Egypt. How was the dynasty eclipsed by Greeks, Romans, and the British Empire? Today the Land of Pyramids is a has-been.
But Egypt once ruled the world. Besides allowing transportation up and down the continent, the Nile’s seasonal flooding spread water and nutrients across the delta. Soon the plow was invented, allowing people to build houses and stay put for the first time. Egypt birthed the first cities and the great nation flourished on the 4,000-mile river.
So what happened?
PRIDE.
“Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh … who says ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’ …I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins… Egypt will be lowly and will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small they cannot rule over the nations…. Look! I am against Pharaoh. I will break his arms … and make the sword fall from his hand…. They will know that I am Yahweh. Because [Egypt] grew proud, … I determined to hand it over… I banished it because of its wickedness.” Ezekiel 29:3,10,15; 30:22,26; 31:10-11.
This is fulfilled prophecy. Is today’s Egypt not a lowly shadow of what it once was? Today the Land of Pharaohs is so inconsequential its actions are ignored by the world. The proud land has been humbled forever.
And cannot the same be said of global empires that followed it? How critical is Greece or Rome on the world stage? Napoleonic France? Nazi Germany? Great Britain remains a key player—God has been merciful—but England is not the superpower it once was. Could the United States likewise be headed for irrelevance?
One story repeated often in scripture:
Nation A becomes proud. God raises up Nation B to execute His humbling judgment on Nation A. Nation B later becomes proud—and God uses Nation C to carry out His judgment on Nation B, and so on.
God, keep us HUMBLE! Bless our nation with humble, God-fearing citizens who seek Your glory and not our own!
ΑΩ
Household Words: 