Ezekiel 38:14-23

11. THE OVERTHROW OF GOG 38:14-23

TRANSLATION

(14) Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to God: Thus says the Lord GOD: in that day when My people Israel dwell safely, shall you not know it? (15) And you shall come from your place, from the uttermost parts of the north, you and many people with you, all of them riding on horses, a great congregation and a mighty army. (16) And you shall go up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the end of days that I will bring you against My land in order that the nations might know Me, when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, O God. (17) Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by the hand of MY servants the prophets of Israel who prophesied in those days for (many) years, that I would bring you against them? (18) And it shall come to pass in that day, when God comes against the land of Israel (oracle of the Lord GOD, that MY wrath shall rise up in My nostrils. (19) For in My jealousy, in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking upon the land of Israel. (20) Fish of the sea, birds of the heavens, beasts of the field, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the ground, and every man who is upon the face of the earth shall shake at My presence, and the mountains shall be ripped open, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. (21) And I will call against him throughout all My mountains a sword (oracle of the Lord GOD); every man's sword shall be against his brother. (22) And I will enter into judgment with him with pestilence, and with blood; an overflowing shower, great hailstones, fire and brimstone I will rain upon him and upon his bands, and upon the many peoples who are with him. (2-3) Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and make Myself known before the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am the LORD.

COMMENTS

The plan of God would utterly fail. He would take note of the unpretentious and peaceful people and think that he would have no difficulty in overwhelming them. With his vast armies coming from the north (Ezekiel 38:15) he would arise suddenly, ominously against Israel like a storm cloud. Little do the heathen realize that they are unwittingly carrying out the plans of God. He had brought them in the sense that he had permitted them to make this attack.[474] Through the destruction of this vast throng God would prove conclusively to all that He is king of the universe. He would be sanctified i.e., honored as holy, through the destruction of God's forces (Ezekiel 38:16).

[474] Here, as throughout the Old Testament, the active or causative will of God must be distinguished from the permissive will. All things which happen do so because God either causes them to happen, or allows them to happen. Thus is removed the moral difficulty of having God lead these barbarians into a crime for which He must punish them.

What proof is there that the invasion of God was part of God's foreordained scheme of self-vindication? The fact that long before it occurred the servants of the Lord predicted such an invasion. The prophecy here in Ezekiel is certainly in view, and possibly passages in Zephaniah (chap. 1) and Jeremiah Jeremiah 4:5 ff.) as well (Ezekiel 38:17). The fate of God as well as the fact of the invasion is announced by Ezekiel. The furious wrath of God would be manifested against God (Ezekiel 38:18). Divine jealousy or zeal was aroused whenever man outraged His immutable law. He would cause a great shaking i.e., an earthquake, in the land (Ezekiel 38:19) which would cause consternation and confusion in man and beast alike. Mountains and massive walls would crumble (Ezekiel 38:20). In the panic caused by this awesome display of divine power the enemy soldiers would lash out at and destroy one another (Ezekiel 38:21).[475]

[475] Cf. Judges 7:22; 1 Samuel 14:20

In this judgment against God, God would employ pestilence and bloodshed. A violent, overflowing storm of hailstones, fire and brimstone (cf. Ezekiel 13:11; Ezekiel 13:13) would finally bring about the demise of God (Ezekiel 38:22). This stroke against God and consequent rescue of Israel would cause citizens of many nations to recognize the majesty and power of the Lord (Ezekiel 38:23).