Now that God’s completed His judgment on Judah and Jerusalem, He sets His sights on Israel’s neighboring countries. He starts with the close relatives of Ammon, Moab, and Edom, then the Philistines, then Tyre. These are perfect examples of God’s judgment that applies to us today. It all stems back to the promise He made to Abram back in Genesis. Therefore, it’s critical for us today to pay attention to these next few chapters. Let’s dig in…
Ezekiel 25
A Message for Ammon
Then this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, turn and face the land of Ammon and prophesy against its people. 3 Give the Ammonites this message from the Sovereign Lord: Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord! Because you cheered when my Temple was defiled, mocked Israel in her desolation, and laughed at Judah as she went away into exile, 4 I will allow nomads from the eastern deserts to overrun your country. They will set up their camps among you and pitch their tents on your land. They will harvest all your fruit and drink the milk from your livestock. 5 And I will turn the city of Rabbah into a pasture for camels, and all the land of the Ammonites into a resting place for sheep and goats. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
6 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped and danced and cheered with glee at the destruction of my people, 7 I will raise my fist of judgment against you. I will give you as plunder to many nations. I will cut you off from being a nation and destroy you completely. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
A Message for Moab
8 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the people of Moab have said that Judah is just like all the other nations, 9 I will open up their eastern flank and wipe out their glorious frontier towns—Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 And I will hand Moab over to nomads from the eastern deserts, just as I handed over Ammon. Yes, the Ammonites will no longer be counted among the nations. 11 In the same way, I will bring my judgment down on the Moabites. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
A Message for Edom
12 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Edom have sinned greatly by avenging themselves against the people of Judah. 13 Therefore, says the Sovereign Lord, I will raise my fist of judgment against Edom. I will wipe out its people and animals with the sword. I will make a wasteland of everything from Teman to Dedan. 14 I will accomplish this by the hand of my people of Israel. They will carry out my vengeance with anger, and Edom will know that this vengeance is from me. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
A Message for Philistia
15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Philistia have acted against Judah out of bitter revenge and long-standing contempt. 16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will raise my fist of judgment against the land of the Philistines. I will wipe out the Kerethites and utterly destroy the people who live by the sea. 17 I will execute terrible vengeance against them to punish them for what they have done. And when I have inflicted my revenge, they will know that I am the Lord.”
Ezekiel 25 NLT
Major Points
- Obviously, God wants these countries to know where these messages are coming from…”This is what the Sovereign Lord says…”.
- He ends each message with the results of the judgment: “Then they will know that I am the Lord.” God doesn’t leave ANY doubt.
- Notice that each message has the same structure…
- The reason for the judgment
- An outline of it beginning with “Therefore…”
- Finally, the outcome.
- The lesson here is, don’t take pleasure in someone else’s downfall. I know that it feels good to see a bully get there’s, however, remember that vengeance is the Lord’s (Romans 12:19).
- Ammon and Moab are the descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his 2 daughters. You can read that sordid story here.
- Petra was the capital city of Edom. It was very prosperous. Today, its ruins are a tourist attraction. Edom is Esau’s descendants — Jacob’s brother. Ammon and Edom are today’s Jordan.
- The Philistines are today’s Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza. Iran has its tentacles there through their terrorist proxy, Hamas. They are constantly causing trouble for Israel. It got to the point that Israel had to build a 30 ft-high, fortified concrete wall that goes deep so they can’t build tunnels. From Samson to King David, the Philistines still reject God. They oppose the truth.
Going on…
Ezekiel 26 – A Message for Tyre
On February 3, during the twelfth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, Tyre has rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Ha! She who was the gateway to the rich trade routes to the east has been broken, and I am the heir! Because she has been made desolate, I will become wealthy!’
3 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am your enemy, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the waves of the sea crashing against your shoreline. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down its towers. I will scrape away its soil and make it a bare rock! 5 It will be just a rock in the sea, a place for fishermen to spread their nets, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord. Tyre will become the prey of many nations, 6 and its mainland villages will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Tyre. He is king of kings and brings his horses, chariots, charioteers, and great army. 8 First he will destroy your mainland villages. Then he will attack you by building a siege wall, constructing a ramp, and raising a roof of shields against you. 9 He will pound your walls with battering rams and demolish your towers with sledgehammers. 10 The hooves of his horses will choke the city with dust, and the noise of the charioteers and chariot wheels will shake your walls as they storm through your broken gates. 11 His horsemen will trample through every street in the city. They will butcher your people, and your strong pillars will topple.
12 “They will plunder all your riches and merchandise and break down your walls. They will destroy your lovely homes and dump your stones and timbers and even your dust into the sea. 13 I will stop the music of your songs. No more will the sound of harps be heard among your people. 14 I will make your island a bare rock, a place for fishermen to spread their nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken. Yes, the Sovereign Lord has spoken!
The Effect of Tyre’s Destruction
15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: The whole coastline will tremble at the sound of your fall, as the screams of the wounded echo in the continuing slaughter. 16 All the seaport rulers will step down from their thrones and take off their royal robes and beautiful clothing. They will sit on the ground trembling with horror at your destruction. 17 Then they will wail for you, singing this funeral song:
“O famous island city,
once ruler of the sea,
how you have been destroyed!
Your people, with their naval power,
once spread fear around the world.
