31st March 2025

31st March 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ezekiel 29:1–30:19 focus 29:1-16)


Message (Alan Burke) 


In December I saw a man that was wearing a Tump Christmas jumper and I thought to myself you’d never see someone mad enough to wear a Keir Starmer Christmas Jumper. Like the only reason why he is Prime Minister is because the Tories did such a horrendous job and the thing is most of the nation didn’t want Labour and if you want to tell me that I’m wrong Labour only got 33.7% of the electorate to vote for them and yet came out with 63% of the seats, like that is utter madness. I’ll give you some perspective, even Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour got more votes in 2017 than Starmer. The thing is no matter what I think of Trump or Starmer the Lord has put them there. You might lament at that but as we come to the word of the Lord that comes to Ezekiel here in chapter 29 as the he prophecies against Pharaoh the King of Egypt there is an incredibly comforting truth for us in this. 

Let’s look at what we are told. It begins as the Lord figuratively describes Pharaoh as the monster is over the Nile the artery of Egypt, but the Lord would not let it continue, he would put hooks in its jaws. The imagery here evokes what happens when a crocodile being caught, as a hook is secured in both its jaws so that it is unable to snap, in effect it has been made helpless. That is figuratively what the Lord would do and did do to Pharaoh. What is more the fish of its streams would stick to its scales, it would be pulled from the Nile that it had dominion over and left in the desert, along with the fish of its streams. Left then for the birds of the air and scavengers on the land to come and pick it clean. This is a picture of divine judgement and it is against not only Pharaoh but all who live in Egypt, the fish of the Nile are the inhabitants of Egypt. As a result all who live in Egypt would know that the Lord is God. 


The imagery then moves in 6b from the sea monster or rather nile monster to that of a staff. The Lord is speaking of how Egypt had been a staff or reed for the house of Israel. What this is referring to is how Egypt encouraged Israel to rise up against its oppressors and then how time and again promised aid to Israel. Israel had also sought the aid of Egypt breaking the oath they had made to Babylon (Ez 17:18). The thing Israel looked for aid but in nearly every instance Israel was left to their own fait and faced the consequences alone. In the judgment that comes v12 Egypt will become a desolate wasteland, how v13 it will be for forty years, its inhabitants will be scattered among the nations and at the end of the forty years v14 they would be gathered and brought back. When this happens their power and strength would have gone, the Lord had brought the mighty down, he had humbled them.


What do we learn from this? Well there is an incredibly comforting truth that we are reminded off here, for the Lord himself is Lord of history he is providentially and sovereignly in control of all that is unfolding. Yes that even means Keir Starmer being the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Mediocre Britain and Northern Ireland. All that is unfolding is according to his plans and purposes, nations will rise and fall according to his will. Egypt who was once a major player was helpless in before the Lord and is no longer a world superpower. In what we see play out on the world stage today we should know it is the Lord unseen directing all that is going on for his purposes. Rulers and Nations rise and fall by his will and in his timing. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q45 Which is the first commandment?
A. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.