“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord.”
– Ezekiel 29:6
Let me read that again. Just think about this statement. God says in this prophecy against Egypt, he’s telling them what he’s going to do among them. And he says in Ezekiel 29:6, “Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord.” That’s a common phrase that last part that we see all throughout Ezekiel. He’s saying it mostly, God’s saying it through his equal, mostly to his people.
When we look at the world around us, we should know that God is working to make His name known.
Ezekiel 29:6 Declares the Sovereignty of God
You shall know that I am the Lord. You shall all know that I am the Lord. But now in this section of Ezekiel, we see God prophesying through Ezekiel, speaking to all kinds of different nations around his people. Here in this prophecy against Egypt, verse six says, “Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord.” That verse is so significant.
When we think about the world around us, look at the world around us, perceive what is happening in the world around us. God is working in everything that is happening toward this end, that all the inhabitants of every nation shall know that he is the Lord. To borrow from Philippians 2:9-11 one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. All the inhabitants of Egypt, all the inhabitants of the earth will not only know that Jesus is Lord, but they will bow the knee and confess Jesus is Lord sovereign ruler of all.
Ezekiel 29:6 Gives Us Confidence
Just think about that. Think about the seven plus billion people in the world right now. Think about everyone’s face. You will see today or have seen today. You will see tomorrow. Every one of them will one day not just know that Jesus is the Lord, they will bow to Jesus as Lord. How does that change the way we live? Certainly it gives us confidence, doesn’t it? That in the end, Jesus will be exalted as Lord, amidst all the turmoil and tension we see around us in the world. It’s good to know that Jesus is Lord over it all.
Then one day he who is perfectly just and perfectly righteous will usher in a new heaven and a new earth of perfect justice and perfect righteousness where he is exalted as Lord. That’s a hope for today. Then doesn’t that just drive urgency and evangelism? Urgency to share the gospel. Look at the people you see today, will see tomorrow, look in their eyes. One day they will know and bow the knee to Jesus as Lord. So the question is not, will they know Jesus is Lord? Will they bow the knee to Jesus as Lord?
The question is, will they do that now? Will they know that now bow the knee now? Or will they know and bow the knee when it’s too late? And you know this. You know this is coming so proclaim Jesus as Lord today. Let your lips, let your life and be the means by which they know now, before it’s too late that Jesus is Lord.
Who can you, who can I share the gospel with today? Right around us and then as we pray for unreached people around the world who don’t know the name of Jesus, don’t know the gospel of Jesus. Think about the Shirazi people in Tanzania. 643,000 Muslims, no followers of Jesus among the Shirazi. No one who’s bowing the knee to Jesus’s Lordship. All of them will one day bow the knee before Jesus as Lord. The question is, will they do it now?
Will they do it it’s too late? And we know that he’s Lord. So we go. This is why we go. This is why The Great Commission, verse 19 in Matthew chapter 28, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” Why? What’s the therefore referring to? Verse 18. All authority in heaven on earth has been given to me. We go, we share the gospel. Why? Because Jesus is Lord.
A Prayer Based on Ezekiel 29:6
We go right around us to the ends of the earth because Jesus is Lord of all. So God, we pray that you would captivate our hearts, our lives with the reality of your Lordship today. Certainly in our own lives, as we submit to your Lordship, even as we’ve already prayed that in Ezekiel. But God, as we think about your Lordship over everyone, over everyone, God, we pray for children, parents, relatives, friends, neighbors, coworkers, who don’t know you as Lord right now. God, we pray that you would bring them to know you as Lord.
We pray that you would give us boldness in sharing the gospel with him. God, that you would open their eyes, that you would do a supernatural work. Open their eyes to see you as Lord, to submit to you as Lord. God, we pray for the spread, your gospel in our families, among our friends, among our neighbors, among our coworkers. God, we pray that you would bring more and more and more people in metro Washington, DC to know you as the Lord, to trust you as Lord.
We pray for that in all the cities, the places where we are gathered right now in our countries and God, among unreached peoples God, we pray together for the Shirazi in Tanzania. God, please bring the Shirazi to know Jesus is Lord. Send somebody, since some of us to go to the Shirazi in Tanzania, God, that they might know that you’re the Lord. They might bow the knee to you as Lord before it’s too late. They might know you as savior and Lord. God, we pray for the spread of the gospel among the Shirazi and among people right around us, knowing that all the inhabitants of the earth shall know that you are the Lord in Jesus’ name. We pray.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