18 Now the coastlands tremble at your fall.
The islands are dismayed as you disappear.19 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will make Tyre an uninhabited ruin, like many others. I will bury you beneath the terrible waves of enemy attack. Great seas will swallow you. 20 I will send you to the pit to join those who descended there long ago. Your city will lie in ruins, buried beneath the earth, like those in the pit who have entered the world of the dead. You will have no place of respect here in the land of the living. 21 I will bring you to a terrible end, and you will exist no more. You will be looked for, but you will never again be found. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
Ezekiel 26 NLT
Tearing Down Human Achievement
The Phoenicians, Tyre, were a Mediterranean shipping powerhouse. Their ancient mariners had trade settlements all throughout the Mediterranean. It’s located just north of Israel on the coastline in what is today Lebanon. Pastor Sandy Adams comments…
During the reigns of David, Solomon, and Phoenician King Hiram, Israel and Tyre were strong allies. The Temple was constructed with Lebanese cedar trees – the logs were floated down the coast from Tyre. Ultimately though, the two nations became economic rivals. Their relationship soured. With Judah under siege to the Babylonians, the merchants of Tyre looked at it as a business opportunity to expand their markets. In verse 2 they say, “I shall be filled.” But God says, “She is laid to waste.” And just before Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, 586 BC – Nebuchadnezzar and his armies began to lay siege to the nearby city of Tyre.
Remember, the principle we’ve mentioned in regards to Bible prophecy. God employs over and over. It’s the principle of dual-fulfillment. Often biblical prophecy has two fulfillments – an immediate and a long-term. Notice here, verse 3 doesn’t say “Babylon,” but “many nations.” There is a portion of this prophecy that was fulfilled during the Babylonian siege of 587 BC. But there’s another part of this prophecy that was fulfilled much later, by the famous Alexander the Great. In fact, God’s prophecies concerning Tyre are some of the most provocative and fascinating in the Bible. And because they’ve already been fulfilled they provide us evidence for the Bible’s amazing historical accuracy.
Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army laid siege to the city of Tyre for fourteen long years. Imagine your city at war – surrounded by an army of bloodthirsty cutthroats. Not for 14 weeks or 14 months. The siege on Tyre lasted 14 years! From 587-573 BC. The Phoenicians were able to hold off the Babylonians because of their nautical capabilities. They could receive food and water supplies by sea. Historians tell us that during the last month before the city of Tyre fell, the Phoenicians had loaded up their wealth onto their ships and had moved it to an island just off shore – about a half mile off the coast.
Nebuchadnezzar flattened mainland Tyre, but it was a hollow victory. He conquered an abandoned city. Tyre stayed as Nebuchadnezzar left it, for next 241 years. But in 332 AD, another young general – who at the time was just 19 years-old – launched an attacked on Tyre. This was the Greek warrior, Alexander the Great.
In the beginning of this siege, Alexander lacked a navy, so he collected rubble and debris from the city Nebuchadnezzar had leveled, and built a causeway 200 feet wide – extending from the shore to the island.
Alexander took seven months to finish his causeway. In the meantime he defeated a few neighboring cities, the coastal towns – and confiscated their navies. Nebuchadnezzar defeated the coastal city of Tyre, but Alexander conquered the island city of Tyre.
Nebuchadnezzar conquered Tyre, but he took no spoils or plunder. As far as an economic success was concerned his 14 years besieging the city was a waste. Alexander on the other hand did plunder a prosperous city. The last half of verse 12 describes his battle strategy. He took debris from the mainland city and built a bridge to the island city. Despite constant attacks from the island, Alexander’s men prevailed. The spoils of Tyre helped Alexander finance future conquests, and enabled him to rule the world. His victory over Tyre catapulted him to his place in history.
The most amazing part of Ezekiel’s prophecy – that Tyre would never be rebuilt. A city that was once so prosperous would never be re-inhabited. Especially when you consider that the ancient site sits over a freshwater spring that pumps 10 million gallons of drinking water into the Mediterranean daily. That’s a large enough water supply to support a modern city.
Despite Tyre’s 2700 year history and all her natural resources, the city was never rebuilt. It’s mind-blowing. There is a modern city called Tyre. It’s a fishing village built a few miles down the coast from the ruins of the old city. And still to this day, fishermen there spread and dry their nets on the rocks of the old city. This was predicted by Ezekiel in verse 14. And all this was foretold by Ezekiel in 587 BC – exactly 255 years before Alexander was even born.
Sandy Adams
Lessons Learned the Hard Way
God and His Chosen People will NOT Be Mocked!
God said…
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:3 NLT
We will ALL Stand Before the Judgment Seat of God
Paul wrote…
10 So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say,
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
Romans 14:10-11 NLT
‘every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”
Notice He says “allegiance to God” — NOT a church, NOT to Mary, and certainly NOT to any “religion“.
Glory Belongs to God Only
Here’s a quote from one of the plans on the Book of Ezekiel from the free YouVersion Bible app…
Tyre has a message for our age. The glory of human achievement driven in defiance of God will not remain. Riches without God cannot satisfy our hearts. It is always better to lay up treasures in Heaven, because our Heavenly treasure cannot be stolen, cannot be lost, and never ends.
International Christian Assembly
Which brings me to close with another quote from Paul…
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
Philippians 2:5-11 NLT
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Have YOU declared that Jesus Christ is YOUR personal Lord and Savior?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
