I made the Nations Shake at the Sound of its Fall, when I cast it Down to Hell

Another prophecy of God given to Ezekiel to deliver to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God questions the greatness of Pharaoh by comparing illustrating greatness as a great tree that stands out among all the other trees. The cedar of Lebanon is mentioned as one of these trees that stands out above the rest. God revealed that he could bring these trees up but also cut down those who are wicked.

In particular, the greatness leads to pride, such as the tall trees which exalt themselves above others. Then God explicitly reveals that they will brought down to the Pit and to Hell. There will be such a great multitude that God will cause to fall and go down to hell. God refers to these as some of the trees of Eden, which perhaps may mean the devil and his hosts, and also refers it to Pharaoh.




Ezekiel 31
Egypt Cut Down Like a Great Tree


1 Now it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude:

‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.
4 The waters made it grow;
Underground waters gave it height,
With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out rivulets to all the trees of the field.
5 ‘Therefore its height was exalted above all the trees of the field;
Its boughs were multiplied,
And its branches became long because of the abundance of water,
As it sent them out.
6 All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs;
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young;
And in its shadow all great nations made their home.
7 ‘Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches,
Because its roots reached to abundant waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it;
The fir trees were not like its boughs,
And the chestnut[a] trees were not like its branches;
No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches,
So that all the trees of Eden envied it,
That were in the garden of God.’
10 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and its heart was lifted up in its height, 11 therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness. 12 And aliens, the most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.

13 ‘On its ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens,
And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches—
14 ‘So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them.

‘For they have all been delivered to death,
To the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.’
15 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘In the day when it went down to hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the depths of the earth. 17 They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm dwelt in its shadows among the nations.

18 ‘To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,’ says the Lord God.”

For My Soul is Full of Troubles

The psalmist appears to have gone through a long journey and is still facing much troubles. He knows God is his salvation and continues to cries out yet he is facing constant difficulties. He calls on the LORD daily and stretches out his hands and also sarcastically asks if God's lovingkindness could only be experienced after death. Despite the hopelessness of the situation, it does seem that the psalmist still have a hope in God which perhaps he does not understand - that is the hope which keeps him calling onto God and praying every morning.



Psalm 88


A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A Contemplation[a] of Heman the Ezrahite.

 1 O LORD, God of my salvation,
         I have cried out day and night before You.
 2 Let my prayer come before You;
         Incline Your ear to my cry.
       
 3 For my soul is full of troubles,
         And my life draws near to the grave.
 4 I am counted with those who go down to the pit;
         I am like a man who has no strength,
 5 Adrift among the dead,
         Like the slain who lie in the grave,
         Whom You remember no more,
         And who are cut off from Your hand.
       
 6 You have laid me in the lowest pit,
         In darkness, in the depths.
 7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
         And You have afflicted me with all Your waves.  Selah
 8 You have put away my acquaintances far from me;
         You have made me an abomination to them;
         I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
 9 My eye wastes away because of affliction.
       
         LORD, I have called daily upon You;
         I have stretched out my hands to You.
 10 Will You work wonders for the dead?
         Shall the dead arise and praise You?  Selah
 11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
         Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
 12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
         And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
       
 13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD,
         And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
 14 LORD, why do You cast off my soul?
         Why do You hide Your face from me?
 15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
         I suffer Your terrors;
         I am distraught.
 16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
         Your terrors have cut me off.
 17 They came around me all day long like water;
         They engulfed me altogether.
 18 Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
         And my acquaintances into darkness.

Elihu begins to speak

Elihu makes his first main appearance in this part of Scripture. Elihu is younger than the other 3 of Job's friends, that is why he kept quiet until now. Elihu must have been a thinking man as well as a man who know about God somewhat - as he was quite frustrated by the responses of Job's friends and Job himself. So chapter 32 is all about Elihu explaining how he is just busting to speak.

Elihu first repeats to Job that Job was claiming that he is righteous but faced calamities from God. So Elihu tries to teach Job wisdom. Like Job, Elihu assumes it is the hand of God that caused the hardship for Job. So by logical (although incorrect) reasoning, if the punishment is from God, then it must be Job who is unrighteous.

