July 7 The Dragon Loses

Ezekiel 32:1-4 & 32 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: "You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers. 3 Thus says the Lord God: I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples, and they will haul you up in my dragnet. 4 And I will cast you on the ground; on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you, and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you...32 For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord God."

AS Ezekiel continues to speak of Pharaoh's destruction, I'd like to point out one particular image in this passage that we see repeated several times in Scripture. Read again the words, "you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers."

    The dragon is an image of evil in the Bible. A myth - a lie - of creation in the ancient world centered around a dragon being the source of creation. After a great battle, the myth said, a dragon called "Sea" was killed and the world was formed out of parts of his carcass.

    Here Ezekiel makes reference to that myth as he mocks the dragon coming out of its waters. The prophets Isaiah, Joel and Amos also refer to the dragon as they prophesy of the "Day of the Lord" - the day of God's final judgment over the earth. But nowhere is the image of the dragon and evil doing battle with God more frightful than it is in Revelation.

    Thirteen times in the accounts of the eternal and final conflict between God and Satan, we see the devil referred to as a dragon. Writing into a culture surrounded by myths of many false gods, John in Ezekiel's form, uses the dragon image to illustrate the cultures' threats and its evil striving to turn us from God. The dragon battles Jesus' church for mankind's souls. But ultimately we read in Revelation 20:2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And then Satan is destroyed as recorded in Revelation 20:10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 

    Here are three lessons we learn from Ezekiel's prophecy of Pharaohs doom: 1) God will allow evil to stain his creation for a time. 2) God will end the evil with his judgment in his predetermined time. 3) Those who are not of Jesus' church, set apart by the blood of Christ, are doomed to hell for all time.

    We must know and tell all such lessons as these. Otherwise how will we be saved? How will be urgent to proclaim God's Word to our families, our neighbors and our church?

Prayer: Thank you Lord God for your great teachings. You warn us of sin's penalty. You promise us your salvation. May we pursue and hold on to your saving promise. In Jesus' name, Amen.