(REFLECTIONS ON EZEKIEL 32:1-32)
Down to the Pit, with the uncircumcised, with Assyria, Elam, Meshek and Tubal, Edom, all the princes of the north and all the Sidonians, that is where Pharaoh and Egypt will go. Down to the Pit. The Pit refers to Sheol, the spiritual realm of the dead, the end, the lowest point, into the ground. That is the Lord’s judgment against the nations that rejoiced at the fall of Jerusalem.
Once the powers of the world, down in the Pit all are shamed and disgraced, dishonored and cast out from the presence of the Lord. This is a stern warning to Israel, and all of God’s chosen people. Pride, hunger for power, our own desires, all can lead us on a path to destruction. This destruction is not only in the physical life, but perhaps more importantly in the spiritual life.
We know how important the afterlife was for the Egyptians, as they saw the physical life only as a journey in preparation for what was to come. That is why they spent so much time and energy to prepare for the afterlife, with their burial tombs, mummification, rituals, and gathering of all the goods on earth in preparation for what would come next.
However, the afterlife that they had hoped for, wasn’t exactly the way things worked out in today’s Scripture. The Pit would not be the beautiful garden and oasis for eternal rest, but rather a place of judgment because of the pain and suffering they caused on earth.
As I was reading today’s Scripture, the Pit made me think of the lowest of lows. Perhaps many of us have experienced the lowest of lows in our life. Perhaps we are still in the process of climbing up from rock bottom. Where is our hope then that gives us strength to keep climbing and not just resign our lives to the Pit?
As I am writing this, I remember a funeral service that I spoke at several years ago. It was a very difficult situation because a young son had passed away while riding on a motorbike with his father. The father survived the accident, but how could he and the family move on from this life changing moment?
Perhaps there is no moving on, and perhaps it seemed like the Pit had come up to earth and swallowed this family whole. At the time, I shared Revelation 21:1-5. I don’t think it was the message that did anything, but rather the words of God that gave this family strength and hope to move forward. I learned later that this family was expecting a new addition to their family. They have moved forward, remembering their fallen son, but also continuing on with hope for a better day.
As we read these nations going down to the Pit, let us read Revelation 21:1-5 as believers, and know that the Pit isn’t the end for those in Christ, but is a reminder of how beautiful the grace and love of God can actually be.
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Ezekiel 32
Circumcision is the covenant made between the Lord and the Israelites, and the uncircumcised have nothing to do with God’s kingdom.
Brit Milah was held on the eighth day after the birth of Jewish boys. This was a religious ritual of making a covenant with God. From the perspective of modern medicine, it was found that the eighth day was the most mature time for neonatal coagulation function and helped reduce the risk of surgery.
Through circumcision, the Jews showed that they were descendants of Abraham and made a covenant as God’s chosen people.
This ritual also includes naming boys, which is to remember God’s act of changing Abram to Abraham when he gave the covenant of circumcision, endowing the boy with a new identity.
The Gentiles did not practice circumcision, so they had no relation to the Lord and were not God’s chosen people.
Genesis 17:24 records that “Abraham was ninety – nine years old when he was circumcised.” God called Abram to leave his native family at the age of 75, with an interval of 24 years. Accordingly, Paul declares that Abraham was the father of faith, and faith in the Lord precedes the covenant of circumcision. It was more than 430 years since Moses promulgated the law at Mount Sinai. Therefore, “justification by faith” has become the core of the Reformed faith. From this, all glory is derived from God’s belief that does not exalt one’s own merits.