Ezekiel (Ch 25-26)
Chapter 25 continues with the same prophecy against the Ammonites which started in Chapter 21. We might speculate why the Ammonites were singled out here for this special oracle; but it might have pertained to the murder of Gedaliah, by the hand of Ishmael and the Ammonites gave these killers refuge.
Second, when Nebuchadnezzar took his route to Jerusalem, and destroyed the city, he went about without making any attempt upon the Ammonites; which so flushed the Ammonites that they laughed at their destruction, and insulted the Jews as if their God couldn’t save them.
And thirdly, Tobiah was an Ammonite, who along with Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arabian, attempted to hinder Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. And besides taking over the storerooms of the Temple for his own use, Tobiah corrupted the Jewish high priest Eliashib with Samaritan’s view of some Temple practices; thus profaning God’s Sanctuary.
And finally, the Ammonites are modern Jordan (or are they; or that a new group of people, the Jordanians, had replaced the ancient Ammonites) sitting on land allocated to three of the tribes of Israel, and they maybe taking back their ancestral Promised land, land that could even stretch further East and North toward the Euphrates River.
Ezekiel 25
1 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, — as the Targum says, the word of prophecy from the Lord; that is, another prophecy as the next verse confirms it.
2 “Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them; — the Ammonites; the posterity of Lot by the younger daughter, near neighbours, but bitter enemies to the Jews and who hated their religion; prophesy against them;
— the Targum says,
“Son of man, accept a prophecy against the children of Ammon, 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,
— note the double-fold judgement; (1) against the land of Israel; and (2) against the house of Judah;
— and against the house of Judah; it is wicked to rejoice at the calamities of any, especially of God’s people when they went into captivity; the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who were carried captives by Nebuchadnezzar;
— (1) first deportation, under Jehoiakim (succeeded Jehoahaz, who replaced Josiah but reigned only 3 months); began giving tribute to Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC; purportedly including Daniel;
— (2) second deportation under Jeconiah, (reign: 598 – 597 BC);
— (3) third under Zedekiah (reign 597–586 BC); which completed the destruction of Judah;
— and gave the utmost pleasure to their enemies the Ammonites; who were so disrespectful as to rejoice at the destruction of God’s temple: “’Aha,’ against My sanctuary” which they abhorred; this brutish and barbarous behaviour of theirs is resented by the Lord;
— the Targum affirms the second reason in the introduction, saying,
“And say to the children of Ammon: ‘Accept the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God: Because you said “Joy!” over My Sanctuary because it was profaned, and over the land of Israel because it was desolated, and over the house of Judah because they went into exile…'”
4 behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the East as 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.
— the ancient men of the East for a possession; the Chaldeans, the Medes and Persians, they lay eastward of Jerusalem; and/or it may be the Arabians, who are often called the men of the East;
— the men of the East in modern era could be the locusts of Revelation 9, who have power to sting like scorpions; from the East (more like from the south-east, but still East), often the Arabian, Mohammedans or Saracens, where it could be meant a swarm of endtime Muslims, are compared to grasshoppers, or locusts: Judges 7:12; “all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts.”
— and from the Message Bible
God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, face Ammon and preach against the people: Listen to the Message of God, the Master. This is what God has to say: Because you cheered when my Sanctuary was desecrated and the land of Judah was devastated and the people of Israel were taken into exile, I’m giving you over to the people of the east. They’ll move in and make themselves at home, eating the food right off your tables and drinking your milk. I’ll turn your capital, Rabbah, into pasture for camels and all your villages into corrals for flocks. Then you’ll realize that I am God. Ezekiel 25:3-5 MSG
— the Targum says,
“Therefore, behold, I am delivering you to the children of the East for an inheritance; and they shall dwell in their palaces within you, [and set up] their dwellings; they shall eat the goodness of your land, and they shall plunder your possessions.”
