Ezekiel 25:8-11

II. THE WORD AGAINST MOAB 25:8-11

TRANSLATION

(8) Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab and Seir have said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations, (9) therefore, behold, I am about to open the flank[369] of Moab on the side of the cities, its cities from its frontier,[370] the glory of the land, Bethjeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, (10) and I will give it to the children of the east along with the children of Ammon for a possession in order that the children of Ammon may not be remembered among the nations. (11) So in Moab I will execute judgments; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

[369] Literally, shoulder of Moab, i.e., the side of Moab exposed to invasion.

[370] Literally, its end.

COMMENTS

Ezekiel's attention next fell upon Ammon's brother and neighbor to the south, Moab. From the earliest times the Moabites had manifested hostility toward Israel. Balak, king of Moab, had attempted to curse the children of Israel just before the death of Moses (Numbers 22-24). Legend has it that the Moabites slew the parents of David whom he had left there for safety during his flight from Saul (cf. 1 Samuel 22:3). The Moabites warred against Omri and Ahab,[371] and the combined army of

[371] The Moabite Stone records the boasts of the king of Moab in this respect.

Jehoram of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah (2 Kings 3). The region of Seir,[372] jointly occupied by Moab and Edom, is included in the present oracle.

[372] Seir is not found in the Greek text of Ezekiel. Due to the fact that Seir is usually associated with Edom, rather than Moab, the Greek translators apparently deliberately omitted the word.

The sin of Moab and Seir was in failing to recognize the distinctiveness of Israel and, consequently, of Israel's God (Ezekiel 25:8). Israel no longer enjoyed the miraculous protection she had enjoyed in the past. Her God was no more able to protect her than were the gods of surrounding nations.

The judgment on Moab was similar to that of Ammon. The children from the East would push in out of the desert to occupy the cities of Moab Beth-jeshimoth (the house of waters), Baal-meon (house of Baal's habitation), and Kiriathaim (double city; Ezekiel 25:9). Thus the desert raiders would dispossess the Moabites as well as the Ammonites (Ezekiel 25:10). These judgments would convince the Moabites that Yahweh of Israel was the powerful and almighty God (Ezekiel 25:11).