Ezekiel 30:12, commentary and pictures

God would dry up Egypt's rivers, give its land into the hand of the wicked, and lay waste the land and all in it by the hand of strangers, breaking its power and bringing it low never to rise again. The drying of the rivers is the failure of Egypt's abundance from the Nile, whose many streams and yearly overflow watered and fed the fruitful land, so that without them the country would become uninhabitable. The wasting by strangers would come by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his people, the terrible of the nations, who would draw the sword against Egypt and fill the land with the slain, while God would destroy its idols, cause its images to cease, and leave it with no native prince but with fear in the land. The word has been literally fulfilled, for Egypt has fallen from one of the mightiest nations to the very basest of the kingdoms, passing continuously under Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Saracens, Mamalukes and Turks in oppression and servitude, with its ancient rivers now known by dry beds and no native ruler for centuries. In her humiliation, decadence and ruins Egypt bears witness to the truthfulness and faithfulness of prophecy, showing that what God has spoken will be trusted and heeded.

Judgment Against Egypt

Ezekiel 30:12 belongs to the prophecies against Egypt in Ezekiel 29-32, part of the prophecies against other nations in Ezekiel 25-31 announcing the certain fate to come upon Pharaoh and his host, standing together with those upon Ammon, Moab and Tyre. It was spoken as God's word through Ezekiel among the captives by the river Chebar, given through twenty-two years of pleading for Israel to turn to God. At that time Egypt was in her power and glory as one of the greatest kingdoms and one of the mightiest nations on earth, at one time the greatest empire and the strongest nation in the world, and one of the very first nations to attain great power and civilization. She was a former oppressor of God's people and for centuries the center of world civilization in power, greatness, fame, wealth, art, idolatry, cruelty and wickedness, the symbol of black infidelity. It was one of many warnings God gives to nations so they need not be ignorant of what is to come upon the earth.

The verse declares that God Himself would make the rivers dry, sell the land into the hand of the wicked, and make the land waste and all that is therein by the hand of strangers. In this He would break Egypt's power, bring her low in abasement never to rise again among the nations, and leave her desolate. The drying of the rivers means the failure of Egypt's abundance from the Nile, for the innumerable streams at the mouth of the Nile and in the great delta watered and fed the fruitful land. Those rivers of the great delta would be dried up in judgment, and since the Nile's inundation was essential to the country's habitability, the land would become uninhabitable.

The wasting by strangers would be done by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his people, the terrible of the nations, brought to destroy the land. They would draw their swords against Egypt from the Nile delta to Ethiopia and fill the land with the slain, coming through fire and sword and carrying many Egyptians captive to Babylon. Joined to this, God would destroy the idols and cause the images to cease out of Noph, leave Egypt with no more a prince of the land, and put fear in the land of Egypt. For devotion to idols brought her from wealth and glory to dishonor and poverty, with the abolishing of her idols and the end of reign by her native princes joined to her becoming the basest of kingdoms. The verse thus illustrates how God deals with the kingdoms around Israel to bring down their pride, and like the other prophecies in Ezekiel it is to be read under the universal condition of response to God.

Fulfillment Witnesses Prophecy

The word against Egypt has been literally fulfilled, for the land that was then one of the greatest kingdoms and at one time the greatest empire on earth has become the very basest of the kingdoms. Spoken when Egypt stood among the mightiest nations, with innumerable streams at the mouth of the Nile watering the land, it declared that the rivers would be dried up and the land placed under wicked men, and where there were many streams there are now few. The blow left Egypt humbled and powerless among the nations, a dwindling monarchy though still rich in history.

The first stroke fell by Nebuchadnezzar and his forces, who were to conquer Egypt in fulfillment of the word that its rivers would be dried, its land handed to the wicked, and its land made waste by strangers. He invaded Egypt twice and succeeded, carrying many Egyptians captive to Babylon. That conquest broke Egypt's power and left it a dwindling monarchy.

Fulfillment has run continuously from the conquest by Ochus, when King Nectanebo fled into Ethiopia, until the present day. The country passed under Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, and later foreign powers, and in fuller reckoning under Macedonians, Romans, Saracens, Mamalukes, and Turks, enduring oppression, tyranny and perpetual servitude under arbitrary dominion. The drying of the rivers belongs to the same subjugation, with dry watercourses left in the Delta, and the picture of strangers possessing the land is seen in this long history of foreign rule and subjection.

The strangers are foreign conquerors and rulers who spoiled Egypt of wealth and drained it of treasures. Its wealth and resources were taken under Macedonian rulers, Rome, the Saracens, the Mamalukes, and the Turks, each stripping Egypt of wealth and treasure. Under the Turks Egypt remained subject to arbitrary rule by foreigners and former slaves, while native Egyptians were kept in servitude, leaving the natives in perpetual servitude under the arbitrary dominion of strangers and slaves for more than five hundred years.

Many ancient rivers and canals are now known only by their dry beds and dry watercourses in the Delta, and though rulers have been multiplied for centuries none has been a native of Egypt. This proves the land given into the hand of the wicked and of strangers, its land and all therein made waste, its idols abolished, its native princes ended, and its having no prince. The drying of the rivers means the failure of Egypt's abundance from the Nile that fed the fruitful land, joined to the abolishing of her idols, the end of reign by her native princes, and her becoming the basest of kingdoms.

For centuries Egypt in her humiliation, decadence and ruins has affirmed the fulfillment of this word. She bears witness in decadence and ruins to the truthfulness and faithfulness of prophecy as God's light in darkness, proving that present prophecies can be trusted and are to be heeded concerning the present. The word stands among the many warnings God gives to nations so they need not be ignorant of what is to come upon the earth, spoken to Egypt when Egypt was in her power and glory, and its fulfillment in Ezekiel 30:1-26 was also connected with the prediction that England would take complete control of Egypt.