Down in the grave mighty leaders will mockingly welcome Egypt and its allies, saying, “They have come down; they lie among the outcasts, all victims of the sword.” Ezekiel 32:21 (NLT)
At one time, Egypt was the Big Man on Campus. It had a big military base with top notch soldiers and the latest in technology to support everyone. They had top strategists and plenty of money, but there were some young upstart countries – like Babylon – who were wanting to show their stuff and to confront the lion who ruled the world. Babylon was making some people nervous and citizens of the countries between Babylon and Egypt were running fast to Egypt for protection. That wouldn’t have been so bad, except that these new immigrants were adapting to the Egyptian way of doing things. They were dropping their old traditions in favor of fitting in with their new country and God wasn’t too happy with the way that they had jumped ship.
God came to Ezekiel and gave him a message for Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. This scripture is part of that message. While Pharaoh may think he’s the Top Dog, God said that wouldn’t last. Egypt would be chopped down to size and nothing would be left.
Have you noticed how often people (and countries) will climb to the top with the best of everything and, just when they’ve reached the pinnacle of success, something happens and everything they’ve been standing on starts to slide down a cliff. I saw a video on Facebook that showed a beautiful vacation cabin sitting on the edge of a cliff in some high mountains. People were standing on the balcony overlooking the valley far below. Suddenly, the ground beneath the cabin broke away from the cliff and fell into the chasm. Not surprisingly, the building soon followed suit and there was nothing the people could do but to go down with the house.
We plot and we plan, and we find the best materials, the best architects, and builders to create a slice of heaven for us and the mountain crumbles not long after our creation is completed. We have a lot of control over a lot of things but not necessarily control over mountains.
Egypt was a lot like that cabin. It had done everything right to build up a mighty nation, but the soldiers were slaughtered, the towns destroyed, and all of its pride in its status was crushed beneath the feet of someone else.
It kind of makes you wonder if all that striving is worth it. This is not to say that becoming a mighty nation is not a worthwhile objective. I think it depends on how you reach that position. If you can become great while treating your people humanely and honoring justice and compassion, you will have earned that greatness. If you become great while denying dignity and justice to your people, then maybe the fall is deserved. Something to think about.
Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She is the author of “Jessie’s Corner: Something to Think About,” a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.
