Ezekiel 25
-Now that the word had been given for the judgment of Judah
and in particular Jerusalem, the message then turns to God’s prophecies against
Gentile nations that surrounded the Holy Land. This section extends from
chapters 25 through 32 and includes seven nations. The Ammonites were judged
because of their joy over the desecration of the Temple. They would be
possessed by the sons of the east, and the land of Rabbah in Ammon east of the
Jordan River would become a desolation and pasture for camels and flocks (I saw
wild camels running around those parts when I was in Israel a short while back,
a very strange sight). God stretched out His hand against them to give them as
spoil to the barbaric nations and cut them off to the point of perishing so
that they would KNOW that He is the LORD (Ezekiel 25:1-7).
-The Moabites, who were just south of Ammon, would be judged
because of their scorn for Judah and their pleasure in Judah’s wickedness. The
sons of the east would take possession of this group as well. They would be
remembered no more among the nations as their flank was deprived and their
glory faded away. God executed His judgment on them again for the purpose that
they would KNOW that He is forever the LORD (Ezekiel 25:8-11).
-The Edomites were blood brothers of the Jews and shared its
northern border with Israel through the line of Esau. They were continuously in
conflict with their distant kinsmen and grew in disdain for God’s chosen
people. Because of this hatred and an avenging spirit that they took out upon
the Jews, the LORD would stretch out His Hand against them to cut off man and
beast from their land. He would lay it waste from Teman even to Dedan (east of
the Dead Sea area) by means of the sword by the hand of God’s people Israel. “When
Ezekiel delivered this prophecy, he and many other Jews were living as captives
in Babylon. They didn't have control of their own country, let alone anyone
else's. But, about 400 years later, Jews regained independence for Jerusalem
and the surrounding area during the ‘Hasmonaean Era or Period.’ During this
time, the Jewish priest-king John Hyrcanus I defeated the Edomites (see http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/ezekiel_25_14.htm).”
God proclaims that this will make them KNOW His vengeance for hating His people
instead of loving and helping them (Ezekiel 25:12-14).
-The Philistines were judged for acting in revenge
against Judah “with scorn of soul to destroy with everlasting enmity.” God
vowed to cut them off along with the Cherethites, who were originated in Crete
and intermarried with the Philistines, and all the rest of the remnant along
the seacoast of the Mediterranean west of Judah. They, like the Edomites, let
hate get the best of them. They too, the prophet says, will KNOW that God is
the only true LORD when He comes upon them with wrathful rebukes of vengeance
(Ezekiel 25:15-17).
-*Application* This is a solemn reminder that God’s
promises in Genesis 12:3 from the very beginning of the Jewish nation still
hold sway in our times. Recent political or social developments toward God’s
chosen people should never entice us to drift in our support for His chosen
people. He has lasting and faithful promises with Israel, and those who support
them will be blessed. The nations that distance themselves from Israel will pay
the price of His curses and vengeance. That’s just the way it is; it’s the
truth of the matter. Support of Israel will bring the favor of the Sovereign
God.
Verse to Memorize:
Ezekiel 25:18
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