Tuesday - Ezekiel 25 - The Price of Cheering Against God

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HERE are 4 groups of people – four nationalities – addressed in Ezekiel 25. Not only did God have a message for the Jews, He had messages for the neighbors and relatives of the Jews. The Ammonites were the descendants of one of Lot's sons (and grandson), Benammi – the firstborn of his younger daughter (Genesis 19:38). The Moabites were the descendants of Lot's older daughter (Genesis 19:36- 37). And of course, Lot was Abraham's nephew, hence the Ammonites and Moabites were the Jews' relatives (Genesis 11:27). The Edomites were the descendants of Jacob's brother Esau, so they were even more closely related to the Jews. The Philistines were unrelated to the Jews except through Noah, but they were close neighbors. They were very bad neighbors. These 4 nations essentially surrounded the Jews in the southern part of Canaan.

So, why was Ezekiel prophesying to these 4 ethnic groups? The answer is simple. These nations had been enemies of God and enemies of His people. They had the greatest advantage of all of the nations in the world. These nations were located the closest to Israel. In fact, they were the closest to Jerusalem. They should have been proselytes. When they saw the Jews being judged by God, they should have been humble and compassionate, but they were not. They cheered the demise of the Jews and looked with glee on the defaming of the name of the God of Israel.  So, this passage reveals the judgment which God had outlined for them all.