III. Oracles against foreign nations chs. 25--32

It is appropriate that this section appears at this point in Ezekiel, between the messages announcing judgment on Judah and Jerusalem for sin (chs. 4-24) and the messages announcing future blessings for Israel (chs. 33-48). It heightens dramatic tension as the reader wonders what will be the fate of Israel now in view of God's promises. Ezekiel had anticipated and announced the judgment of Judah. The destruction of Jerusalem caused Judah's hateful neighbors to rejoice at her downfall. However, God announced through Ezekiel that they should not gloat because He would judge them for their attitude toward and treatment of His chosen people. All nations will answer for their sins, not just Israel. This whole section is a testimony to the faithfulness of God to His promise to curse nations that cursed Israel (Gen. 12:3).³⁴⁰

"Oracles against foreign nations are an aspect of God's covenantal restoration promises to Israel (centrally located in Lev. 26:40-45 and Deut. 30:1-10). The reason for them is fairly simple: Israel's foes must decrease if Israel is to increase. The promise of power over enemies is a reversal of the curses of subjugation by enemies, as Deut. 30:7 says: The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies.' Such oracles, then, gave great reassurance to righteous Israelites that no matter how severe their own circumstances might be at the moment, the time was coming when the nation--in whatever future generation it might occur--would experience deliverance from exile and oppression and exaltation to God's favor and blessing. From the point of view of orthodox Israelites, the oracles against foreign nations were oracles of hope."³⁴¹

Major Oracles against Foreign Nations

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Amos

Obadiah

Zephaniah

Ammon

49:1-6

25:1-7

1:13-15

2:8-11

Moab

15-16

48

25:8-11

2:1-3

2:8-11

Edom

21:11-12; 34:5-17

49:7-22

25:12-14; 35

1:11-12

1-21

Philistia

14:29-32

47

25:15-17

1:6-8

2:4-7

Tyre and Sidon

23

26-28

1:9-10

Egypt

19

46:1-26

29-32

Damascus

17

49:23-27

1:3-5

Babylon

13:1-14:23

50-51

Ethiopia

2:12

Assyria

2:13-15

In addition to these sections in these prophetic books, Jonah and Nahum spoke to the situation in Assyria, Daniel foretold the fate of Babylon and other nations, and Obadiah predicted the fall of Edom. All the prophetic books in the Old Testament except Hosea contain some references to the future of the nations.

It is probably significant that Ezekiel mentioned seven nations, as did Jeremiah and Amos. The Jews regarded seven of anything as a complete number, dating back to God's creation of the cosmos in seven days. Thus these seven nations and city-states would have signified to the Jews that God would judge all such hostile pagan nations, not just these seven.³⁴²Ezekiel did not record an oracle against Babylon. The commentators offer various explanations, but the one that appeals to me is that God did not give him one, perhaps because for him to denounce Babylon in Babylon would have been very dangerous for the Jews.³⁴³

 A. Oracles against Judah's closest neighbors ch. 25

This chapter ties in very closely with the preceding one. Evidently all the messages in these two chapters date from the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (24:1-2). Even though this chapter begins a series of messages that all deal with God's judgment on the nations, the messages in this chapter followed on the heels of the announcement of the siege. It is as though God was warning Israel's closest neighbors not to gloat over her fate nor to hope to profit from it since they too would undergo divine wrath in the form of Babylonian invasion. They would not triumph over Israel. Ezekiel had referred to their judgment earlier (21:20, 28-32) as had Jeremiah (Jer. 9:25-26; 25:1-26; 27:1-11; 48:1-49:22). Their captivity would also last 70 years (Jer. 25:11), but their larger judgment would continue, as Israel's, from the time of their defeat by Nebuchadnezzar until the second coming of Christ (i.e., the times of the Gentiles, Luke 21:24; cf. Isa. 11:14; Dan. 11:41; Joel 3:1-4). The description of these nations proceeds in an essentially clockwise direction from east to west whereas the remaining judgments deal with Tyre, Sidon, and Egypt north to south.

"The amount of space dedicated to each nation does not necessarily correspond to its importance in the ancient Near East of the sixth century B.C. Rather, by concentrating at length on two nations, mentioning at more-average length several others, and touching only briefly on yet others, this section of prophecies gives a realistic over-allimpression of both thoroughness and variety."³⁴⁴

The four messages in this chapter each have four parts: an introduction, an indictment, a punishment, and an outcome. The first oracle against Ammon consists of two messages and consequently contains a double indictment and punishment.

 B. Judgment on Tyre 26:1-28:19

The length of this oracle reflects the great significance of Tyre at this time in Israel's history. Tyre (lit. "rock") was the principle city of Phoenicia and consisted of two towns: a fortified stronghold on a rock outcropping one-half mile offshore, and a smaller community on the coast. King Hiram I had connected the two population centers with a causeway in the tenth century B.C.³⁵¹Tyre was important because it was a major port and a military center. It stood on the Mediterranean coast 35 miles from the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) and 100 miles from Jerusalem. Chapter 25 contains prophecies against nations to the east and west of Israel, but now the Lord looked north.

Ezekiel's prophecies of Tyre's destruction are the longest ones against this city-state in the Old Testament (cf. Isa. 23; Jer. 47:4; Amos 1:9-10; Zech. 9:3-4). He saw that God would use Nebuchadnezzar to punish all the enemies of Israel, among which Tyre and Egypt (chs. 29-32) were particularly formidable.

