In The Word
Read: Ezekiel 39
Prophecy against Gog—Invaders Destroyed
39 “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal;2 and I will turn you around, lead you on a rope, take you up from the remotest parts of the north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand.4 You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops, and the peoples who are with you; I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and animal of the field. 5 You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken,” declares the Lord God. 6 “And I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “And I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not allow My holy name to be profaned anymore. But the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold, it is coming and it shall be done,” declares the Lord God. “That is the day of which I have spoken.
9 “Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both bucklers and shields, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears, and for seven years they will make fires of them. 10 They will not take wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will take the spoils of those who plundered them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,” declares the Lord God.
11 “On that day I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block the way of those who would pass by. So they will bury Gog there with all his horde, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-gog. 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. 13 And all the people of the land will bury them; and it will be to their renown on the day that I appear in My glory,” declares the Lord God. 14 “They will also select men who will constantly pass through the land, burying those who were passing through, those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will conduct a search. 15 As those who pass through the land pass through and anyone sees a human bone, then he will set up a marker by it until the burial detail has buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.16 And even the name of the city will be Hamonah. So they will cleanse the land.”’
17 “Now as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Say to every kind of bird and to every animal of the field: “Assemble and come, gather from every direction to My sacrifice, which I am going to sacrifice for you as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel; and you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the leaders of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened livestock of Bashan.19 So you will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 You will eat your fill at My table withhorses and charioteers, with warriors and all the men of war,” declares the Lord God.
21 “And I will place My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. 22 And the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God, from that day onward.23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their wrongdoing, because they were disloyal to Me, and I hid My face from them; so I handed them over to their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. 24 In accordance with their uncleanness and their offenses I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.”’”
Israel Restored
25 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on all the house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. 26 They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall show Myself holy through them in the sight of the many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then I gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. 29 I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The same prince that the Lord used to get His people’s attention will be judged. The prince and all of his troops will fall. They will become food for the bird and for the beast of the field. Even as fire comes to destroy them, they will all know that God is the Lord. The purpose is to make His holy name known in the midst of His people. Not only God’s people, but all nations will know that He is Lord. It is as if it has already happened, that is how sure it is.
Many people deny that He is Lord. They deny that His will and His way is the only way. Some cling to rules and regulation and religion. Some believe that their notion of God is the way God is, that they can define God. They believe that their will is just as good as His will. However, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). He will be glorified. God will set His glory among the nations; all will see His judgment executed and will see His outstretched hand. God will restore His people and have mercy on them. He will be jealous for His holy name. God scattered His people, and now He gathers them again to their own land. He will not hide His face from them any longer. God will pour out His Spirit upon them. Today, we see this happening in Israel. Rejoice today that His will be done.