God gives Ezekiel several prophecies about Egypt spanning several chapters. In a nutshell, Egypt will soon be humiliated and never again be a source of security of Israel. The Egyptians will be dispersed among the nations, but God will bring them back to Egypt after forty years. Taken literally, this prediction mirrors the predictions given about the Babylonian captivity.
Chapter 31 analogizes the Assyrian empire to a cedar of Lebanon and the Garden of Eden. The chapter describes the cedar as better than all the other trees in the Garden of Eden and even suggests that this cedar was cultivated in the Garden as well. Later, God withheld the water from the tree and it withered. This entire analogy of a cedar tree and the Assyria is used to demonstrate to Pharaoh and the people of Egypt what will happen to them.
A few things stand out to me:
It is interesting to see such poetic license with the Garden of Eden used in the Bible. At least here in this chapter, the trees in the Garden of Eden are a poetic metaphor for human civilizations.
Secondly, why does God take such a personal investment in the Assyrians? The question is unanswered in this chapter, but it could relate to the evangelism by Jonah. Jonah preached and the entire Assyrian capital repented. The Bible seems to be silent as to what was the fruit of this event afterwards, but this chapter might allude to the event from God's perspective.
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