Tyndale Open Study NotesEzekiel 31

• This section contains a series of messages of judgment against nearby nations. There are six shorter messages against Judah's immediate neighbors, arranged in a clockwise order, followed by a final message against Egypt (Ezekiel 30–32). Through experiencing God's judgment, the nations would recognize God's control over everything. The nations might be used to carry out God's judgment on his people, but they would not avoid judgment themselves.

• One of the main purposes of these messages was to show that the negative part of God's promise to Abraham ("I will … curse those who curse you," Genesis 12:3) was still active. No one can harm God's people and avoid consequences, even when God's people are under his judgment.

• The seventh and final message of judgment against the nations targets Egypt, an old enemy and ally of Israel. This message is the longest and, like the one against Tyre, it addresses both Egypt and its ruler.

• Egypt often tempted Israel and Judah to turn away from their loyalty to the Lord. Soon after leaving Egypt, Israel fell into the trap of Egypt's idolatry. Egypt led Judah to rely on chariots and horses instead of the Lord, but Egypt was unreliable when it mattered most. The Lord judged Egypt for leading his people astray (compare Luke 17:1–2).

Ezekiel asked the Egyptians to compare themselves to Assyria, which was like a great tree in Eden (Ezekiel 31:9). If that tree was cut down and sent to the underworld, how could Egypt, whose glory was less than Assyria's, believe it could survive?

• The cedar of Lebanon was a tree known for its beauty and great value. People used its wood for building, trade, and even military purposes.

• Assyria is compared to a tall cedar tree. Its army had once been stronger than any other army. Like a tree whose top reaches the clouds, Assyria’s power seemed greater than all others.

Like a great tree, Assyria provided shelter for all of the birds and wild animals of the earth. This tree was more magnificent than all the trees in the garden of God, the garden of Eden. It had a God-given beauty and stature similar to the prince of Tyre in Ezekiel 28. Assyria's power was so great that all the great nations of the world lived under its influence.

• Egypt forgot that God created her beauty, and she became proud and arrogant. Like Tyre, such pride would lead to a fall. The God who placed Egypt in a high position would send a powerful nation to destroy it, as its wickedness deserved.

• I have banished it: The human agent would only be carrying out what God had already decided.

Egypt’s judgment would teach the other nations an important lesson. No matter how powerful they believed themselves to be, they would all one day die and go down to the Pit (the place of the dead).

• The mourning for the great tree, Assyria, was as great as the tree itself. Its fall brought deep sorrow.

• The tallest cedar trees in the ancient world grew in Lebanon. These trees were known for their great height and strength.

The nations trembled with fear when Assyria fell. Other great nations had already fallen and gone down to death. They were pleased when Assyria joined them in defeat. Assyria’s allies also followed the same path and shared in its destruction.

The main message of this long comparison now becomes clear.

Egypt was strong and glorious. However, it would be destroyed just as Assyria had been. It would also share in the shame of other nations that trusted in their own power and greatness.