Ezequiel 25

XXV.

Prophecies concerning heathen nations, from the time of Balaam down, mark every period of Scripture history. Sometimes, as in the case of Jonah, Obadiah, and Nahum, the utterance of the seer is against a single nation; sometimes, as in the case of Joel, and possibly also in that of Amos, the prophecies against the heathen are merely incidental and subsidiary to those concerning Israel; and sometimes, as in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, they are collected in a special portion of the book. Balaam, Jonah, and to some extent Daniel, addressed their warnings directly to the nations concerned; but in most of the other instances it seems unlikely that the prophecies were ever communicated to the people to whom they directly related. In all cases they appear to have been given by God for the sake of His Church as well as for that of its enemies; even that of Jonah was given to Nineveh probably but a little time before the conquest of Israel, and must have impressed upon its haughty monarchs some respect for the God whose people they were soon to make captive; while those of Daniel were given to kings who already held the chosen people in captivity, and who were thereby compelled to make some acknowledgment of the reverence due to the God of Israel.

The reasons for the more general prophecies against the heathen must be sought in the special circumstances of each case in which they were uttered. In the present instance these reasons are not far to seek, for both the nations mentioned and the one omitted suggest a common purpose in the prophecy. Those mentioned are seven in number — Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon, and Egypt. All these were so far allies of Judah that they were in common hostility to Babylon; and it appears from Jeremias 27:1 that an attempt had been made in the reign of Jehoiakim to unite five of them in a league against Babylon, while Egypt was continually looked to by the disobedient Jews for aid against their common enemy. It was, therefore, necessary for Israel to know that there was no help to be found against Babylon in any earthly power; all the enemies of Chaldæa were to fall alike. Moreover, it was important to show by these prophecies that the judgment about to come upon the surrounding heathen was from God, since it is thus made clear that all events are of His ordering, and hence that the punishment of His people also must be from His own hand. This was especially the place for the prophet to speak of these judgments when he had just finished his denunciations of wrath upon Israel, and when these denunciations were about to be fulfilled. Besides these general reasons, there were other special ones in the case of each nation. Egypt had been a broken reed piercing the hand of Judah as often as she leaned upon it; while of Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, and Tyre it is mentioned that they had exulted in the profanation of the Temple and the captivity of the people, and this especially from their hostility to the religion of Israel. It would help Israel to know that, while they were themselves punished for their unfaithfulness to their religion, those who altogether hated and rejected it were to suffer still more severely. It is remarkable that there is no prophecy in Ezekiel against Babylon, as there is in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others; for Babylon appears throughout this book as the executor of God’s judgments upon His people, and the effect of this would have been marred by the mention of her own ultimate punishment. For the present, all her enemies are to be overthrown, and she remains in strength; although she also would be punished for her sins when she should have accomplished the Divine purposes, yet it would have been worse than useless for the thoughts of Israel to be occupied with this now.

The number of seven nations against whom prophecies are uttered has been thought by many to be significant. It is made up by separating Zidon from Tyre, for which there were probably special reasons at the time. Zidon had long since lost its importance, and the prophecy against it is very short, (Ezequiel 28:21); yet its ancient enmity to God was not to be forgotten, as it might appear to be if left without distinct mention.

The prophecy against Edom is greatly expanded in Ezequiel 35, and there are other prophecies against foreign nations in Ezekiel 38, 39; but these have so much the nature of promises to Israel that they are more appropriately placed where they are than they would have been in this connection. Even here the prophecy against Zidon (Ezequiel 28:25) and that of the latest date against Egypt (Ezequiel 29:21) end with promises to Israel.

The utterances against the various nations are very unequal in fulness. Those concerning Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia are all included together in a single prophecy, occupying only one chapter (Ezequiel 25); Tyre is the subject of four separate prophecies, filling nearly three Chapter s (Ezequiel 26:1 to Ezequiel 28:19); Zidon is disposed of in the few following verses; while Egypt has seven distinct prophecies, filling Chapter s 29-32. The relative importance of these various nations is represented in this proportion.

The prophecies of Ezekiel concerning these nations had been anticipated by the older prophets, especially Isaiah and Amos, and similar predictions also abound in the contemporary Jeremiah, but with this marked difference: Ezekiel foretells their utter overthrow, while other prophets look forward to a period of restoration and blessing after their punishment. Thus Isaiah (Isaías 23:15) says that after a period of seventy years Tyre shall again rejoice, and shall ultimately be converted to the Lord; Jeremiah says of the Moabites, “I will bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter day, saith the Lord” (Jeremias 48:47), and the same thing of the Ammonites (Jeremias 49:6); and of Egypt, that after its temporary subjection to Nebuchadnezzar, “afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old” (Jeremias 46:26); Isaiah also describes the time when “Israel shall be the third with Egypt and Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land” (Isaías 19:24). Yet it has generally been recognised that there is no inconsistency in these prophecies. Isaiah foretells a temporary resuscitation of Tyre, at the same time with Judah, in connection with the Medo-Persian conquest of Babylon; but Ezekiel’s prophecies look beyond this, to the final destruction of the Tyrian power. On the other hand, these various prophecies speak of an ultimate gathering of a remnant of the descendants of these nations into the Church of God; while Ezekiel speaks of them only as political powers, and foretells that utter desolation of them which has been so strikingly fulfilled in the course of history.