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TH1198: On-Line

EZEKIEL

Ezekiel 25-26

Please turn in your Bibles to Ezekiel chapter 25, as we continue our study through the Word of God. As we have seen, the first 24 chapters of Ezekiel dealt with God warning His people of the coming judgment because of their wickedness. Over and over again God warned the Southern Kingdom of Judah of what was coming, but they refused to listen. And God even used object lessons by the prophets to get their attention, and yet, they still refused to see their sin and repent before God.

And now, in chapters 25-32 of Ezekiel, God is going to pronounce judgment upon the nations that surrounded the Southern Kingdom of Judah. He was warning them of what was to come because of their sin. It is interesting to me that Peter tells us "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" I Peter 4:17.

Yes, judgment does begin at the house of God, but it does not end there! We need to warn people of what is to come. You see, the world loves to mock and make fun of Christians who fall. And yes, judgment will come upon those who are living in sin. But for the unsaved, they also need to realize and learn this lesson, God is faithful and His judgment is complete. Make no mistake about it. And that is what we are going to see as we cover these chapters over the next couple of weeks. And with that said, lets dig in and see what the Lord has for us this evening.

EZEKIEL 25

VERSES 1-2

1. The Ammonites were a nomadic people that settled down east of the Dead Sea between the Arnon and Jabbok Rivers. And the Ammonites were related to the Jews through Abraham’s nephew, Lot. You may remember the story, as God was pouring out His judgment upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his family fled to Zoar and finally up into the mountains. And Lot’s daughters, thinking they would remain barren, got their father drunk, and each of them had sex with him. The younger daughter had a son through this relationship and called his name, Ben-Ammi, he was the father of the Ammonites. But even though they were family, the people of Ammon had no love for the Jews, as we are going to see.

VERSES 3-7

1. The people of Ammon rejoiced when Jerusalem fell. They shouted when the people were taken into captivity and the temple destroyed. Because that was their attitude, what happened to Judah would happen to them, and Rabbah, their capitol will be destroyed. Their people will be taken into captivity. In other words, what you sow you will also reap!

2. Now how does that apply to us today? Simply, you will never move up when you put others down! Secondly, you will never get ahead when you try to get even! You see, our responsibility is to love people as much as they are willing to allow us to, and let God take care of the rest. Vengeance is His, not ours! And it is easy to get into that mode where you are constantly putting people down and trying to get even with them. God is saying "Don’t go down that path, you won’t like the results!"

VERSES 8-11

1. The Moabites occupied the land to the south of the Arnon River on the east side of the Dead Sea. And the Moabites were related to the Jews through Abraham’s nephew Lot, this time from Lot’s older daughter. And they too had no love for the Jews even though they were family. Also mentioned here is Seir which is speaking of the Edomites, which God will deal more fully with them shortly. But they too enjoyed seeing the Jew’s put down. And not only did the people of Moab rejoice, but they were declaring that Judah’s God was no different than the other god’s from the other nations. He was just another local deity that got defeated. And God judged them to show them there is only one true and living God!

2. Now how does that relate to us? Don’t we hear today, "It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you believe in something!" Or "All roads lead to God!" And God is saying, "Not so!" In the King James Version verse 9 says that God "will open the side of Moab" or tear into them and show them there is only one true God. May we not fall prey to the Ecumenical teaching that is going on, the teaching that is trying to unite people outside of Jesus Christ. They speak of a god, but it is not the God of the Bible. God will judge!

VERSES 12-14

1. The Edomites occupied the area to the south of the Dead Sea, south of Moab, and they too were family. Esau was the brother of Jacob, and as you remember, Esau did not love Jacob and that hatred continued on through the generations. And the Edomites loved to take advantage of Israel when they were down. In fact, in 588 BC the Edomites sided with Babylon in her assaults upon Judah. They saw this as vengeance, possibly for what Jacob did many hundreds of years earlier to his brother Esau. It is possible they never let that go and that bitterness grew and was manifested in their actions.

2. How does that apply to us today? We can allow bitterness to grow inside of us and it will finally be manifested in our actions, we will try to avenge the wrong that was done to us or the wrong we think that was done unto us. But that is not what God desires. In fact, God told the Edomites that they poured out their vengeance on Israel and He will pour out His vengeance upon them. Paul, in Hebrews 12:14-15 said, "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled." I think that is clear. If you are angry, or bitter, give it to the Lord before it gets the better of you!

