Ezekiel 32:1-15: a reflection

1In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, the LORD’s word came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and tell him, ‘You were likened to a young lion of the nations; yet you are as a monster in the seas. You broke out with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.’” 3The Lord GOD says: “I will spread out my net on you with a company of many peoples. They will bring you up in my net. 4I will leave you on the land. I will cast you out on the open field, and will cause all the birds of the sky to settle on you. I will satisfy the animals of the whole earth with you. 5I will lay your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your height. 6I will also water the land in which you swim with your blood, even to the mountains. The watercourses will be full of you. 7When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and make its stars dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon won’t give its light. 8I will make all the bright lights of the sky dark over you, and set darkness on your land,” says the Lord GOD. 9“I will also trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known. 10Yes, I will make many peoples amazed at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid for you, when I brandish my sword before them. They will tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.” 11For the Lord GOD says: “The sword of the king of Babylon will come on you. 12I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of the mighty. They are all the ruthless of the nations. They will bring the pride of Egypt to nothing, and all its multitude will be destroyed. 13I will destroy also all its animals from beside many waters. The foot of man won’t trouble them any more, nor will the hoofs of animals trouble them. 14Then I will make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil,” says the Lord GOD. 15“When I make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that of which it was full, when I strike all those who dwell therein, then they will know that I am the LORD.

In a lament over the proud king of Egypt, who thought himself a great lion and a monster in the seas, God declares that even so great a power is caught in his net, brought down by his hand, a reminder that the mightiest earthly powers are under God's control. I will spread out my net on you, God says to Pharaoh, and they will bring you up in my net. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had thought himself great and untouchable, likened to a lion among the nations and a monster thrashing in the seas, exalting himself as though beyond challenge. But God declares that this great power is not beyond his reach: he will spread his net and catch him, bring him up, and bring the pride of Egypt to nothing. Even the mightiest earthly power was in God's net, under his control. This shows that the mightiest earthly powers are under God's control. Even the mightiest earthly powers are in God's net, under his control. No power, however great, is beyond God's reach or above his hand. The proud and seemingly untouchable are still under God's sovereignty. Trust that God rules over even the greatest powers of the world.

Notice how the proud, self-exalting power is portrayed, and how God answers it. Pharaoh had thought himself great and beyond challenge: like a lion among the nations, like a monster thrashing in the waters, fouling the rivers with his strength, exalting himself as though untouchable and supreme. It is a picture of a great earthly power that considers itself beyond reach, answerable to no one. But God's word cuts through this: I will spread out my net on you, and bring you up in my net. However great and self-exalting Pharaoh was, he was not beyond God; God would catch him as in a net, bring him down, and bring the pride of Egypt to nothing. The mightiest earthly power was, all along, within God's net, under his control. This holds a truth worth resting in. The great powers of the world, the forces, nations, and figures that seem mighty, untouchable, beyond challenge, that exalt themselves as supreme, are not beyond God's reach or above his hand. However great they appear, they are, like Pharaoh, within God's net, under his control; God rules over them, and can bring even the mightiest down. This frees us from being overawed by the great powers of the world as though they were beyond God, and gives us confidence that God rules over all, even the mightiest. Nothing is so great as to escape his sovereignty; the proud and seemingly untouchable are still in his net. We do well to trust that God rules over even the greatest earthly powers, which are all under his control. Trust that God rules over even the greatest earthly powers, which are in his net. No power is so great as to escape God's reach or rise above his hand. Do not be overawed by the mighty powers of the world; God rules them all. The proud and seemingly untouchable are still under God's sovereignty.

That is worth taking to heart, for the mightiest earthly powers are under God's control, in his net, and we do well to trust his rule over them, as God declared of Egypt's proud king. We can be overawed by the great powers of the world as though beyond God; but God declared that even proud Egypt was in his net, under his control. God rules all. When you are overawed by the mighty powers of the world, remember that even the greatest are in God's net, under his control, and trust his rule over them. Trust that God rules over even the greatest and proudest earthly powers, which are all in his net and under his control, rather than being overawed by them as though they were beyond his reach, as in a lament over the proud king of Egypt who thought himself a great lion and a monster in the seas God declared that even so great a power is caught in his net and brought down by his hand, saying he would spread his net on Pharaoh and they would bring him up in it; for Pharaoh had thought himself great and untouchable, likened to a lion among the nations and a monster thrashing in the seas and exalting himself as beyond challenge, but God declares that this great power is not beyond his reach and that he will spread his net and catch him and bring the pride of Egypt to nothing, even the mightiest earthly power being in God's net and under his control, which holds a truth worth resting in, that the great powers of the world, the forces, nations, and figures that seem mighty and untouchable and beyond challenge and exalt themselves as supreme, are not beyond God's reach or above his hand but like Pharaoh are within God's net and under his control, so that God rules over them and can bring even the mightiest down, which frees us from being overawed by the great powers of the world as though beyond God and gives us confidence that God rules over all, nothing being so great as to escape his sovereignty, so that we do well to trust that God rules over even the greatest earthly powers.

Lord, in a lament over the proud king of Egypt, who thought himself a great lion and a monster in the seas, you declare that even so great a power is caught in your net, brought down by your hand, a reminder that the mightiest earthly powers are under your control. I will spread out my net on you, you say to Pharaoh, and they will bring you up in my net. Pharaoh had thought himself great and untouchable, likened to a lion among the nations and a monster thrashing in the seas, exalting himself as though beyond challenge. But you declare that this great power is not beyond your reach: you will spread your net and catch him, bring him up, and bring the pride of Egypt to nothing. Even the mightiest earthly power was in your net, under your control. Show me how the proud, self-exalting power is portrayed, and how you answer it. Pharaoh had thought himself great and beyond challenge, exalting himself as though untouchable and supreme. It is a picture of a great earthly power that considers itself beyond reach, answerable to no one. But your word cuts through this: I will spread out my net on you, and bring you up in my net. However great and self-exalting Pharaoh was, he was not beyond you; you would catch him as in a net, bring him down, and bring the pride of Egypt to nothing. The mightiest earthly power was, all along, within your net, under your control. This holds a truth worth resting in. The great powers of the world, the forces, nations, and figures that seem mighty, untouchable, beyond challenge, that exalt themselves as supreme, are not beyond your reach or above your hand. However great they appear, they are, like Pharaoh, within your net, under your control; you rule over them, and can bring even the mightiest down. This frees me from being overawed by the great powers of the world as though they were beyond you, and gives me confidence that you rule over all. Take that to my heart. When I am overawed by the mighty powers of the world, help me remember, Lord, that even the greatest are in your net, under your control, and trust your rule over them, for nothing is so great as to escape your sovereignty, and the proud and seemingly untouchable are still under your hand.