So, why did God announce that He would punish all these kingdoms? For one simple reason – their pride. The Prince of Tyre was so impressed with his own wealth and his wisdom that he imagined himself to be a god (Ezekiel 28:2). And of course the Pharaohs of Egypt had long been worshipped as sons of the sun god. They took pride in the Nile River, whose predictable annual floods guaranteed the fertility of the fields, and thus formed the foundation of their kingdom’s wealth and stability.

But, no matter what the Pharaohs may have told themselves, they didn’t make the Nile (29:3). God did. And God made it very clear to Tyre and Egypt, and really to all the kingdoms of the world, that He was the true source of all their power and wealth. So, by taking away their peace and prosperity, God wanted the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Philistines, the Tyrians, the Sidonians, and the Egyptians to “Know that I am the Lord” (25:7, 25:11, 25:17, 26:6, 28:23, 29:16).

But at the same time, God promised to bless His people, to bring them back from the land to which they had been exiled. God promised to reveal His holiness in them, to prosper them, and to allow them to live in security. And why would God do all that? For the same reason He had sent them into exile, and for the same reason that He would issue His judgments against the proud unbelieving nations: so that they would “know that I am the Lord their God” (Ezekiel 28:26).

For whatever else we might learn from world history or from Scripture, that is after all the main point. God is God, and there is no other. He is the One Who not only predicts the rise and fall of nations – He brings all the events of history to pass. And He reveals His might and majesty through His justice as well as His mercy.

So, does it really make sense for us to continue in the delusion that we are in charge of our lives? Why not instead come to grips with reality? Doesn’t it make more sense to humble ourselves before our sovereign King, receiving the gracious pardon that only He can grant?

Ezekiel 28:25-26

25 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and shall manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob.
26 “And they will live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards, and live securely, when I execute judgments upon all who scorn them round about them. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God.”‘”