"The biblical record first mentions the city as a strong, fortified town that formed part of the boundary of the inheritance of the tribe of Asher (Josh 19:29). Tyre was prominent in the days of David and Solomon and throughout the remainder of OT history. Hiram, Solomon's contemporary, enlarged and beautified the city. Tyre became an important maritime city of the ancient Near East, being involved in great commercial and colonial enterprises throughout the Mediterranean area, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean. With the rise of Assyria to power, Tyre periodically submitted to Assyria's lordship, paying tribute out of the abundance of her wealth (as in the cases of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal). Whenever possible, however, Tyre rebelled against the Assyrian power and withstood the Assyrian retribution in the security of its island fortress (as in the case of Sennacherib). As Assyria began to decline in strength, Tyre exerted her complete independence. Tyre was in this latter condition when these oracles were delivered."³⁵²

The four major parts that make up this section alternate prophetic speeches (26; 28:1-10) and laments (27; 28:11-19).

 C. Judgment on Sidon 28:20-24

28:20-21 Another oracle concerning Sidon, Tyre's neighbor about 20 miles to the north, came to the prophet from the Lord. God may have condemned Sidon because of its close association with Tyre, though it was responsible for its own actions.

28:22 The Lord announced His antagonism against Sidon and His plan to receive glory through the way He would deal with this town. The people would know that Yahweh was the only true God when He judged Sidon and thus manifested His holiness.

28:23 God would send disease, bloodshed, and soldiers against Sidon, and many of her people would die in her streets (cf. 6:11-12; 14:21). This would teach the Sidonians that God is the Lord.

28:24 The reason for this judgment was that Sidon had been a thorn in the side of God's people by scorning them (cf. Gen. 12:3). Again the Lord promised that onlookers would learn that He is God.

 D. Israel's restoration from the nations 28:25-26

As in numerous other prophetic Scriptures, promises of Israel's restoration accompanied predictions of judgment on the nations (e.g. 34:27; 38:8; 39:26; Isa. 65:21; Jer. 23:6; Amos 9:14-15).

28:25 The Lord also promised to regather His people to their land and to manifest His holiness in them so that all the nations would see it (cf. v. 22; 20:41; chs. 33-39). They would then live in the land that God had promised to His servant Jacob (Gen. 35:12; cf. Gen. 12:7; 26:3).

28:26 The Israelites would live there securely, building houses and planting vineyards, when the Lord punished all the nations that had scorned His people. This would teach them that He is God.

After the Babylonian Captivity some Israelites returned to live in the Promised Land, but they did not live there in safety. In fact, the Jews have never yet lived safely in their own land. Fulfillment awaits the return of Jesus Christ and His millennial kingdom.

 E. Judgment on Egypt chs. 29-32

Ezekiel concluded his oracles against foreign nations with seven messages the Lord gave him concerning the fate of Egypt, one of Israel's most ancient and powerful enemies (cf. Isa. 31:1; Jer. 2:36; 46:1-26). God controls everything, even the fate of Israel's most notorious antagonist. One of these messages is out of chronological order (29:17-21) and another one appears to be (30:1-19). Since the Lord gave these oracles to Ezekiel over several years, it may be helpful to chart them in relation to other important events in Egypt's history.

Ezekiel's Oracles against Egypt in the Context of Egypt's Chronological History

Event

Date

Reference

Egypt's domination of Israel

605-609

Babylonia's defeat of Egypt at Carchemish

605

Egypt's offers of assistance to Israel against Babylonia

605-586

The beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's second siege of Jerusalem

588

2 Kings 25:1;

Ezek. 24:1

Pharaoh Hophra's interruption of the siege of Jerusalem

588

Jer. 37:5-11

EZEKIEL'S FIRST INTRODUCTORY PROPHECY AGAINST EGYPT

587

Ezek. 29:1-16

EZEKIEL'S SECOND PROPHECY DESCRIBING PHARAOH HOPHRA'S INITIAL DEFEAT AND EGYPT'S ULTIMATE DESOLATION

587

Ezek. 30:20-26

EZEKIEL'S THIRD PROPHECY COMPARING EGYPT'S FALL TO ASSYRIA'S COLLAPSE

587

Ezek. 31

The continuing siege of Jerusalem

587

Jer. 32:1-5

The fall of Jerusalem and King Zedekiah's capture

586

2 Kings 25:7-8

The exiles' reception of the news of Jerusalem's fall

585

Ezek. 33:21

EZEKIEL'S FOURTH PROPHECY IN THE FORM OF A FUNERAL DIRGE

585

Ezek. 32:1-16

EZEKIEL'S FIFTH PROPHECY--A SUMMARY LAMENT

585

Ezek. 32:17-32

EZEKIEL'S SIXTH PROPHECY DESCRIBING EGYPT AS NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S SPOIL FOR DEFEATING TYRE

571

Ezek. 29:17-21

EZEKIEL'S SEVENTH PROPHECY ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF EGYPT AND HER ALLIES

571

Ezek. 30:1-19

"The fact of so many prophecies on the same subject should be a reminder to the modern communicator that the truth of a message is conveyed only when the audience actually pays attention to it. Since audiences often change gradually and/or constantly, and people don't always pay attention the first time--or the next time--the communicator may have to repeat the message many times before some people really hear it."³⁹⁹