Ezekiel 31:1-18
Q.1. What is the lesson God wanted Pharaoh to learn, from His treatment of Assyria? – (Ezk.31:1-18)
God wanted Pharaoh to recognize that no one compared with Him in terms of greatness (see Ezk.31:2). Assyria had indeed been great with a glory that rivalled the Garden of Eden (see Ezk.31:3-9). However, the greatness that God had bestowed on Assyria had gone to her head. She had turned to wickedness (see Ezk.31:7-11). Assyria had been destroyed and brought down to Sheol, just as the Garden of Eden became inaccessible and no longer beneficial to man after the Fall (see Ezk.31:18).
Q.2. How do the references to ‘God’s Garden’, ‘Sheol’, and ‘the pit’ reveal that God will bring judgment to the great and the small beyond this life? – (Ezk.31:8-18)
Many prophecies were firstly fulfilled in the lifetime in which they had been delivered by the prophets. However, many prophecies also follow what is known as ‘the law of double reference’ and will be fulfilled more completely at a later stage. Many of the Messianic Psalms were the actual experiences of the Psalmists. However, they also pointed to Christ. Here Ezekiel revealed the destruction of the nation of Assyria. They had taken the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity and were feared by the nations. However, now they are now no more (see Ezk.31:10-14). At the same time God foreshadowed the fall of the pride and pomp of mankind. Sheol is the New Testament equivalent of Hades – ‘the resting place of the dead’. The bottomless pit is not only the everlasting abode of the Devil, but also all the unsaved – 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Rev.20:13-15 c.f. Ezk.31:15-18). There is life beyond the grave for those who have been redeemed and also for the unsaved. The redeemed go to be with Jesus in heaven but the unsaved are separated from God forever. No wonder Jesus warned us to fear the One Who has the power to destroy both soul and body in hell (see Mt.10:28).