Ezekiel # 14
God’s Judgment of the Nations
Ezekiel 25:1 - 7 (NKJV) 1The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. 3Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, 4indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” 6‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel, 7indeed, therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
The city of Jerusalem has been destroyed, the Prophet Jeremiah weeps, tears pour down his face, and he is a man with a broken heart. The temple of God in Jerusalem is in ruins, its walls have been breached its houses burned and its people either dead or carried into captivity and another Prophet does not morn, does not weep, does not bewail the fall of his homeland. Ezekiel has been commanded not to morn, not even the death of his lovely wife so he approaches the destruction with silent resolve. He will obey! “Now” says God, “prophecy against those heathen nations that desired to see this happen.” The Ammonites, the peoples who live along the sides of the Dead Sea, the children of incest between Lot and his younger daughter (Gen. 19:33-38):
Genesis 19:30 - 38 (NKJV) 30Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. 31Now the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. 32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” 33So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, “Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father.” 35Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.
These people shouted “Aha” when the temple fell, like the people in Jordan and Iran shouted when the World Trade Center in New York City was felled by Moslem terrorist, and because of their exuberant joy at the destruction the Ammonites will be judged. So total was their destruction by the Bedouin tribes beyond the Jordan that no people of the Ammonites exist.
Ezekiel 25:8 - 11 (NKJV) 8‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’ 9therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kirjathaim. 10To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. 11And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”
Like the Ammonites the people of Moab, the children of Lot and his eldest daughter, rejoiced at the fall of Jerusalem. They had disdain toward Jerusalem because of the privileged state clammed by the Jews as the place to worship God. In the fifth year after the fall of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar came against Moab and it along with the Ammonites was absorbed by the Arabs so that it is not remembered as a nation.
Ezekiel 25:12 - 14 (NKJV) 12‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them,” 13therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do
in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Lord GOD.
Edom is the nation that came from Esau. What the people of Edom did to those fleeing from Jerusalem is recorded in the book of Obadiah and so is the judgment of Edom:
Obadiah 1:8 - 16 (NKJV) 8 “Will I not in that day,” says the Lord, “Even destroy the wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mountains of Esau? 9 Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau May be cut off by slaughter. 10 “For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever. 11 In the day that you stood on the other side— In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem— Even you were as one of them. 12 “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother £In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress. 13 You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction In the day of their calamity, Nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity. 14 You should not have stood at the crossroads To cut off those among them who escaped; Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress. 15 “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. 16 For as you drank on My holy mountain, So shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, And they shall be as though they had never been.
I have been, with tour study groups, into the Edomite rock-hewn city of Petra. It is a place occupied only by snakes and other reptiles. Nothing green grows there; nothing is there to sustain life. The only reason to visit Petra is to wonder at the evidences and brilliance of its craftsmen. You cannot call them builders for every part of the city that once was is cut from the living rock. People from all nations come to gawk at once was a civilization.
Ezekiel 25:15 - 17 (NKJV) 15‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred,” 16therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. 17I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.”
Among the nations the Philistines are referred to in the Old Testament more than to any other people as the enemies of Israel. When Ezekiel says that God will “cut off” the Cherethites he is using a play on words. He literally writes that God will cut off the cutters off. The Philistines started in Crete and at times occupied most of the lands along the Mediterranean Sea.
Jeremiah 47:1 - 7 (NKJV) 1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. 2Thus says the Lord: “Behold, waters rise out of the north, And shall be an overflowing flood; They shall overflow the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell within; Then the men shall cry, And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail. 3 At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, At the rushing of his chariots, At the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers will not look back for their children, Lacking courage, 4 Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; For the Lord shall plunder the Philistines, The remnant of the country of Caphtor. 5 Baldness has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon is cut off With the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself? 6 “O you sword of the Lord, How long until you are quiet? Put yourself up into your scabbard, Rest and be still! 7 How can it be quiet, Seeing the Lord has given it a charge Against Ashkelon and against the seashore? There He has appointed it.”
It is meaningful to consider that the four nations mentioned in this chapter were jealous of Israel, hated the Jews, and went against them. No nation can touch Israel and not bring down the wrath of God. This was true in the day of Ezekiel and it is true today!
Genesis 12:1 - 3 (NKJV) 1Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:7 (NKJV) 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
Ezekiel 26:1 - 6 (NKJV) 1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’ 3“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. 4And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. 5It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord GOD; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations. 6Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’
Tyre was the great Phoenician port city from which sister cities had been built around the known world. Colonies from Tyre reached to Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta, Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, and the Balearic Island and to North Africa. Tyre was the center of trade, Baal worship, and finances. Jazebell, the daughter of a king and former priest of Tyre, married Ahab, king of Israel, and introduced the idol worship of Baal worship into Israel. Ezekiel prophecies that Tyre would be struck by wave after wave of invaders until her walls would be destroyed, then even the dust from her ruined walls, homes, temples and places would be scraped up living only bare rock. The colonies of Tyre would fall by the sword so that God would be known.
