Ezekiel 25:1-17

God reigns over all the nations of the world.  There is a sense in which Israel is God’s chosen nation, but the reason He chose Israel was in order to bless all the other nations through them.  He chose to bless Israel so He could bless the nations.  This is very similar to the blessings God has given to the church.  We are blessed in order to be a blessing.  God will often bless His people in unconventional ways.  Many times judgment and suffering are not seen as blessings, but God will often use these as blessings in disguise.  The nations surrounding Israel were corrupt and wicked.  They were a terrible influence on Israel and they ended up contributing to the demise of Israel as a nation.  Israel was judged by God and these nations rejoiced, but their rejoicing was short lived.  God also brought judgment down upon them.  The result of this judgment in every case was that the nation leaned that the Lord is God.  God’s judgment of the nations demonstrates His sovereignty over all of them as well as His love for them.

GOD’S JUDGMENT OF AMMON: The Ammonites were descendants of Lot through his daughter.  They ended up being a nation full of idolatry and the enemy of Israel.  They were able to conquer portions of Israel’s territory, but their greatest conquest, by far, was their corruption of the hearts of Israel.  The Ammonites took great pleasure in seeing Israel profane its temple and they rejoiced when Judah was taken into captivity and the cities of the nation were burned.  That joy was short lived as the Ammonites were soon conquered by the same people and they would learn to recognize that only the Lord is God.

GOD’S JUDGMENT ON MOAB: Like Ammon, the Moabites were descendants of Lot through his other daughter.  The Moabites were a proud people and they were constantly jealous of Israel and sought to overthrow the nation of several occasions.  They did not fear the Lord and worshiped detestable idols instead of God.  They influenced Israel and were proud of their sinfulness and immorality.  When Israel fell they had a great celebration and were thrilled to see the object of their jealousy fall.  However, their celebration was short lived because they too would soon learn that the Lord is the only God when they were conquered just like Israel.

GOD’S JUDGMENT ON EDOM: The Edomites were descendants of Esau and are commonly seen as the enemies of the nation of Israel.  From the time of the conception of Jacob and Esau there was conflict and jealousy.  Esau gave no value to the promises of God and paid no attention to the Law of God.  He and His descendants expected the blessings of God without the fear of God or obedience to Him.  Edom became a nation know for idolatry and immorality.  The nation hated Israel and sought to take revenge on Israel on numerous occasions.  God did not allow Edom to escape His judgment and swept her away in defeat in order to show this rebellious nation that He alone is God. 


GOD’S JUDGMENT ON PHILISTIA: The Philistines were the arch enemies of Israel.  Especially in the early days of the monarchy in Israel we see them constantly coming out against Israel in war.  Perhaps her most famous warrior was Goliath who blasphemed the name of the Lord but was brought down by the sling of David the shepherd who would one day become king of all Israel.  Ezekiel emphasizes the vengeance of the Philistines as the main motive for God’s judgment of them.  They were vengeful and God would take His vengeance out on them.  They too would learn the hard way that the Lord is God.  All of these judgments of the nations were designed to reveal to the nations the person of God and help them to live in fear of Him so they could be blessed through repentance and faith. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than any of the other people of his
Read more

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Let a woman learn quietly   with all submissiveness.    I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.    For Adam was formed first,   then Eve;   and Adam was not deceived, but   the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.    Yet she will be saved through   childbearing—if they continue in   faith and love and holiness, with self-control. There is certainly controversy and confusion about this passage in many churches today.  The idea of a distinction between men and women and their roles in the family and church certainly goes against the flow of many cultures around the world.  Some would argue that the literal and plain teaching of this passage is no longer applicable to today’s culture.  However, it is always dangerous to discard biblical teaching or try to interpret Scripture based on the cultures in which we live.  Certainly, the Spirit who inspired this text was aware of the many changes that would occur in future cul
Read more

1 Timothy 2:1-7

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and   dignified in every way.    This is good, and   it is pleasing in the sight of   God our Savior,   who desires   all people to be saved and   to come to   the knowledge of the truth.    For   there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,   who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is   the testimony given   at the proper time.    For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying),   a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.   Prayer is one of the greatest privileges believers have and it should be one of our greatest priorities.  Too often our lives are more often marked by complaining about our circumstances and our political leaders than by prayers for them.  The government in Paul’s day
Read more