Ezekiel 31 Study Notes: Pharaoh and the Fallen Cedar
God warns Pharaoh by pointing him to Assyria, pictured as a towering cedar that outgrew every tree in Eden. Because it became arrogant about its height, God had it cut down, the nations shook at its fall, and Pharaoh is told he will share the same fate.
General
When God asked who could compare with Pharaoh’s greatness, what example did He tell Ezekiel to point Pharaoh to (31:2-3)?
Answer: Assyria, shown as a tall cedar growing in Lebanon
God told Ezekiel to speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and his vast crowds, asking who could match his greatness (31:2). Instead of answering directly, God pointed Pharaoh to Assyria, pictured as a magnificent Lebanon cedar whose lovely branches shaded the forest and whose top rose into the clouds (31:3). Watered by deep springs, it outgrew every other tree; birds nested in it, animals gave birth beneath it, and every great nation rested under its shelter (31:4-6). In the parable, Assyria was the greatest power of all, yet the rest of the chapter shows that it fell. The lesson for Pharaoh was plain: if that tree came down, Egypt was not beyond God’s reach either. Daniel uses a similar picture of a vast tree for Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom (Daniel 4:10-12), and Ezekiel had already said that the LORD brings down the lofty tree and lifts up the lowly one (Ezekiel 17:24).
- Ezekiel 31:2-3 (BSB)““Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: ‘Who can be compared to your greatness? Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.”God sends Ezekiel to Pharaoh with a question about his greatness and points him to Assyria, pictured as a towering cedar.
- Ezekiel 31:6 (BSB)“All the birds of the air nested in its branches, and all the beasts of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade.”The cedar shelters birds, animals and the great nations, showing how far its power reached.
- Daniel 4:10-12 (BSB)“In these visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this come to pass: There was a tree in the midst of the land, and its height was great. The tree grew large and strong; its top reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant, and upon it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field found shelter, in its branches the birds of the air nested, and from it every creature was fed.”Nebuchadnezzar’s dream uses a similar picture of a vast tree sheltering birds and beasts to portray a mighty king.
- Ezekiel 17:24 (BSB)“Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’””Ezekiel had already declared that the LORD is the one who brings down the tall tree and raises the low one.
Theological
Answering the question of who could rival Pharaoh’s greatness, to what did God direct him (31:2-3)?
Answer: Assyria, shown as a tall cedar growing in Lebanon
The oracle opens with a rhetorical question to Pharaoh and his multitude: who is comparable to your greatness (31:2)? The answer comes by way of example. God sets before him Assyria, portrayed as a lofty cedar of Lebanon whose crown reached the clouds and whose branches shaded the forest (31:3). Nourished by the deep, it surpassed every tree; birds and beasts found shelter in it, and the great nations dwelt in its shade (31:4-6), an image of imperial dominion. Yet this supreme tree fell, and Egypt, which could not claim to surpass it, should draw the obvious conclusion. Daniel’s vision of the great tree uses the same royal imagery for Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:10-12), and Ezekiel had already announced that the LORD brings down the tall tree and exalts the low one (Ezekiel 17:24), the sovereign reversal this chapter illustrates.
- Ezekiel 31:2-3 (BSB)““Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: ‘Who can be compared to your greatness? Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.”God sends Ezekiel to Pharaoh with a question about his greatness and points him to Assyria, pictured as a towering cedar.
- Ezekiel 31:6 (BSB)“All the birds of the air nested in its branches, and all the beasts of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade.”The cedar shelters birds, animals and the great nations, showing how far its power reached.
- Daniel 4:10-12 (BSB)“In these visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this come to pass: There was a tree in the midst of the land, and its height was great. The tree grew large and strong; its top reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant, and upon it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field found shelter, in its branches the birds of the air nested, and from it every creature was fed.”Nebuchadnezzar’s dream uses a similar picture of a vast tree sheltering birds and beasts to portray a mighty king.
- Ezekiel 17:24 (BSB)“Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’””Ezekiel had already declared that the LORD is the one who brings down the tall tree and raises the low one.
General
According to 31:10-11, why did God hand the great cedar over to be cut down?
Answer: It became arrogant about how high it had grown
God gives the reason directly: the cedar grew so tall that its crown reached the clouds, and the tree became arrogant about how high it stood. So God handed it over to a mighty ruler among the nations to repay it as its wickedness deserved, and He drove it out (31:10-11). Ruthless foreigners felled it, and its broken branches lay across the mountains and valleys (31:12). Nothing in the parable faults the tree for hoarding water or shade: the streams that fed it reached every tree of the field, and birds and beasts sheltered in it (31:4-6). Its sin was pride. Isaiah says the same of Assyria’s king, whom the LORD would punish for his arrogant heart (Isaiah 10:12). The principle runs through Scripture: God resists the arrogant and shows favor to the lowly (James 4:6), and even Nebuchadnezzar learned that God is able to bring the proud low (Daniel 4:37).
- Ezekiel 31:10-11 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height, I delivered it into the hand of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have banished it.”God gives the reason for the cedar’s fall: it grew proud of how tall it stood, so He handed it over for judgment.
