And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the
seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying, Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt;
and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to
bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword. Therefore thus saith
the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will
break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will
cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scatter the
Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the
countries. And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon,
and put my sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and
he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly-wounded
man. But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the
arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the
Lord, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of
Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. And I
will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them
among the countries; and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses
20-26).
The arm of Pharaoh, King of Egypt was to be broken completely. No
bandage would suffice to make it strong again to hold the sword. It was
a break beyond remedy. Jeremiah had received a similar message. "Go up
into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt, in vain
shalt thou use many medicines, for thou shalt not be cured" (Jere.
xlvi:11). And Jeremiah also announced that Nebuchadnezzar should be used
in carrying out the overthrow of Egypt. "The word that the Lord spake to
Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, should come
and smite the land of Egypt. Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol,
and publish in Noph and in Tehaphnehes, say ye, Stand fast and prepare
thee, for the sword shall devour round about thee" (Jere. xlvi:13-17).
Nebuchadnezzar wielded the sword of the Lord. "And they shall know that
I am the Lord, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the King of
Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt." The
sovereign God had not only used the King of Babylon to execute His
judgments upon Jerusalem, but He had also given other lands into his
hands and made him the head of the times of the Gentiles, typified in
his great dream-image by the head of gold. "And now have I given all
these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon my
servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
And all nations shall serve him and his son and his son's son, until the
very time of his land come, and then many nations and great Kings shall
serve themselves of him" (Jere. xxvii:5-7). The times of the Gentiles
are still in force, and when they end Egypt will pass through another
judgment to receive afterward the blessings promised through the prophet
Isaiah (Is. xix:18-25).