Ezekiel 29
Don’t Fear the Monsters!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, July 5.
Have you ever feared what may be lurking under your bed at night? There are monsters in the world, but we do not have to fear them when God is with us! That’s the message of Ezekiel as he commences a four-chapter indictment against Egypt’s pride and failure to help Judah as promised. In Ezekiel 29:2-6, the prophet compares Egypt to an enemy of epic proportions:
“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, that has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’ I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your rivers cling to your scales. And I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, and all the fish of your rivers will cling to your scales. … Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord, … .” [emphasis added]
The Hebrew word translated “the great monster” can also be translated “dragon” or “serpent,” as seen in Isaiah 51:9 when referencing the exodus event, “Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?” In this passage, as well as in Isaiah 30:7 and Psalm 74:13, the mythological beast is used in parallel with Rahab and Leviathan, respectively, which further reinforces that God is referencing divine combat with chaos monsters of mythological proportions, emphasizing, in the way that the Ancient Near Eastern people would have understood it, that Yahweh was above all creation and mightier than any cosmic force. God showed His mighty right hand at the exodus, and He would do it again during the exile. He will do it for you, too!
Seize the moment and praise the God who is victorious over every foe, to include monsters – there is nothing to fear when God is with you!
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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