Before leaving for China, we concluded Ezekiel 1-24, Ezekiel's prophesies against Israel and Jerusalem. In Ezekiel 24 the prophet receives word that the siege of Jerusalem has begun. And, as a symbol of that, God strikes down Ezekiel's wife – the delight of his eyes.
Ezekiel 24 tells us that the next thing will be the news that Jerusalem has fallen. And while we – with Ezekiel's hearers – wait for that next thing to happen, Ezekiel gives us a collection of oracles against the nations.
God had told Jerusalem in Ezekiel 5:8, “I am against you.” Now, in Ezekiel 25-32, God will apply that same message to the nations! (26:3, 28:22, 29:3, etc.) You might say that Ezekiel's message has been “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek!”
Why the oracles against the nations?
I would like to suggest three reasons: 1) Judgment may begin with the household of God – but it reaches every nation 2) They show how important Israel is to God – he will not tolerate how the nations treat his chosen people! (blessing of Abraham – “those who bless you I will bless, and those who curse you I will curse” Genesis 12:3) 3) Yahweh has his purposes for history – and in the end, the nations will know that he is Yahweh, the God who acts in and through history
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