- Ezekiel 31:12 (BSB)“Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.”Ruthless foreigners cut the tree down, and its branches lie broken across the land.
- Isaiah 10:12 (BSB)“So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.”Isaiah likewise says the LORD would punish Assyria’s king for his arrogant heart and proud look.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””James cites the abiding principle that God resists the arrogant and favors the lowly.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar, humbled by God, confesses that He can bring the arrogant low.
Theological
What reason does God give in 31:10-11 for delivering the cedar to judgment?
Answer: It became arrogant about how high it had grown
The verdict is explicit: because the cedar grew to a great height, raised its crown into the clouds, and swelled with pride over its stature, God gave it over to a mighty ruler among the nations, who would repay it as its wickedness deserved (31:10-11). Ruthless foreigners felled it, and its limbs lay shattered across the land (31:12). Nothing in the parable accuses the tree of withholding water or shelter; the streams that fed it reached all the trees, and the creatures and nations rested in it (31:4-6). The charge is pride, the creature’s self-exaltation against the Creator. Isaiah names the same sin in Assyria’s king (Isaiah 10:12); James states the abiding rule that God resists the arrogant and shows favor to the lowly (James 4:6); and Nebuchadnezzar’s confession that God can humble the proud (Daniel 4:37) shows the same sovereign hand at work.
- Ezekiel 31:10-11 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height, I delivered it into the hand of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have banished it.”God gives the reason for the cedar’s fall: it grew proud of how tall it stood, so He handed it over for judgment.
- Ezekiel 31:12 (BSB)“Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.”Ruthless foreigners cut the tree down, and its branches lie broken across the land.
- Isaiah 10:12 (BSB)“So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.”Isaiah likewise says the LORD would punish Assyria’s king for his arrogant heart and proud look.
- James 4:6 (BSB)“But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””James cites the abiding principle that God resists the arrogant and favors the lowly.
- Daniel 4:37 (BSB)“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”Nebuchadnezzar, humbled by God, confesses that He can bring the arrogant low.
General
What purpose does God give for bringing the great cedar down (31:14)?
Answer: So that other trees would not rise up in the same pride
God says He brought the cedar down to keep any other tree fed by the waters from growing so tall that its crown reached the clouds; all of them are headed for death and the grave like every mortal (31:14). The cedar’s fall was meant as a warning to every other proud power. When it fell, God made the nations shake at the sound (31:16). Its fall showed that God alone is truly high. Isaiah speaks of a day of the LORD against everything proud and lofty (Isaiah 2:12). Mary praises God for bringing rulers down from their thrones and lifting up the humble (Luke 1:52), and Jesus teaches that anyone who lifts himself up will be brought low (Matthew 23:12).
- Ezekiel 31:14 (BSB)“This happened so that no other trees by the waters would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the depths of the earth, among the mortals who descend to the Pit.’”God states the purpose of the cedar’s fall: no other well-watered tree should tower up in the same way.
- Ezekiel 31:16 (BSB)“I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.”The nations shake at the sound of the cedar’s fall when God casts it down.
- Isaiah 2:12 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—”Isaiah announces a coming day of the LORD that will bring every arrogant and towering thing low.
- Luke 1:52 (BSB)“He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.”Mary praises God for toppling rulers and raising up the lowly.
- Matthew 23:12 (BSB)“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”Jesus teaches that self-promotion ends in being brought low.
Theological
What purpose does 31:14 assign to the felling of the cedar?
Answer: So that other trees would not rise up in the same pride
The judgment is didactic as well as just: God felled the cedar to keep any other tree fed by the waters from exalting itself in height and lifting its crown to the clouds, for all are destined for death and the world below along with mortal men (31:14). One empire’s fall becomes a warning to every lofty power. The nations quaked at the noise of its crash when God cast it down (31:16), a testimony that exaltation belongs to God alone. Isaiah’s day of the LORD comes against everything proud and lofty (Isaiah 2:12); Mary’s song praises the God who brings down rulers and exalts the humble (Luke 1:52); and Jesus states the same law of the kingdom: the one who lifts himself up will be brought low (Matthew 23:12).
- Ezekiel 31:14 (BSB)“This happened so that no other trees by the waters would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the depths of the earth, among the mortals who descend to the Pit.’”God states the purpose of the cedar’s fall: no other well-watered tree should tower up in the same way.
- Ezekiel 31:16 (BSB)“I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.”The nations shake at the sound of the cedar’s fall when God casts it down.
- Isaiah 2:12 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—”Isaiah announces a coming day of the LORD that will bring every arrogant and towering thing low.
- Luke 1:52 (BSB)“He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.”Mary praises God for toppling rulers and raising up the lowly.
- Matthew 23:12 (BSB)“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”Jesus teaches that self-promotion ends in being brought low.
General
True or False: In the parable, God says that He Himself gave the cedar its beauty and its spreading branches (31:9).
