down to death, to the pit, to the grave-realm where national pride is stripped away.
Thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with them that be slain by the sword is a deep humiliation for Egypt. Egyptians practiced circumcision and cared intensely about proper burial and honor in death. To lie among the uncircumcised and slain by the sword is to suffer disgrace, shame, and defeat.
This is Pharaoh and all his multitude makes the application explicit. The chapter has spoken of Assyria, but the message is for Egypt. Pharaoh and his multitude will share the fate of the mighty tree that was cut down.
Saith the Lord GOD seals the warning. Egypt’s ancient greatness, Nile-fed prosperity, military power, and proud Pharaoh cannot overturn the word of the LORD.
Ezekiel 31 teaches Egypt through Assyria’s example. Assyria had been like a mighty cedar in Lebanon, watered richly, high above the trees, beautiful in branches, and sheltering nations under its shadow. Yet its heart was lifted up because of its height, and God delivered it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations. Its branches fell, its shadow vanished, and it descended to the pit. Egypt must learn that same lesson. No empire is too old, too rich, too beautiful, too well-watered, or too feared for God to cut down. Pride turns greatness into guilt, and death levels kings with common men. Pharaoh and all his multitude would fall as Assyria had fallen before.