VERSES 15-17

1. The Philistines occupied the land along the Mediterranean Sea, in an area we know of today as the Gaza Stripe. It was a beautiful coastal area but the Philistines hated the Jews. They were the perennial enemy of the Jew’s. And for all that was done to them, all the defeats the Philistines had encountered by the hands of the Jews, they were going to get back at them. And God is telling them "Not so!" You see, God is going to pour out His vengeance upon them and they will know who the Lord is.

2. Again, we can see this too apply’s to our lives. We saw bitterness before, and here is some "old hatred," something they refused to let go of, and it was going to destroy them. Paul says in Colossians 3:8, "But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth." Why? Because John tells us very clearly in I John 4:20-21, "If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." Some good principles we can take with us and learn from the mistakes of others so we don’t fall into them, or if we do, we can repent and get right with God.

3. Now we are going to move into the judgment of Tyre in Ezekiel chapters 26-28. Chapter 26 covers the destruction of Tyre. Chapter 27, the lament over Tyre. And chapter 28 the fall of the prince of Tyre and the king of Tyre. And so lets dig into chapter 26 and see this awesome prophetic vision of what was going to happen to Tyre.

EZEKIEL 26

VERSES 1-3

1. The sin of Tyre was her rejoicing over the destruction of Jerusalem, not because she hated them, but because of greed. You see, Tyre was about 40 miles north of the boarders of Israel, a sea coast city. And Tyre dominated the sea routes, but as they transported goods by caravan through Judah to Egypt, they would be taxed. Jerusalem, in a sense, was the gateway to the south, to Egypt, but not any longer. Now they could transport lots of goods southward, and they would be tax free, enabling them to make lots of money now that Jerusalem was out of the way. Because of that attitude, God was going to wipe them out as the sea would cover the land!

2. How does that apply to us? Do we rejoice over the fall of others so that we may gain things? Covetousness is an insatiable desire for worldly gain, it is greed! And it is not a good thing and it is not of God. It is as Paul said in Colossians 3:5-7, "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them."

VERSES 4-14

1. The prediction of the destruction of Tyre, the details that have been given, are astounding! In fact, Peter Stoner, in his book, Science Speaks, says that the probability of these things happening by a random chance occurrence are 1 in 400 million! And that drives the critiques of the Bible crazy. They can’t understand how this can be. But for the Christian who believes the Bible is the Word of God, and that God is omniscient or all-knowing, and thus, this is nothing for Him to do and it is easy then for us to believe. It is as Isaiah 42:8-9 says, "I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them." And in Isaiah 44:6-8 we read "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’" And so lets examine this incredible prediction in light of the historical events that have taken place.

2. Only a few years after this prophecy was spoken, in 588 BC, king Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians came down, and for some reason they turned from going to Egypt, and they headed towards Tyre. The problem the Babylonians encountered was that the people of Tyre were stronger than they thought and they held on for some 13 years. From verses 7-11 we see this spoken of. And after 13 years they finally breached the walls of the city and to their surprise they only found a few soldiers remaining in the city as a decoy.

You see, over a period of time the people and their possessions were moved out of Tyre and onto a island that was off shore about ½ mile. And the night time exodus that occurred, paid off. The people and the wealth were gone, and for his 13 years of battle, the Babylonians got nothing in return. So they destroyed the buildings, the structures and the soldiers who remained, but that was all they got out of this battle. They had no booty. But it doesn’t end there.

3. As you read these verses you see that in this judgment God says that Tyre is going to be flattened - a flat Tyre you might say! They are not going to be spared - no spare Tyre you might say! But this was not fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. In fact, it would not be fulfilled for another 243 years or so. You see, in 332 BC, Alexander, a great man, came sweeping across the land with the intention of conquering the whole known world, which he did.

And as he came to Tyre he was determined to destroy it. This was a challenge to this great military leader. In verse 3 it speaks of many nations coming down upon Tyre, and that is exactly what took place. As Alexander the Great conquered other nations he put them into his military, made them slaves and used them to defeat Tyre. In this second phase of the destruction of Tyre we see Alexander the Great build a causeway out to this island that was ½ mile off shore using his soldiers and slaves to do the work.