Ezekiel 26:7 - 14 (NKJV) 7“For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar£ king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people. 8He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; he will heap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a defense against you. 9He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10Because of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city that has been breached. 11With the hooves of his horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. 12They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water. 13I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. 14I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,’ says the Lord GOD.
Nebuchadnezzar was at Riblah, North of Tyre (11 Kings 35:21), he came with a vast army to lay siege to Tyre. First he struck the outlying villages, then he laid a siege against the city. Once the wall were battered down his calvary rode down ever street in the city, kicking up dust and cutting the people down by the sword. Herodotus wrote that the temple of Heracles in Tyre had two obelisks, one of gold and the other of emerald and they shone at night by the light of torches both of which became plunder to Nebuchadnezzar. The city was latter reconstructed on an island for protection but Alexander the Great built a “road across the sea” from the remains of the first Tyre and his army crossed on the dust of the first city to destroy the second. Under the sea divers have found the remains of great columns from Tyre but all that remains now is a fishing village where fishermen spread their nets.
The Lord God has spoken!
Ezekiel 26:15 - 21 (NKJV) 15“Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? 16Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble every moment, and be astonished at you. 17And they will take up a lamentation for you, and say to you: “How you have perished, O one inhabited by seafaring men, O renowned city, Who was strong at sea, She and her inhabitants, Who caused their terror to be on all her inhabitants! 18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at your departure.”’ 19“For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, 20then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the living. 21I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord GOD.”
All the trading cities of the Mediterranean would morn because of the fall of Tyre. It would be an economic disaster to the entire trading world. Could you imagine the economic impact a total destruction of New York City would be to world economy? That’s the impact of the fall of Tyre depicted by Ezekiel! But Tyre will be as a city that has been placed into Hell and though the people would want to reestablish it Tyre will never be again!
Ezekiel 27:1 - 36 (NKJV) 1The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2“Now, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre, 3and say to Tyre, ‘You who are situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord GOD: “O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’ 4 Your borders are in the midst of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty. 5 They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast. 6 Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks With ivory from the coasts of £Cyprus. 7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail; Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you. 8 “Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you; They became your pilots. 9 Elders of Gebal and its wise men Were in you to caulk your seams; All the ships of the sea And their oarsmen were in you To market your merchandise. 10 “Those from Persia, £Lydia, and £Libya Were in your army as men of war; They hung shield and helmet in you; They gave splendor to you. 11 Men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around, And the men of Gammad were in your towers; They hung their shields on your walls all around; They made your beauty perfect. 12“Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods. 13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. 14Those from the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules. 15The men of Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment. 16Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. 17Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and balm. 18Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Helbon and with white wool. 19Dan and Javan paid for your wares, traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise. 20Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. 21Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. 22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold. 23Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants. 24These were your merchants in choice items—in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your marketplace. 25 “The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise. You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas. 26 Your oarsmen brought you into many waters, But the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas. 27 “Your riches, wares, and merchandise, Your mariners and pilots, Your caulkers and merchandisers, All your men of war who are in you, And the entire company which is in your midst, Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin. 28 The common-land will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots. 29 “All who handle the oar, The mariners, All the pilots of the sea Will come down from their ships and stand on the shore. 30 They will make their voice heard because of you; They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads; They will roll about in ashes; 31 They will shave themselves completely bald because of you, Gird themselves with sackcloth, And weep for you With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. 32 In their wailing for you They will take up a lamentation, And lament for you: ‘What city is like Tyre, Destroyed in the midst of the sea? 33 ‘When your wares went out by sea, You satisfied many people; You enriched the kings of the earth With your many luxury goods and your merchandise. 34 But you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters; Your merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst. 35 All the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you; Their kings will be greatly afraid, And their countenance will be troubled. 36 The merchants among the peoples will hiss at you; You will become a horror, and be no more forever.’”’”
Ezekiel is commanded to take up a lament for Tyre. This is like a memorial service, a funeral, in which good things are said about the deceased. Tyre is compared to a great sailing vessel that was built from the finest products provided in the entire world. She is beautiful, built in each part from the optimum materials. Her captains and crew are the best of seamen. He cargo, the riches of the world. Everyone is to grieve at her sinking beneath the waves but the memory of the great ship will become a horror story that will be told. The sinking of Tyre will be like the story of the Titanic. The Titanic was the most beautiful and largest vessel ever built by man. Her first Atlantic crossing was launched in opulence. The wealthiest of the world were aboard the unsinkable liner. Orchestras played music on her decks. Dinner eat the finest cuisine prepared by the best chefs. But one piece of ice filled her with horror and brought her to the depths of the sea. Then came the laments – so with Tyre!