5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels and Ammon a couching place for flocks; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. — Rabbah was the capital of Ammon; today is Amman;
— and I will make Ammon or Rabbath a stable for camels; creatures much used by eastern nations, especially the Arabians; who pitching their tents about Rabbah, the royal city;
— the Targum says,
“And I will make Rabbah a dwelling place for camels, and [the land of] the children of Ammon a place for the folds of flocks of sheep; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
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 contemptuous hate against the land of Israel, — because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with thy feet: gestures expressive of joy and gladness;
— the Ammonites; therefore, behold, I will stretch out my hand against thee, and give thee to the nations for booty, and cut thee off from the peoples, and exterminate thee from the lands; for the ancient king of Babylon had a design against them, at the same time he came against Jerusalem, and was in doubt for a while which he should attack first; see Ezekiel 21:20
— the Targum says,
“For thus says the Lord God: Because you clapped with your hand and stamped with your foot, and you rejoiced with all the contempt of [your] soul against the land of Israel…”
7 behold, therefore I will stretch out Mine hand upon thee and will deliver thee as spoil to the nations; 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.’
— and I will cut thee off from the people; Ammon, thou shalt no more be accounted among the nations, but cease from being a people;
— “and thou shalt know that I am the Lord” indicates the Ammonites repented, they would know God ultimately and survive! Yet, ironically, they “cease from being a people,”
— the Targum says,
“Therefore, behold, I am lifting the stroke of My power against you, and I will give you for plunder to the nations; and I will cut you off from among the peoples, and I will destroy you from among the countries; I will desolate you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
8 “Thus saith the Lord God: ‘Because Moab and Seir do say, “Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen,” — the Moabites were first prophesied of, and then the Edomites who both joined in mocking, behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathens;
— Moabites mocks: Judah fares no better with them than with the rest of the nations, who do not profess and serve the same God they do; yet they are fallen into the hands of the king of Babylon;
— and yet are brought into the same miserable circumstances, and left in them, as others are; where is their God they boast of, and their superior excellence to the rest of the world? ~ thus blasphemously, as well as wickedly, did they insult them, which was provoking to the Lord;
— the Targum renders it interrogatively, “in what way do the house of Judah differ from all people?” ~ the Septuagint, “behold, are not the house of Israel and Judah in like manner as all the [other] nations?”
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; Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim; — I will open the side or border; that is, lay it open to attack from the side or border of their enemies into the cities, from his frontier;
— the Targum says,
“Therefore, behold, I am breaking the strength of Moab, [starting] from their towns, from their fortresses unto their open borders; the joy of their land: 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. — this prophecy against Ammon and the Ammonites has no promise of restoration;
— this seems to contradict verse 7 above where “thou shalt know that I am the Lord.” One apparent solution could be that there are several tribes of Ammonites; and some live, but others perish!
— the Targum says,
“[Together] with the children of the East, against the children of Ammon, and I will deliver it for an inheritance; so that the memory of the children of Ammon shall no longer be among the nations.”
11 And I will execute judgements upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ — and Moab, the Moabites was Lot by incest with his eldest daughter; they, too, would suffer the same fate, no, not quite, as “and they shall know that I am the Lord,” indicates they will survive and come to acknowledge God;
— the Targum says,
“And upon Moab I will execute the punishment of judgments, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”
12 “Thus saith the Lord God: ‘Because Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended and revenged himself upon them, — because Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance: the Edomites bore an old grudge against the Jews,
— not only because their father Jacob had got the birthright and blessing from their father Esau; but also because they were made tributaries to them in David’s time, and afterwards severely chastised by Amaziah (II King 14); these things they laid up in their minds, and vowed revenge whenever they had an opportunity; and now one offered at the destruction of Jerusalem, which they took;
— Edom dwelt to the South of the house of Jacob in ancient history; a study of the book of Obadiah incorporates the prophecy of Edom in more details; but briefly here, it is Spain in Europe and the Latinos in the Americas, who live South of the children of Israel in ancient times as well as today;
— the Targum says,
“Thus says the Lord God: Because the Edomites have acted with the strength of vengeance against the House of Judah, and have incurred [great] guilt, and have taken revenge 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.
— one possibility is that the Ottoman Turks (or today’s Turkey) are the sons of Teman, a grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:15); hence, perhaps, they could be another branch of the house of Esau;
— the Targum says,
“Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will lift the stroke of My power against Edom, and I will cut off from it man and beast; and I will make it a ruin from the south, and the inhabitants of Dedan shall be slain 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.’
