Reflections on Ezekiel 25

Ezekiel 25 (Contemporary English Version)
1. The LORD God said:
   
2. Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the people of Ammon
   
3. and tell them: You celebrated when my temple was destroyed, when Israel was defeated, and when my people were taken away as prisoners.
   
4. Now I am going to let you be conquered by tribes from the eastern desert. They will set up their camps in your land and eat your fruit and drink your milk.
   
5. Your capital city of Rabbah will be nothing but pastureland for camels, and the rest of the country will be pastures for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD God.
   
6. You hated Israel so much that you clapped and shouted and celebrated.
   
7. And so I will hand you over to enemies who will rob you. I will completely destroy you. There won't be enough of your people left to be a nation ever again, and you will know that I, the LORD, have done these things.
   
8. The LORD God said, "The people of Moab thought Judah was no different from any other nation.
   
9. So I will let Moab's fortress towns along its border be attacked, including Beth-Jeshimoth, Baal-Meon, and Kiriathaim.
   
10. The same eastern desert tribes that invade Ammon will invade Moab, and just as Ammon will be forgotten forever,
    
11. Moab will be punished. Then the people there will know that I am the LORD."
    
12. The LORD God then said, "The people of Edom are guilty of taking revenge on Judah.
    
13. So I will punish Edom by killing all its people and livestock. It will be an empty wasteland all the way from Teman to Dedan.
    
14. I will send my own people to take revenge on the Edomites by making them feel my fierce anger. And when I punish them, they will know that I am the LORD God."
    
15. The LORD God said, "The cruel Philistines have taken revenge on their enemies over and over and have tried to destroy them.
    
16. Now it's my turn to treat the Philistines as my enemies and to kill everyone living in their towns along the seacoast.
    
17. In my fierce anger, I will take revenge on them. And when I punish them, they will know that I am the LORD."
    
    

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    Judah was under siege by the Babylonians as God's judgment took effect. But if God's chosen people did not escape judgment neither would other nations that had contributed to her fall, both morally and physically. God's covenant with Abraham had stated that those who blessed Israel would be blessed and those who cursed her would be cursed. We see a fulfillment of this promise with God's judgment on the four nations mentioned in this chapter.
    
    The four nations - Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia - had been enemies of Israel from the time of her exodus and entry into Palestine, her land of promise. Throughout her history they had attempted to possess Israel's territory and rejoiced in her defeats. In conjunction with Babylon's takeover of Judah, two of the countries - Ammon and Edom - joined with Babylon to assist in the takeover. These nations were not only pleased with Israel's defeats but also with her moral decline. In the early days of Israel's history it was known by these nations that Israel's blessings and her victories in battle were due to God. When Israel turned her back on her God, she became as the other nations both in character and in her strength. Without God she was without power.
    
    Therefore, these four nations would meet a fate similar to that of Judah. They would be destroyed by other nations and exiled from their lands. Those nations that joined with Babylon to defeat Judah had hopes of gaining some of Judah's territory. But God did not allow them to benefit from Judah's fall. They too would fall. Not only were they not to gain any of Judah's territory, they would lose what they had.
    
    Failure to recognize God's sovereignty over life is a failure to participate in the good life God gives those who join Him in His purposes. Who knows better than the Creator of the universe and of life itself how life should best be lived and enjoyed?