Today we finish the prophecy about Egypt in Ezekiel 32 with a description of what became of Pharaoh and his armies. They had not yet been defeated by Babylon, but God told Ezekiel to write a lament for them because their fate was sealed.

“Say to [Egypt], ‘Are you more favored than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised.’ They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let her be dragged off with all her hordes.” Ezekiel 32:19-20

They were going to the same place where other worldly powers that defied God had gone.

“From within the realm of the dead the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, ‘They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.’” Ezekiel 32:21

The Afterlife for Terrorists

Ezekiel was given a glimpse into the place of the dead, where the condemned armies of God’s enemies were sent. Assyria was there, along with Elam, Edom, the Sidonians, Meshek, and Tubal. They all fell into the pit and lay surrounded by the graves of their hordes of fighting men. Their weapons lay useless alongside their bodies.

“Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the land of the living are slain, fallen by the sword . . . Because their terror had spread in the land of the living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain.” Ezekiel 32:23, 25

God ironically suggests that Pharaoh will be consoled to see that he has company in hell. But it’s cold comfort given the fact they are all powerless, awaiting judgment in their graves.

The Lord points out several times that these people who were so powerful and did so much damage in their lifetimes are now merely uncircumcised bodies in graves. They have no covenant relationship with God and are condemned forever.

The Watchman

When God gave a prophet a message he became like a watchman who blows a trumpet to warn people about danger. In this case, the danger was God’s warning to the people to stop sinning and worshiping idols. Ezekiel was responsible to make sure they heard the message.

Once the people heard what God said, it was up to them to do the right thing, repent and stop sinning. If they didn’t, God would not hold Ezekiel responsible for the consequences. The people knew what the Lord had said and they deliberately defied him.

If Ezekiel hesitated to give people God’s messages because it seemed too hard or dangerous, and they continued in their sins, God would punish the people for sinning, but he would also punish Ezekiel for failing to give them the warning.

God would not punish a prophet for the sins of the people, but he would punish him for failing in his duties as a prophet.

Turn, Turn from Your Evil Ways

“‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn form their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’” Ezekiel 33:11

God never forced anyone to turn from his sinful ways. He called people to do it, but he never coerced them. If a person chose to live righteously, he got a righteous person’s reward from God. If someone chose to live wickedly, he would be condemned.

But if a righteous person turned and became wicked, their former righteousness would not save them. Doing a certain number of righteous acts did not redeem people. They didn’t get “righteousness credits” that balanced out “wickedness demerits.” God looked at the current condition of each person’s heart. Was there righteousness or wickedness in the heart?

It was the same way with a wicked person who changed and became righteous. Their former wickedness did not interfere with their righteous repentance.

“If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so.” Ezekiel 33:18-19

God was perfectly just toward people. He didn’t put them through endurance tests to see how long they could behave righteously. All he cared about was genuine sorrow for sin and a desire to please him, no matter when that came about.

Taking a Census

Once things settled down in Babylon, the people began to make records of their families. They didn’t want to lose their identity so they organized themselves by tribes and wrote down some family histories.

If they ever returned to the Promised Land as God said they would, they needed to be able to prove their claims to their tribal territories. In today’s passages Simeon, Reuben and Gad worked up genealogies and land records for their tribes.

Jeremiah 52:28-30 says that there were 4,600 Israelites taken as captives to Babylon, but those were only the people the Babylonians kept track of. They were the elite that Nebuchadnezzar wanted in his service. Archeologists believe that the population of Judah at that time was around 75,000 people and 20,000 of them were probably exiled. The rest were scattered in fear or stayed and farmed the land as best they could.

A Song in Exile

Psalm 137 became the song commemorating the exile. Even today, it’s a favorite among Jewish people who long to visit Jerusalem. It gives us a peek into how sad it was for the exiles to be forced away from their home.

“How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.” Psalm 137

If only the people of Judah had valued Jerusalem highly enough to prevent its destruction while Jeremiah was prophesying inside its walls! He asked them to turn from their wicked ways, but they embraced them instead, and Jerusalem fell and they went into exile.

They should have listened to their Watchman, Jeremiah the prophet.