Ezekiel 25

Read Ezekiel 25

The God of the Jews is also the Lord of heaven and earth. He alone has the right to pronounce ultimate judgment according to His Law and His perfect determinations of His holy vengeance. One of the ways that the Lord communicated this great truth in the Old Testament was by calling upon men like Ezekiel to speak His Word against those nations that were not His chosen people.

In Ezekiel 25 and the chapters that followed, the Lord spoke important messages first to the nations that lived closest to Israel and then to more distant worldly powers. God began with the Ammonites to the northeast and then moved south to Moab, continuing in a circle around Israel which included Edom to the south and the Philistines on the west.

Each of these nations had a separate heritage that we learn about in the Bible. The Ammonites and the Moabites were the descendants of Abraham's nephew Lot and his two daughters during a time of great distress. The Edomites came from Jacob's brother Esau and his descendants combining with the people of Seir. The Philistines apparently migrated through the Mediterranean Sea, settling on the western coast of Canaan. All of these people shared a common hatred of Israel, celebrating in her disasters and presuming the divine right upon themselves to have vengeance against her in moments of trial. All of them are now lost to history.

There are many benefits to our current consideration of these oracles of divine wrath. First, Jesus, who is Jehovah in the flesh and the God/Man King of the Jews, has the right to bring His righteous penalty for sin against all the people groups of the earth. Second, it is also within His authority as the Almighty to set His merciful affections upon a chosen people, a fact that the world has always found most offensive. Finally, this same Lord of the universe has clearly revealed that He is coming again to judge the living and the dead at a time of His own choosing. We all would do well to find our safety in His own sacrifice for His people on the cross. There is no other way for us to evade the Lord's holy anger against us for our sin.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord of the nations, even our enemies can have no other God but You. Though the world rails against You and brings much trouble upon Your church, is there any other hope but You? There is no other god. If they worship demons, can fallen angels save them? Could an idol have love for men? Is there any good that comes from hateful spirits? Surely even our enemies should turn to You now! Why would any of us add to the weight of our sin? There is a way out of the overwhelming burden of Your judgment in the marvelous wonder of Your love.