Answer: True
This is true. God declares that He was the one who gave the cedar its beauty and its spreading branches, so that every tree in Eden, God’s garden, envied it (31:9). Its height and splendor were God’s gift, not its own achievement. That is what made its pride so wrong: it grew proud of a height it had received as a gift (31:10). Pharaoh showed the same attitude when he claimed the Nile as his own, as if he had made it himself (Ezekiel 29:3). Paul asks believers what they possess that was not given to them, and why they boast as if it were their own achievement (1 Corinthians 4:7). Daniel praises God as the one who removes kings and sets them up (Daniel 2:21).
- Ezekiel 31:9 (BSB)“I made it beautiful with its many branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God.’”God claims the cedar’s beauty and many branches as His own work.
- Ezekiel 29:3 (BSB)“Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’”Pharaoh, by contrast, is quoted as claiming the Nile for himself, as though he had made it.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 (BSB)“For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”Paul asks what anyone has that was not received, so boasting as if it were self-made is empty.
- Daniel 2:21 (BSB)“He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”Daniel praises God as the one who removes kings and sets them up.
Theological
True or False: God claims in 31:9 that the cedar’s beauty and abundant branches were His own work.
Answer: True
This is true. God says that He Himself gave the cedar its beauty and its spreading branches, so that every tree of Eden in God’s garden envied it (31:9). The empire’s greatness was a bestowed gift under God’s providence, and its pride over its height (31:10) was therefore a theft of glory that belonged to the Giver. Pharaoh displayed the same self-attribution when he claimed the Nile as his own creation (Ezekiel 29:3). Paul’s question about what anyone possesses that was not first received (1 Corinthians 4:7) exposes all such boasting, and Daniel confesses that it is God who deposes kings and sets them in place (Daniel 2:21).
- Ezekiel 31:9 (BSB)“I made it beautiful with its many branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God.’”God claims the cedar’s beauty and many branches as His own work.
- Ezekiel 29:3 (BSB)“Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’”Pharaoh, by contrast, is quoted as claiming the Nile for himself, as though he had made it.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 (BSB)“For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”Paul asks what anyone has that was not received, so boasting as if it were self-made is empty.
- Daniel 2:21 (BSB)“He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”Daniel praises God as the one who removes kings and sets them up.
General
How does the end of chapter 31 apply the story of the cedar to Pharaoh (31:18)?
Answer: Pharaoh too will be brought low just as the cedar was
The chapter ends by returning to its opening question: which tree of Eden could match Pharaoh’s glory and greatness (31:2, 18)? The answer is that he will share the cedar’s fate. He too will go down into the world below and lie with the uncircumcised (a term of disgrace for those outside God’s covenant) and with those killed in battle. Then God says plainly that the parable is about Pharaoh and his whole horde (31:18). God had just declared that He would break Pharaoh’s arms and strengthen Babylon’s king against him (Ezekiel 30:24-25). God told proud Edom the same thing: however high it nested, He would bring it down (Obadiah 1:3-4). Pride leads the way to ruin (Proverbs 16:18).
- Ezekiel 31:18 (BSB)“Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’””God turns the parable on Pharaoh: like the cedar, he will be brought down and lie among the slain.
- Obadiah 1:3-4 (BSB)“The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”God tells proud Edom that no lofty dwelling place will keep Him from pulling it down.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Proverbs states the general rule that arrogance comes before ruin.
- Ezekiel 30:24-25 (BSB)“I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man. I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon’s king, and he wields it against the land of Egypt.”Just before this chapter God had announced that He would break Pharaoh’s arms and strengthen Babylon’s king against him.
Theological
What is the force of the closing verse of chapter 31 (31:18)?
Answer: Pharaoh too will be brought low just as the cedar was
The oracle closes as it opened, asking which tree of Eden could rival Pharaoh in splendor and might (31:2, 18). The parable now turns into a direct verdict: Pharaoh will descend with Eden’s trees into the world below and lie with the uncircumcised, alongside those killed in battle. God then names him outright as the subject of the parable, together with his whole horde (31:18). Assyria’s history is Egypt’s future. The sentence matches the preceding oracle, in which God breaks Pharaoh’s arms and puts His own sword in Babylon’s hand (Ezekiel 30:24-25). The same sovereign reversal is pronounced on Edom, whose lofty nest could not keep it from being brought down (Obadiah 1:3-4), and Proverbs states the governing rule: pride leads the way to ruin (Proverbs 16:18).
- Ezekiel 31:18 (BSB)“Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’””God turns the parable on Pharaoh: like the cedar, he will be brought down and lie among the slain.
- Obadiah 1:3-4 (BSB)“The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”God tells proud Edom that no lofty dwelling place will keep Him from pulling it down.
- Proverbs 16:18 (BSB)“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”Proverbs states the general rule that arrogance comes before ruin.
- Ezekiel 30:24-25 (BSB)“I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man. I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king, but Pharaoh’s arms will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I place My sword in the hand of Babylon’s king, and he wields it against the land of Egypt.”Just before this chapter God had announced that He would break Pharaoh’s arms and strengthen Babylon’s king against him.