Ezekiel 32:19 Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.
If I asked you to name the three most dangerous countries in our world right now, your answer would reveal something about your own perspective, what you think about this world and about those countries. Right now I am reading about World War II. What was the greatest threat to America in World War II? It was countries that are now allies of America like Germany, Japan, and Italy. None of these are particularly powerful countries now, at least compared to what they were, and they are certainly not a threat to us. In fact, they are each somewhat of an ally. My point is that countries change in a relatively short period of time. If a country or empire can change that quickly, think about how quickly your own fortunes can change.
When you read Ezekiel 32, you are reminded that you have a choice. You either have pride or perspective, but you don’t have both at the same time. God says in Ezekiel 32, “Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh.” Why would God have a funeral dirge sung for Pharaoh when he was one of the most powerful men in the world, a man to whom God’s own people looked for strength and refuge?
Well, he was powerful at the moment, but like all kings, kingdoms, and people, that would shortly change. Something different would come to pass. Verse 11 says, “For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee.” “Then shall they know that I am the LORD.” That is a refrain that you often find in the book of Ezekiel.
So, God takes Ezekiel and Pharaoh on a tour of the pit, destruction in the nether parts of the earth. God asks a question of Pharaoh, this mighty man. “Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised.” God is saying to Pharaoh, “You are no different than scads of kings and kingdoms that once were great but are now forgotten.” In the following verses he lists the kingdoms that are there like Asshur, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and the Zidonians.
For most of these you say, “Who even are these people and kingdoms?” That is the point! You don’t even know them. At one time many of them were great and formidable, but now they are all gone. God says, “Their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.” There was a time and a place. The time was when they were strong. The place was right here and right now in this world. They were a terror, but now they are nothing. They are laid in the pit. Now their iniquities will be upon their bones for there is no head for their iniquities to be upon, just bones that are moldering, rotten and forgotten.
Ultimately, God says, “Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude.” Misery loves company, and God was saying, “Pharaoh, you are going to decline just like every other nation has, not to reemerge, not to be a world power again.”
We learn from this that you have one of two things. You have either pride or perspective, but you don’t have both. The more of one you have, the less you have of the other. The more pride you have, the less perspective you have. Think about the things that contribute to where you are right now, your strength, your intelligence, or time. You are younger now than you will ever be again, and there will come a time when you are old and forgotten.
How about opportunity? All of us have opportunities that come and go. All of us have resources and talents. All of us have what unbelievers would call “dumb luck.” You think of the people who make it big and many of them are people with a gift, a propensity to hard work, and perhaps a “lucky break.” In short, this is God’s providence. The gifts, the hard work, and even the “lucky breaks” are providence.
I go through all of that to say that God has given all these things to you, including time, opportunity, resources, and even change. So, we should not think that we are nothing and nobody, someone who can’t do anything, nor should we think that we are great. We are a compilation of what God has given to us.
You have two choices. You can have pride or perspective, but you can’t have both. The strongest and best life is one lived where we realize that what we are and what we have is given by God and we are stewards to Him.