Ezekiel 32:1-16
32:1 a On March 3: This event occurred two months after the exiles in Babylon received word of Jerusalem’s fall (see 33:21 b).Summary for Ezek 32:2-3: 32:2-3 c Ezekiel returns to the image of Pharaoh as a mighty beast (29:3 d).
• Egypt’s pharaohs used the lion and the sea monster (or crocodile) as images of strength, yet both creatures could be hunted and killed, and that is what would happen to Pharaoh. God, through his agents (32:11-12 e), would hunt Pharaoh, catch him, and haul him in.
Summary for Ezek 32:4-6: 32:4-6 f hills ... valleys ... mountains ... ravines: In Hebrew, this literary device (merism) indicates both the boundaries and everything within them; here, it portrays the totality of God’s judgment. The carnage is described using hyperbole to communicate the complete destruction of Egypt.
Summary for Ezek 32:7-8: 32:7-8 g As in the previous chapter, Pharaoh’s downfall would be accompanied by global darkness and widespread mourning. These images were commonly associated with the day of the Lord (cp. Joel 2:30 h). In this case, the darkness would also remind the Egyptians of the plague on Egypt at the time of the Exodus (Exod 10:21-22 i).
Summary for Ezek 32:9-10: 32:9-10 j The surrounding nations and their kings would all be terrified at Egypt’s downfall, fearing for their own future.
Summary for Ezek 32:11-12: 32:11-12 k The human agent of God’s wrath, the sword of the king of Babylon, was coming to shatter the power of Egypt once and for all. This would be an even greater destruction than at the time of the first Passover, when only the firstborn male humans and animals of Egypt died (Exod 12:29 l).
32:14 m The great sea monster (32:2 n) would no longer thrash around in the stream, stirring up mud like an irate crocodile. After Pharaoh’s demise, the waters of Egypt would flow again as smoothly as olive oil, with the untroubled serenity of death.
Summary for Ezek 32:15-16: 32:15-16 o This total and final devastation of Egypt would result in their recognizing the power of the Lord, just as they did at the time of the Exodus.
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