Where did he get all the materials to build this causeway? He took the ruble, the ruins from the city of Tyre that was on the mainland and destroyed by the Babylonians. And he took all these materials, scraping the dust from the land, and pushed them into the sea and he built this ½ mile causeway out to this island that was now the city of Tyre. And as he completed the work, his soldiers marched right in and took the city of Tyre, something that the Babylonians were not able to do. But it doesn’t end there!

4. In verse 12 it changes from "he", Nebuchadnezzar and/or Alexander the Great, to "they", another group of people. You see, Tyre did become a city once again. In fact it became a major Islamic city as Islam was sweeping across the land. And in 1290 AD the Crusaders from France, England, and Germany came to take the holy land from the infidels. And they did defeat the Muslims and made Tyre into a Crusader city!

But within a few years the Muslims mounted up their forces and took back the city of Tyre from the Crusaders. And the Muslims were so upset that Christians had overtaken them and used this land for their own purposes, and I use that term "Christian" very loosely when I speak of the Crusaders, that the Muslims dismantled the city. They took every timber, every rock, anything that was left in this city and threw it into the sea. And so, as verse 4 says, nothing is left of Tyre but the dust of the city, just as God had said would take place.

5. Now if you go to this area today, all you will find is a small fishing village that uses this causeway that Alexander the Great had made, to dry their fishing nets upon. It is just as verse 5 and verse 14 says! The strange thing is, the location of this city is ideal to flourish as a big city, it should have been rebuilt again. It has been estimated that the water supply they have in this area, fresh water, is between 10,000 to 1 million gallons of water per day! But, as verse 14 says, "‘I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken,’ says the Lord GOD."

God declared it, and we see it, and the sceptics are going crazy trying to figure out how this can be! But we have no problem understanding this, because the creator of heaven and earth, knows the future as if were the present, and He declares it to us with 100^% accuracy! Awesome prophecy, don’t you just love it?

VERSES 15-18

1. Here we see the coastal neighbors of Tyre, those who depended upon Tyre for their trade and commerce, mourning over the destruction of this city. These people will sit in mourning over what was lost, their wealth, their resources. They needed Tyre for their own personal gain, their own purposes, but now Tyre was gone and they are lamenting over this.

2. As Christians, we many times place our hope in money, jobs, people, toys, programs, things in general, and when they are taken away or fail, we mourn. And we may wonder why we respond like that. Because we looked to them to be the source of our happiness instead of having joy in the Lord! John put it this way in I John 1;1-4, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life– the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us– that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full." You see, that joy is found as we are in fellowship with the Lord. Anything else we look to we will eventually be disappointed in. But in God, He is faithful and true, and the joy He gives to us is unchanging, it is constant! You must choose who you are going to fellowship with!

VERSES 19-21

1. For this city, for these ancient mariners, God says their fate would be like the sea engulfing them, swallowing them up. Something that all those who sail the sea have respect for, the power of the seas, and especially those who sailed long ago. And Ezekiel takes that description even farther when he says their ultimate fate will be the pit, Sheol, the abode for the dead who have died outside of the faith.

2. Nations and cites were looking to her to move their goods, and even after their destruction, they were looking for them to return, but God said their destruction would be complete, they would never rise again. In verse 13 we read "I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more." Tyre was known for its musicians and music, but God pulled the plug on them. You might say it was the day the music died! And you can go to the site of ancient Tyre and see that what God has said, has come to pass! A vivid object lesson for us to learn from.

3. God has warned us in His Word of another judgment that is coming. It is a judgment of God against a Christ rejecting world. No one will escape His wrath. You can read of this in Revelation chapter 6, beginning in verse 12. It says "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’" Revelation 6:12-17.

The tragic thing is people today ignore the warnings. But make no mistake about it, these things will come to pass. It is as Habakkuk says in Habakkuk 2:2-3, "Then the LORD answered me and said: ‘Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’" God said it, He meant it, and it will surely come to pass! May we share the truths of God to a world that is looking for answers, but they are looking in all the wrong places. May we bring them to the Rock, Jesus Christ, the only one who will bring stability to their life!