Ezekiel

Ezekiel Chapter 25

• Ezekiel 25:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 
• 2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them;
• 3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, 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; 

The Ammonites gloated when they saw Israel taken in captivity by the Babylonians and trusted in a false prophecy or false divination, thinking they would escape the reign of Babylon. They rejoiced as many of Israel's enemies today rejoice when a Jew is killed or the land is taken from them. They rejoiced when the sanctuary was profaned and polluted. We need to be careful today that we do not rejoice in the persecution and calamity of others or even make light of it.

Remember the poem:

First they came for the Jews 
and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew. 
Then they came for the communists 
and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist. 

Then they came for the trade unionists 
and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist. 

Then they came for me - 
and by then there was no one left to speak out for me. 

Pastor Martin Niemöller

If I could add anything, I would start with:

• First they came for the unborn
  and I did not speak out - because I was not pregnant
• Then they came for the disabled 
  and I did not speak out - because I was healthy
• Then they came for the elderly 
  and I did not speak out - because I was young
• Then they came for the Jews 
  and I did not speak out - because I was Christian
• Then they came for the Baptists
  and I did not speak out - because I was not Baptist
• Then they came for the Amish and Mennonites 
  and I did not speak out - because I was not Amish or Mennonite
• Then they came for the Pentecostals 
  That included me but it was too late to speak out.

When we first got abortion in this country, especially when I heard of partial birth abortion, I actually did speak out. That was one of the reasons I started doing web pages. Nothing has ever grieved me like abortion that was legalized in this once great country of the United States. It is an evil that is subtle and sneaky because the children cannot speak for themselves and remain silent about their rights to life. It is a sad situation. Others that may not be able to speak out for themselves will be the terminally ill and then perhaps the disabled and elderly. 

You might say, surely, not in the United States. Back in the early 1900s they would have said that in Germany. Surely not Germany. Before they started killing Jews they did indeed start with the disabled and elderly. Read history and find out. If it can happen in civilized Germany, it can happen in the USA. 

• Ezekiel 25:4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. 
• 5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

The Jews are still known today but the Ammonites have disappeared. That place is where Jordan is today. Babylon conquered them after they took Judah. 

• Ezekiel 25:6 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; 

Beware of rejoicing when we see enemies surrounding Israel. Do not rejoice in the suffering of any countries even if the country is an enemy country. Do not rejoice to see evil happen to anyone but rather fear God. 

If they would have seen what happened to Judah and humbled themselves to God in repentance and would have cried out to be spared instead of trusting in divination, they could have been spared. There is nothing any nation can do, no matter how powerful they become if God is on the side of the nation that is attacked. However, if God is not on our side or anyone's side, we cannot win. 

• 2Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

This is an old testament verse but it is as true today as it was then. It doesn't say if the heathen will humble themselves although if they did they would be heard. It says if my people which are called by my name.

This meant the Jews at the time of this prophecy of Ezekiel, for that is who it was speaking to. Today some may apply this to the church which are called by His name. However, there is no guarantee that a whole nation can be saved if they have passed the point of no return, however, our repenting, praying and humbling ourselves before God just might delay judgment. This happened in the case of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah but later Nineveh returned to their former state and was destroyed.

If His people which are called by His name shall:

1. Humble themselves - Not claim, "Hey, I'm a king's kid and God has an obligation to answer my prayers." The first step when praying for a nation is to come to God with a meek spirit and be humble.
2. Pray - Petition God for mercy and ask for help.
3. Seek His face- seek to be heard and seek the giver, not just the gifts. 
4. Turn from their wicked ways. Repent-  This is the part people do not get. Israel the people of God were to turn from their wicked ways before God would save their nation. The church of today needs to turn from their wicked ways if they want God to work His will among them and souls can be brought to Christ. 

Its so hard to get people to see that they have sinned. How do we know what sin is? Read the word and find out. Reading the law can show us how holy God is and how much we need a savior to save us from the condemnation that breaking the law brings. Not only will God save us and forgive our sins but He will give us His very own Holy Spirit to abide within us so that we can overcome the temptation to return to the sin He saves us from. 

• Ezekiel 25:7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 

Ammon could have been saved even though they were not considered God's chosen people. They could have called upon Him with repentance and been saved from the king of Babylon but instead they thought they would escape the coming siege and they rejoiced to see Israel taken captive by Babylon.  The word Ammon is not even in some dictionaries because when I type this in a Microsoft program I get a line under it showing that it may be a misspelled word. 

• Ezekiel 25:8 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; 
• 9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, 
• 10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. 
• 11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

Moab has always wanted to see the destruction of Israel and they are not heard of today. They are no longer in existence by name. Modern Jordan occupies that land also. 

• Ezekiel 25:12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;
• 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. 
• 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD. 
• 15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; 
• 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. 
• 17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them. 

Many of the nations here that rejoiced in the fall of Israel do not exist as a nation now. Yet Israel exists. God has not forgotten them. We couldn't' say this before 1948. When they became a nation again it was a sign from the Lord that His word is true and is surely coming to pass. 

What happens here though is a warning not to gloat when bad happens to Israel. They will suffer much trouble in the future just before the coming of Jesus Christ a second time. Surrounding nations need to fear, not gloat and be part of their destruction. When it seems as if their enemies win, Jesus Christ Himself shall save them. 

Hate can cause us to do things we never dreamed of doing. It is a dangerous thing. Usually it starts by fear. When we fear an enemy we will usually hate them. A Christian needs to guard against this temptation to give in to hate. 

Election years are very bad for this. It is so easy to fear and then hate the opposing party. Hate is something that is the very opposite of God. God will shed His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We need to seek this as individuals. 

Love your enemies is a command of Christ. It takes the Holy Spirit to do this properly. 

Love does not mean that we compromise on the truth of God's word. If we love our children, we do not allow them to do all they want to do because if we do they will surely come to harm. If we love them, we tell them the truth. We do not let them get by with doing something that will harm them. Love is telling the truth, not watering down the word to build self-esteem. 

In doing any correction, teaching or preaching though, the motive must be out of love not hate and vengeance. Let God take care of the vengeance. We are to preach the gospel up until the day of Jesus returns.

-Dorna

Ezekiel Chapter 26

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