UNROLL
Dusk from the slope east of Jerusalem: the ruined city low in the frame, fallen stones and burnt beams along its broken wall, one thin line of smoke, a darkening empty sky above.

The nations judged

Ezekiel 25

Have you ever been glad, deep down, when someone you dislike fell?

17 verses≈ 4 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

  1. 1–3Visions of gloryBy the Kebar, about 593 BC: the throne, the scroll, the watchman
  2. 4–7Signs of the siegeA brick, a ration, a razor: the end has come
  3. 8–11The glory departsAbout 592 BC: the temple’s abominations, the mark, the glory goes east
  4. 12–15False hopesExile acted out, false prophets, a useless vine
  5. 16–19Parables and lamentsAn unfaithful bride, two eagles, the one who sins
  6. 20–24The sword drawnRebellion retold; the siege begins, about 588 BC
  7. 25–32The nations judgedAmmon to Egypt: the LORD is Judge of all the earthChapter 25
  8. 33–36A new heartThe city falls; the Good Shepherd; cleansed and made new
  9. 37–39Dry bones liveOne people raised up, and Gog of Magog defeated
  10. 40–48The LORD is thereAbout 573 BC: the new temple, the river, the land

A Prophecy against Ammon

AmmonMoabSeir (Edom)PhilistiaDead SeaRabbahBeth-jeshimoth (site uncertain)Baal-meonKiriathaim (site uncertain)BozrahTeman (site uncertain)AshkelonGazaJerusalem

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

Judah’s neighbors

Ammon and Moab east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, Edom to the south, the Philistine coast to the west: every neighbor that watched Jerusalem fall. Dedan lies far to the southeast in Arabia.

God

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

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God
Evening on a high tableland: long black goat-hair tents pitched among the terraced fields and stone houses of a hill town, goats and sheep penned beside them.

Tell the Ammonites to hear the word of the Lord GOD, for this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you exclaimed, “Aha!” when My sanctuary was profaned, when the land of Israel was laid waste, and when the house of Judah went into exile, therefore I will indeed give you as a possession to the people of the East. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

God
God

I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’

God
Rabbah's stone citadel on its steep hill under a black storm sky, wind bending the scrub on the slopes, smoke streaming from its wall.

For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you clapped your hands and stomped your feet and rejoiced over the land of Israel with a heart full of contempt, therefore I will indeed stretch out My hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD.’

Question

Quick question

Look again at what Ammon did on the day the temple was profaned.

What did the Ammonites exclaim when the LORD’s sanctuary was profaned?

A Prophecy against Moab

God
The western edge of a high tableland: a small stone hill town among wide grain fields, the land falling steeply away to the Jordan plains and a gray Dead Sea far below.

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,” therefore I will indeed expose the flank of Moab beginning with its frontier cities—Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim—the glory of the land.

God

I will give it along with the Ammonites as a possession to the people of the East, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. So I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the LORD.’

A Prophecy against Edom

God
God

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt, therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast.

God
Noon in a deep rose-red sandstone ravine: a ruined rock town on a crag above, its houses roofless and its gate standing open, wind blowing sand across an empty path.

I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword.

God

I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’

A Prophecy against the Philistines

God
Hard white noon on a shore: a town mound with its sea-facing mud-brick wall broken through in a wide gap, sand drifting into empty lanes, the bright sea beyond.

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance, taking vengeance with malice of soul to destroy Judah with ancient hostility, therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant along the coast.

God
Dawn from a high Judean ridge looking east: the gray Dead Sea far below and the dark wall of the mountains of Moab and Ammon beyond, a pale empty sky above.

I will execute great vengeance against them with furious reproof. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them.’”

0:10

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Pray

Pray

Lord, You see the hearts that cheer when others fall. Keep me from gloating, and teach me to leave vengeance to You, the Judge of all the earth. Amen.

Because… therefore

Ammon25:3: “Aha!”Moab25:8: like all thenationsEdom25:12: vengeancePhilistia25:15: ancienthostilityThey will know25:17: I am the LORD

Whiteboard

Four neighbors, four sins, one Judge.

You’ve experienced

Ezekiel 25

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A verse to carry with you

I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

Ezekiel 25:5

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