What is the message of Tyre and of Titanic for us today? In those days that Tyre exceeded she was the envy of the ancient world. She had everything in which the word seeks superiority. But riches without God are not able to satisfy the heart of man – there are never enough to do that. And wealth can keep us from having dependence upon God. The captain of the Titanic did not need God he had the fastest ship, an unsinkable ship, and was out to break records. Those in the opulent first class section of the Titanic did not need God. What could God give them that they did not already have? But in a moment everything changed. Has the spirit of Tyre and Titanic invaded the Church?
Revelation 3: 14“And to the angel of the church £of the Laodiceans write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: 15“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither £cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—18I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’”
Ezekiel 28:1 - 11 (NKJV) 1The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because your heart is lifted up, And you say, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, In the midst of the seas,’ Yet you are a man, and not a god, Though you set your heart as the heart of a god 3 (Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you! 4 With your wisdom and your understanding You have gained riches for yourself, And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; 5 By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),” 6‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god, 7 Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you, The most terrible of the nations; And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, And defile your splendor. 8 They shall throw you down into the Pit, And you shall die the death of the slain In the midst of the seas. 9 “Will you still say before him who slays you, ‘I am a god’? But you shall be a man, and not a god, In the hand of him who slays you. 10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised By the hand of aliens; For I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD.’” 11Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Do not confuse the “Prince of Tyre” with the “King of Tyre” they are not the same! To Daniel, it was revealed that behind earthly kingdoms there are spiritual powers. In this section Ezekiel has two messages, one for the earthly ruler, prince” who calls himself a god and the other for the spiritual “king” behind Tyre who knows that he is not God but wants to be!
The Island of Tyre was called the “Holy Island” in the temple of Melkarth was an empty throne that was considered the throne of the god. The rulers of Tyre clammed to be decedents of that god. God, through Ezekiel, reminds the prince that he only a man an not God and it will be proven by his death because God cannot die. Ezekiel asks the prince “are you wiser than Daniel?” Daniel had now been council to Nebuchadnezzar’s court for 25 years and his fame had spread all the way to the Meditation. Because the price of Tyre has amassed great riches he believes that his wisdom is greater than Daniel’s wisdom but Daniel’s wisdom comes from God! Therefore mere men will cause the fall of the god and he will die like an uncircumcised man, or one outside of the covenant of God, by men who do not worship God nor recognize the prince of Tyre as a god.
Ezekiel 28:11 - 18 (NKJV) 11Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12“Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. 18 “You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever.”
Here Ezekiel changes his direction, no more does he speak to the prince of Tyre, but now he directs his prophecy against the power behind the earthly throne. Ezekiel chapter twenty-eight is one of the few places in the Bible that gives us the origin of Satan and of evil. Interpreters of the Bible go fanatical in trying to go around this scripture. Either it is highly mythological writings, oriental exaggerations, about a man expelled from Eden and has no place within the writings of the prophet or Ezekiel has moved to the power behind the prince of Tyre, the prince of evil himself. We learn from Ezekiel that Satan was perfect in his creation, a gorgeous spiritual being filled with knowledge. That is the way he appeared to Adam and Eve before made into the image of the serpent. He like the High Priest of God was covered with precious jewels. Again, like the High Priest he was able to walk in holiness and in holy places. The picture of Satan like a red beast with goat’s horns a forked tail walking on cloven hoofs comes from Greek mythology and the city of Ephesus. This is a description of Pan, the god of pleasure or Bacchus the god of wine. No! Satan was a perfected angel who was prepared to lead the praise of heaven with music. His sin was pride and the violence within cast him out of heaven into the earth where he tempted the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden. There he became symbolized in the serpent on the ground. It is this serpent that has directed the pride in the prince of Tyre and like Satan he has become a horror the end of both is sealed in hell – forever!
Ezekiel 28:20 - 24 (NKJV) 20Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21“Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her, 22and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Sidon; I will be glorified in your midst; And they shall know that I am the Lord, When I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her. 23 For I will send pestilence upon her, And blood in her streets; The wounded shall be judged in her midst By the sword against her on every side; Then they shall know that I am the Lord. 24“And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.”
Sidon is located just north of Tyre. Like Tyre, Sidon is going to be judged. The judgment will be pestilence, disease, and battle but Sidon will not be destroyed as Tyre. Tyre does not exist today but Sidon does; great peers run out into the sea from the tankers at these piers the oil from the middle east is shipped to the world. Today, twenty-five hundred years after Ezekiel wrote it Tyre is no more but Sidon continues.
Ezekiel 28:25 - 26 (NKJV) 25‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. 26And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.”
The prophet states the impossible. After being dispersed among the entire land God will bring the nations back. They will dwell in the land God has designated, there will be houses and vineyards. The will be secure and safe for God will send judgment on everyone who comes against them and Israel will know from God’s actions that He is the Lord God. Israel returned in 1948 and continues the return. She is still not living securely – but will. Watch out – you nations who despise them!.
