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The Bible Breakdown
Ezekiel 32: Folks Dropping Like Flies
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, ezekiel, chapter 32, and today's title is Folks Dropping Like Flies Folks Dropping Like Flies. And if you've been with us over the past several chapters, we've been reading about how God's judgment is not falling on the nation of Israel anymore They've been dealt with and they're in the process of recovering on the nation of Israel anymore. They've been dealt with and they're in the process of recovering. But now God's judgment is falling on all of these other nations that have been rebelling against him and causing the nation of Israel to fall. So we're going to get there as we continue to pivot in that direction.
Speaker 1:So, if you have your Bibles, I want to open up with me to Ezekiel, chapter 32. I don't continually talk enough about coffee. Make sure that you have a cup of coffee. I'm telling you the Lord will help you if you drink some coffee as we are reading God's word together. But also make sure you are liking, sharing and subscribing to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five star on the podcast. It really does help us as we continue this journey of just spreading God's word together. And make sure that you're going to the Bible breakdown discussion on Facebook. They're doing an amazing job over there every single day, just continuing to help us dig into God's Word and, as always, the more we dig, the more we find.
Speaker 1:Well, if you've been with us, then you realize that the big idea behind Ezekiel is God's promise of renewal. And the promise of God's renewal takes time. That's one of the things, me, that we have to appreciate about the book of Isaiah is we have to realize that Isaiah is writing this over the course of his life, and so the promise of renewal takes a long time sometimes for God to fully help us come full circle in a lot of things and really, if we don't get anything else out of Ezekiel, it would be the idea that God's going to have his way, he's going to renew us, but it's going to take a minute, a lot of times, for him to do this. And sometimes we can spend years getting ourselves into trouble and we ask God to get us out of trouble in a weekend, and he can definitely do that. But because of the process of healing and also the healing he wants to do through us into the lives of others, many times it is a process, and so we're seeing that process unfold and over the past several chapters, god's been just telling it like it is with the nation of Israel, and so now he is turning toward the enemies of Israel that has kind of helped them along to get into this mess, and he is casting judgment on them. And so now he's just casting judgment on everybody up in here today. So we're going to read this together and then I've got kind of maybe an interesting challenge for you at the end of the chapter. So, if you're ready, ezekiel 32, verse 1 says this On March 3rd, during the 12th year of King Jehoiakim's captivity, this message came to me from the Lord, son of man.
Speaker 1:So, hey, buddy, mourn for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and give him this answer you think of yourself as a strong young lion among nations, but you are really just a sea monster heaving around in your own rivers, stirring up mud with your feet. Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says I will send many people to catch you in my net and haul you out of the water. I will leave you stranded on the land to die. All the birds of the heavens will land on you and the wild animals of the whole earth will gorge themselves on you. I will scatter your flesh on the hills and fill your valleys with your bones. I will drench the earth with your gushing blood that's gross all the way to the mountains, filling the ravines to the brim. When I blot you out, I will veil the heavens and darken the stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud and the moon will not give you its light. I will darken the bright stars overhead and cover your land in darkness. I, the sovereign Lord, have spoken. I will disturb many hearts when I bring news of your downfall to the distant nations you have never seen. Yes, I will shock many lands and their kings will be terrified at your fate. I will shock many lands and their kings will be terrified at your fate. They will shudder in fear for their lives as I have banished my sword before them.
Speaker 1:On the day of your fall and this is what the sovereign Lord says the sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. I will destroy your hordes with the swords of mighty warriors and the terror of the nations. They will shatter the pride of Egypt and all its hordes will be destroyed. I will destroy all your flocks and herds that graze beside the streams. Never again will people or animals muddy those waters with their feet. Then I will let the waters of Egypt before become calm again and they will flow as smoothly as olive oil I'm assuming that's very, very smooth.
Speaker 1:This is what the Lord says "'When I destroy Egypt and strip you of everything you own "'and strike you down and all your people "'then you will know that I am the Lord'. Yes, this is a funeral song, and they will sing for Egypt. Let all the nations mourn. Let them mourn for Egypt and its hordes. I, the sovereign Lord, have spoken.
Speaker 1:And then, on March 17th, during the 12th year, another message came to me from the Lord, son of man. Hey, buddy, weep for the hordes of Egypt and for the other mighty nations, for I will send them down to the world below, in company with those who descend to the pit. Say to them O Egypt, are you lovelier than the other nations? No, so go down to the pit and lie there among the outcast. The Egyptians will fall with many who have died by the sword, for the sword is drawn against them. Egypt and its hordes will be dragged away to their judgment. Sword is drawn against them. Egypt and its hordes will be dragged away to their judgment.
