Ezekiel 32:22

Assyria … Elam … Meshech and Tubal … Edom … the leaders of the north and the Sidonians: In the past, these nations filled people with fear. Now they are described as weak shadows of what they once were. Their power is gone, and they exist in a place without joy or purpose.

Assyria had been defeated by the Babylonians and the Medes between 627 and 609 BC. After that time, it was no longer a great world power.

This final message against Egypt brings the whole series of messages to a close. It gathers together the main themes from God’s judgments against all the nations.

• The seventh and final message of judgment against the nations targets Egypt, an old enemy and ally of Israel. This message is the longest and, like the one against Tyre, it addresses both Egypt and its ruler.

• Egypt often tempted Israel and Judah to turn away from their loyalty to the Lord. Soon after leaving Egypt, Israel fell into the trap of Egypt's idolatry. Egypt led Judah to rely on chariots and horses instead of the Lord, but Egypt was unreliable when it mattered most. The Lord judged Egypt for leading his people astray (compare Luke 17:1–2).

• This section contains a series of messages of judgment against nearby nations. There are six shorter messages against Judah's immediate neighbors, arranged in a clockwise order, followed by a final message against Egypt (Ezekiel 30–32). Through experiencing God's judgment, the nations would recognize God's control over everything. The nations might be used to carry out God's judgment on his people, but they would not avoid judgment themselves.

• One of the main purposes of these messages was to show that the negative part of God's promise to Abraham ("I will … curse those who curse you," Genesis 12:3) was still active. No one can harm God's people and avoid consequences, even when God's people are under his judgment.