One more interesting about the passages below is in Job 33:23-28, which appears to speak of the future Christ who came to pay the ransom for our sins,
v26 "He restores to man His righteousness", and v28 "He will redeem his[b] soul from going down to the Pit".


Job 32

Elihu Contradicts Job’s Friends

 1 So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God. 3 Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
4 Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job.[a] 5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.
6 So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said:
      “I am young in years, and you are very old;
      Therefore I was afraid,
      And dared not declare my opinion to you.
 7 I said, ‘Age[b] should speak,
      And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’
 8 But there is a spirit in man,
      And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
 9 Great men[c] are not always wise,
      Nor do the aged always understand justice.
 10 “ Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me,
      I also will declare my opinion.’
 11 Indeed I waited for your words,
      I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say.
 12 I paid close attention to you;
      And surely not one of you convinced Job,
      Or answered his words—
 13 Lest you say,
      ‘We have found wisdom’;
      God will vanquish him, not man.
 14 Now he has not directed his words against me;
      So I will not answer him with your words.
 15 “They are dismayed and answer no more;
      Words escape them.
 16 And I have waited, because they did not speak,
      Because they stood still and answered no more.
 17 I also will answer my part,
      I too will declare my opinion.
 18 For I am full of words;
      The spirit within me compels me.
 19 Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent;
      It is ready to burst like new wineskins.
 20 I will speak, that I may find relief;
      I must open my lips and answer.
 21 Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone;
      Nor let me flatter any man.
 22 For I do not know how to flatter,
      Else my Maker would soon take me away.


Job 33

Elihu Contradicts Job

 1 “But please, Job, hear my speech,      And listen to all my words.
 2 Now, I open my mouth;      My tongue speaks in my mouth.
 3 My words come from my upright heart;      My lips utter pure knowledge.
 4 The Spirit of God has made me,      And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
 5 If you can answer me,      Set your words in order before me;       Take your stand.
 6 Truly I am as your spokesman[a] before God;      I also have been formed out of clay.
 7 Surely no fear of me will terrify you,      Nor will my hand be heavy on you.
 8 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing,      And I have heard the sound of your words, saying,
 9 ‘I am pure, without transgression;      I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.
 10 Yet He finds occasions against me,      He counts me as His enemy;
 11 He puts my feet in the stocks,      He watches all my paths.’
 12 “Look, in this you are not righteous.      I will answer you,       For God is greater than man.
 13 Why do you contend with Him?      For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
 14 For God may speak in one way, or in another,      Yet man does not perceive it.
 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,      When deep sleep falls upon men,       While slumbering on their beds,
 16 Then He opens the ears of men,      And seals their instruction.
 17 In order to turn man from his deed,      And conceal pride from man,
 18 He keeps back his soul from the Pit,      And his life from perishing by the sword.
 19 “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,      And with strong pain in many of his bones,
 20 So that his life abhors bread,      And his soul succulent food.
 21 His flesh wastes away from sight,      And his bones stick out which once were not seen.
 22 Yes, his soul draws near the Pit,      And his life to the executioners.
 23 “If there is a messenger for him,      A mediator, one among a thousand,       To show man His uprightness,
 24 Then He is gracious to him, and says,      ‘ Deliver him from going down to the Pit;       I have found a ransom’;
 25 His flesh shall be young like a child’s,      He shall return to the days of his youth.
 26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him,      He shall see His face with joy,       For He restores to man His righteousness.
 27 Then he looks at men and says,      ‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right,       And it did not profit me.’
 28 He will redeem his[b] soul from going down to the Pit,      And his[c] life shall see the light.
 29 “ Behold, God works all these things,      Twice, in fact, three times with a man,
 30 To bring back his soul from the Pit,      That he may be enlightened with the light of life.
 31 “Give ear, Job, listen to me;      Hold your peace, and I will speak.
 32 If you have anything to say, answer me;      Speak, for I desire to justify you.
 33 If not, listen to me;      Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”