Speaker 1:Down in the grave, mighty leaders will mockingly welcome Egypt and its allies, saying they have come down. They lie among the outcasts, hordes slaughtered by the sword. Assyria lies there, surrounded by the graves of its armies and those who were slaughtered by the sword. Their graves are in the depths of the pit and they are surrounded by their allies. They struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere, but now they have been slaughtered by the sword. Elam lies there, surrounded by the graves of all its hordes, those who were slaughtered by the sword. And they struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere, but now they have descended as outcasts into the world below. Now they lie in the pit and share the shame of those who have gone before them. They have a resting place among the slaughtered, surrounded by the graves of all their hordes. Yes, they terrorized the nations while they lived, but now they lie in shame with others in the pit, all of them outcasts slaughtered by the sword.
Speaker 1:Mechesh and Tubal are there, surrounded by the graves of all their hordes. They once struck terror in the hearts of people everywhere, but now they are outcasts slaughtered by the sword. They are not buried in honor like their fallen heroes who went to the grave with their weapons, their shields covering their bodies and their swords beneath their heads. Their guilt rests upon them because they brought terror to everyone while they were still alive. You too, egypt, will lie, crushed and broken, among the outcasts, all slaughtered by the sword. Edom and all is there, and its kings and princes, mighty as they were, they also lie among the All slaughtered by the sword. They share the shame of all who have descended to the pit. When Pharaoh and his entire army arrive, they will take comfort that he is not alone in having his hordes killed, says the Lord. Says the sovereign Lord, although I have caused this terror to fall upon all the living, pharaoh and his hordes will lie there among the outcasts who were slaughtered by the sword. I, the sovereign Lord, have spoken. Wow. Well, like I said, it starts with Pharaoh and it goes to everybody else.
Speaker 1:What Ezekiel I'm going to say, elisha, what Ezekiel is saying here is the Lord is giving this message and he's saying you, pharaoh and Egypt, man, you really think you're all that, as we used to say, and it's an old tire phrase now we used to say you are all that and a bag of chips, and I have no idea where that comes from, but it like makes me embarrassed to even say it now. But that's what we used to say, like you think you are everything, but the problem is you're really not. And he was saying you think you're all this stuff, but actually you're just a sea monster in a river. So, in other words, you think you're a dominator, but you're really a small fish in a very small pond. And he was saying I am going to judge you, and not only am I going to judge you, I'm going to judge you like I'm judging everyone else, and then, when you all fall, you're going to realize that you had this one thing in common, and that is you didn't know that I was the Lord, but you definitely know. Now, mess around and find out. It's kind of what God is saying to them.
Speaker 1:And so here's a takeaway for us today, and that is this we have to be very careful that we don't look at people who have fallen into sin or fallen into judgment and cast judgment on them. We need to be very careful that we don't try to become anybody's executioner. They are down there and they belong there, that kind of thing but instead we look at their life as a lesson. I heard someone say one time everybody has value, even if their only value is an example of what not to do. But the thing would be is to look at people that you know who have fallen into sin, fallen into judgment, and ask yourself the question why? What was it? Did they turn away from God? Did they not know God? Did they have pride in their life? What was it? And don't use it in any way to think that we're better than them, but to say, lord, help me learn from this example so that I don't fall into the same trap, because the trap is available for all of us.
Speaker 1:And so maybe the takeaway today is to think for a moment about people that you know maybe celebrities, different ones, and people who've experienced judgment and say, okay, I don't want to. Maybe celebrities, different ones, and people who've experienced judgment and say, okay, I don't want to go the same direction. So how can I avoid falling into that trap? Because, as God is saying to Ezekiel, there's a whole lot of people that have fallen, and it's been because they haven't acknowledged that I am the Lord, and maybe that's the number. One thing is, maybe we need to look and go. Okay, how many people do we know that has fallen Because at some point along the way they've forgotten about the Lord?
Speaker 1:Can I tell you, I've seen that so many times. I've seen people who start off humble, thankful that God has saved them, and somewhere along the way they forgot that it was Jesus that was doing the saving. And somewhere along the way they started thinking that they had saved themselves or they had somehow earned this just themselves, and they forgot about the Lord. And here's the thing we never need to forget the source of our strength. It would be like driving a car, and when you first drive the car, you are just nervous about running out of gas, and so you're constantly refilling and refilling, and refilling, but then after a while you go. You know it's fine, it's okay, until one day you're on empty. That's what happens when we forget where our strength comes from is we forget to keep filling back up, and then we'll find ourselves stranded one day. So we have to be careful. We don't do that because we don't want to be one of these people who end up in judgment.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, for the cautionary tales that you send us over and over again because you don't want us to be in the spot. Lord, I pray that's one of the things that we'll constantly remember about Ezekiel is. Ezekiel is saying this over the course of years to remind us that we don't need to fall into this. Help us, lord, to remember that and to make the right steps, and not out of a sense of superiority or a sense of elitism, but out of a sense of humility. Help us look at some of the cautionary tales around us and say God, help me to not make those mistakes. Help me, lord, to stay humble and to always remember you. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen, amen. Well, say this with me. God's word says in Ezekiel 34, verse 14, let's say it together I will put my spirit in you and you will live again. That's my hope for all of us today. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Ezekiel, chapter 33.