— by the hand of my people Israel; this points distinctly to the fact that Edom should be accomplished by the hand of the Israelites, a prophecy which was fulfilled when they were conquered by John Hyrcanus, and compelled to submit to circumcision as a mark of absorption into the Jewish people;
— some nations that “clap thine hands and stamp your feet” when these happen again will get a Spanking so bad that their names will be remembered no more; but here, “they shall know My vengeance;”
— the Targum says,
“And I will place My retribution upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel; and they [the Edomites] shall be delivered up, and they [Israel] shall take vengeance upon Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath; and they shall know My retribution, says the Lord God.”
15 “Thus saith the Lord God: ‘Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge and have taken vengeance with a scornful heart to destroy it for the old hatred, — with a spiteful heart; with hatred to them, and contempt of those of the house of Israel;
— the Targum says,
“Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines have acted in vengeance, and have taken revenge with contempt of soul to destroy, [out of] an enmity that is from of old.”
16 therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will stretch out Mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. — the Philistines lies to the West of Judah; much of their land were destroyed; Ashkelon had been absorbed into the house of Israel; others soon to come;
— the Targum says,
“Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am lifting the stroke of My power against the Philistines; and I will destroy the people who are guilty of being destroyed, and I will eliminate the remnant of the seacoast.”
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.’” — “and they shall know that I am the Lord,” indicates they will survive and eventually come to acknowledge God;
— “when I shall lay my vengeance upon them,” that is, they will see the hand of God in it, acknowledge his justice, and confess that their gods were idols, and that the God of Israel is the only true God;
— the Targum says,
“And I will execute upon them great retributions with the strength of anger; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I place My retribution upon them.”
Ezekiel 26
1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 “Son of man, because Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people; she is turned unto me; I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste,’
— son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, aha…. as rejoicing at her destruction, and insulting over her in it; which was scornful and inhuman, and resented by the Lord;
— the Targum says,
“Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem: ‘Joy! The one who provided merchandise to all the nations is broken; [the trade] has turned to come to me; I shall be filled [now that] she is laid waste.'”
3 therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to roll up.
— and God will cause many nations to come up against thee, O Tyre, as the sea causeth his waves to come up; the Chaldean army, consisting of soldiers of many nations; who for their number, noise, and fury, are compared to the raging waves of the sea;
— so the Targum says, “I will bring up against thee, O Tyre, an army of many nations, as the sea ascendeth in the raging of its waves.”
4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. — Tyre, at that time the most famous city for trade and commerce in the world; and make her like the top of a rock means Tyre will be made barren;
— the Targum says,
“And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will uproot her dust from her, and I will make her like the smoothness of a naked rock.”
5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God; and it shall become a spoil to the nations. — the army of many nations, one that besieged it for thirteen years was under Nebuchadnezzar;
— the Targum says,
“It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have decreed it by My Word, says the Lord God; and she shall become a spoil for the nations.”
6 And her daughters who are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord. — and they shall know that I am the Lord when they shall see all these things exactly accomplished, that the omniscient God could foretell events and come to their senses, thus they survive rather having their names remember no more;
— the Targum says,
“And the inhabitants of her villages which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord.”
7 “For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings from the north, with horses and with chariots and with horsemen and companies, and many people. — “king of kings” because of the many nationals to his sway, whose kings were his vassals; hence king of kings;
— Nebuchadnezzar, was king of Babylon, a king of kings from the NORTH, but at the endtime, the prophecised SWORD (Ezekiel 20:45to 21:5) is destined to come from the SOUTH!
— the Targum says,
“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am bringing against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, from the north—a king of kings—with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army, and a vast people.”
8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field; and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a siege mound against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. — and lift up the buckler against thee;
— or “shield” that is, as the Targum says, “set against thee such who are armed with shields,”
“The inhabitants of your villages which are in the field he shall slay with the sword; and he shall build a siege-wall against you, and heap up a mound against you, and will set up against you those who batter with shields.”
9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. — and with his axes he shall break down thy towers; the word here used signifies anything made of iron, as swords, spears, hammers, and axes; the latter, being more proper to demolish towers;
— the Targum says,
“And the stroke of his battering engines he shall set against your walls, and your towers he shall break down with his iron tools.”
10 By reason of the abundance of his horses, their dust shall cover thee. Thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen and of the wheels and of the chariots when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.
