I made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below. – Ezekiel 31:16

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 24, 2014): Ezekiel 31

Ashurbanipal rose to power in the Assyrian Empire in 668 B.C.E. He inherited a growing empire and during the initial parts of his reign he was able to sustain that growth. Soon after Ashurbanipal took control of the empire, the Assyrian Empire became the largest Empire to ever rule over the known world. The empire extended from the Caucasus in the north to North Africa in the south, and from the east Mediterranean in the west to central Iran in the east. And the sheer size of the empire became an issue for the health of the kingdom. The decline of the Assyrian Empire seems to have been entirely because the empire simply reached too far. Suddenly the member provinces found that they could rebel against their Assyrian overlords because the Assyrians simply did not have the ability to either police or secure their own territory. The fall had begun.

Ezekiel makes the comparison of the fall of Assyria and the felling of a great tree in the forest. And just like a great tree makes the forest tremble, Ezekiel asserts that the destruction of the Assyrian Empire made the nations tremble. It should be noted that this is not a prophecy of the future (Ezekiel speaking of things that had not yet happened.) It is a prophecy of the past (Ezekiel putting into perspective events that had already taken place.) The reign of Ashurbanipal and the fall of the Assyrian Empire had happened probably fifty to sixty years prior to the exile. What Ezekiel seemed to be attempting to do was to add understanding to the events of recent history.

But Ezekiel was right, the nations did tremble – although some possibly trembled with fear while others trembled with anticipation. Of direct concern to Ezekiel was the fate of two of the nations – Babylon and Egypt. The overextension of Assyria opened up a window for the Babylonians that may not have been there otherwise. And the other major nation in Judah’s sphere of influence - Egypt - tried valiantly to come to Assyria’s aid, but was unable to stop the decline of the Assyrians and the rise of the Babylonians. Egypt would continue to the struggle against Babylon but would not be able to overcome the new Empire builder – Nebuchadnezzar.

And in the midst of this all of this conflict was Judah. The tree that was Assyria was falling and they were in not position to do anything. Ezekiel wants to be clear about this. Judah’s disobedience of God had resulted in Judah being a pawn instead of a major player in the events that followed the fall of the Assyrians. And God was not absent in all that was happening. In fact, he was the author of what was happening, and a big part of the miraculous circumstances that resulted in the rise of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 32