Pharaoh Will Fall Like Assyria

Rev. Ryan Ogrodowicz, associate pastor and headmaster at Grace Lutheran Church and School in Brenham, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Ezekiel 31:1-18.

The LORD speaks against Pharaoh particularly. If he would compare himself to Assyria in greatness, the LORD invites Pharaoh to consider that nation’s outcome. On the one hand, Assyria grew up as a well-nourished tree, providing a home for all kinds of people. This was the LORD’s doing. Yet Assyria received these gifts with pride instead of humility, and so the LORD gave Assyria into the hands of Babylon. The once-proud tree was stripped of its branches, leaving those from many nations without a refuge. The LORD sent Assyria down into death and the grave, leaving their boastful claims without any backing at all. The example of Assyria served as a warning to Pharaoh, who could expect his pride to lead him in the same direction. This text calls all of us to repent of our pride and to find our refuge only in the tree of life that Jesus has made for us in His cross.

“The Faithful Watchman” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Ezekiel. Just when Ezekiel should have begun his service as priest in the temple in Jerusalem, the LORD called him to be a prophet in exile in Babylon. Through fantastic visions and attention-grabbing action prophecies, the prophet Ezekiel is a faithful watchman who proclaims the word of the LORD to bring people to repentance over their sins and to faith in the coming Savior, Jesus Christ, the glory of the LORD made flesh.