— he shall enter into thy gates; Nebuchadnezzar, without fear, shall enter and possess his conquest, which Tyre at last yielded to him after thirteen years of hard siege;
— the Targum says,
“From the multitude of his horses, their dust shall cover you; from the sound of horsemen and wheels and chariots, your walls shall shake, when he enters your gates as one enters a city that has been breached through its wall.”
11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets. He shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. — Josephus wrote: “that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre thirteen years,” before the fruits fell onto the ground. Tyre had a large fleet and were very rich with merchandise;
— the Targum says,
“With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets; he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong pillars shall go down to the ground.”
12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches and make a prey of thy merchandise; and they shall break down thy walls and destroy thy pleasant houses; and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.
— and they shall make a spoil of thy riches; the Chaldean army, when they entered the city, and got possession of it, would plunder it, and divide the riches of it among them;
— the Targum says,
“And they shall spoil your riches and make a prey of your merchandise; they shall break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; and your stones, and your timber, and your dust, they shall lay in the midst of the sea.”
13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease, and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. — and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard; neither vocal nor instrumental music; and this could one day be the case of Rome, of which Tyre was a type, Revelation 18:22
— the Targum says,
“And I will cause the noise of your songs to cease; and the sound of your harps (lyres) shall be heard no more.”
14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock; thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon. Thou shalt be built no more; for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God. — and I will make thee like the top of a rock; that is, smooth and bare; and thou shall be a place to spread nets upon; and thou shalt be built no more;
— the Targum says,
“And I will make you a smooth rock; you shall be a place for the spreading of nets; you shall be built no more; for I, the Lord, have decreed it by My Word, says the Lord God.”
15 “Thus saith the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
— the Targum says,
“Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the slain groan, and when the slaughter is made in your midst?”
16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes and put off their embroidered garments. They shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment and be astonished at thee.
— the princes, governors and rulers of other countries that dwell by the sea: by which he signifies that her destruction would be so horrible that all the world would hear of it, trembled and be afraid;
— all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones; all the princes and rich merchants (or the merchants who are as princes) of Sidon, Carthage, and other maritime cities that maintained a trade with Tyre, and got great wealth by that means, shall express a deep grief and concern for thee;
— the Targum says,
“And all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones; they shall lay aside their robes and strip off their embroidered garments; they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and they shall tremble every moment and be astonished at you.”
17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee and say to thee: “‘How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! — see how high, how great Tyre had been; see how low Tyre has became;
— the Targum says,
“And they shall take up a lamentation for you, and say to you: ‘How you have perished, you who were inhabited from the midst of the seas, the renowned city that was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants; how they were delivered to destruction, all her inhabitants!'”
18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.’ — shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall? all those that dwell upon the sea-coast near thee shall be thrown into a consternation at the news of thy being taken and destroyed;
— the Targum says,
“Now shall the islands tremble in the day of the fall of your slain; and the islands that are in the sea shall be dismayed at your departure into exile.”
19 “For thus saith the Lord God: When I shall make thee a desolate city like the cities that are not inhabited, when I shall bring up the deep upon thee and great waters shall cover thee, — and great waters shall cover thee; either, literally, the waters of the sea, or metaphorically, great afflictions shall cover thee;
— the Targum says,
“For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I bring up the deep upon you, and great waters shall cover you.”
20 when I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit with the people of olden times, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited, and I shall set glory in the land of the living.”
— when buried under the sea she goes down into the abode of the dead, and possibly he regards the “places desolate of old” as also gone down and gathered in the underworld;
— the Targum says,
“And I will bring you down with those who descend to the pit of the house of destruction, to the people of old; and I will make you dwell in the nether parts of the earth, in the desolate places of old, with those who descend to the pit of the house of destruction, so that you shall not be inhabited; and I will set joy in the land of Israel.”
21 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more. Though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God.”
— Oops, it seems here that Tyre “shalt be no more,” seems contrary to what verse 6 says, “and they shall know that I am the Lord.” Perhaps verse 6 was meant for the time of Nebuchadnezzar, but here it’s the endtime? Any other possibilities?
— the Targum says,
“I will make you as if you had never been, and so shall you be; and you shall be sought, but you shall never be found again forever, says the Lord God.”
Joel
A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob 