Ezekiel 26:1

Ezekiel 26:1 says, And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Ezekiel was very specific about when God's word came to him.  We may not be able to specify exactly when God’s word comes to us telling us what we need to do, but we should be able to say that we know it did if we are following His will for our life.  The next three chapters deal with the fall of Tyrus, which more often referred to as Tyre, but I will use Tyrus for consistency.

Verse two adds, Son of man, because that Tyrus 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:  The people of Tyrus,  celebrated the fall of Jerusalem because it had been a rival in business and not because they hated the people of  Israel. Businesspeople today may celebrate when rival business fails, especially if it is a business that professes that it is built on the principles of God.  If it truly is built on God’s principles and fails, those who deny God and celebrate the failure of the business need to be aware of the fact that this will never be acceptable to God.  

Verse three continues, Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.  Ezekiel was to send the people of Tyrus a warning from God.  He was against them and was going to cause many nations to come against them.  God said even the waves of the sea were going to rise up against them. Everything that they thought made them great was now going to go against them.  God’s judgment may come from using other nations to punish those who deny and defy Him, or He may just use the forces of nature, but His judgment will one day come.  

Verse four states, And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.  God said the towers of Tyrus would be broken down after her walls were destroyed and that she would become no more than dust on a rock.  All the things that the people of Tyrus had depended on for protection were going to be destroyed, and everything that people look to for protection other than God will fail.  Tyrus was to be totally destroyed, and so will everything thing that we look to for security today if it does not come from God.   

Verse five adds, 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 city of Tyrus would become just a place for fishermen to dry their nets instead of a fortified city that was a great city of trade.  When God’s judgment comes, everything that we have valued above Him will become totally worthless.  

Verse six continues, And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord.  God also said that their daughters would be slain in the field. I don't believe that God was going to cause this, but that He was going to allow it to happen.  They were abusing God’s people without any concern for Him, but now they were going to know that He is God.  People may mock Christians today and at times even persecute and kill them, but one day Jesus Christ is going to return in judgment, and then all who refused to put their faith in Him and those who abused or killed those who did will know that He is God.

Ezekiel 25:12

Ezekiel 25:12 says, Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;  God was now going to pronounce His judgment on the Edomites who had taken vengeance on the people of Judah.  The Edomites, descendants of Esau. were once a part of God’s people but had turned away from Him when Jacob, the younger brother, was declared to be the ruler over the older, Esau.  There was jealousy there, and at some point, they became enemies of Isreal, and now they were especially cruel to them since they were in power over them.  No matter how long we may have been a follower of Christ, there is no room for jealousy if some younger Christian is in a position of authority over us.  

Verse thirteen adds, 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.  God said because of the way the people of Edom, whose ancestors had once been a part of the people of Israel until the next generations turned away from Him, that He was going to utterly destroy them.  It does not matter if our parents or grandparents were Christians.  If we reject Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, one day we will be sent away to everlasting punishment.  

Verse fourteen continues, 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.  The people of Edom had exacted vengeance on Israel, and now God was going to empower the people of Israel to exact vengeance on them.  This was not because the people of Israel were somehow worth more to God because of any earthly reason, but because they were the people He had chosen to work through to reveal Himself to the world.  As Christians, we are not more valuable to God than any other person based on who we are or where we were born, but we are only more valuable to Him because we have accepted His gift of salvation and have become a part of His everlasting kingdom.  

Verse fifteen states, Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;  God then pronounced His judgment of the Philistines, who were often at war with Israel.  Just because God had pronounced His judgment on Edom didn’t mean that others who tried to destroy Israel would be exempt from His judgment, just as one day, all those who are the enemies of God’s people will face His judgment, and it will not matter where they are from.  

Verse sixteen adds, Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.  God said He was going to totally destroy the Philistines, and this occurred when the Chaldean army destroyed them not long afterward.  God sometimes worked through other nations to bring about His will, but this does not mean that He is not in charge.  The Philistines had been trying to destroy Israel, so God allowed them to suffer complete destruction by the Chaldeans.  Matthew Henry points out that the Edomites and the Philistines should have been alarmed when the Chaldeans were defeating those around them, but they obviously weren’t.  There are still many people today who refuse to acknowledge the power of God and their coming destruction because they refuse to accept His gift of salvation, but it is still going to come.  

Verse seventeen continues, 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.  God said when this happened as He had said it would that He would have His vengeance on the Philistines.  Personally, I don’t think this was something that God did with joy, but with sadness that they had to be punished for not just failing to believe in Him but also for actively trying to destroy His chosen people.  Once again, God said that when this happened that the Philistines would know that He is God, but it would be too late for that to do them any good.  When God’s final judgment comes, everyone will know that He is God, but for those who refuse to accept His gift of salvation, it will be too late for it to do them any good.  They will be sent away to everlasting punishment and will no longer be remembered.

Ezekiel 25:8

Ezekiel 25:8 says; Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;  The people of Moab claimed that Judah was no different than any other country, giving no credit to the fact that they were God’s chosen people and comparing them to any heathen nation.  The world may view Christians as no different than any other group of people in the world, but if they do, it shouldn’t be because we act no different morally.  

Verse nine adds, 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,  Ezekiel was then to give God’s warning to Moab.  He was going to open up their cities for defeat.  They may have thought that Judah was no different than any other nation, but even if they had been disobedient to God, they were still known as His chosen people, so for another nation to say that they were no different was to blaspheme God, and He was going to show them that they were wrong.  As Christians, the world may think that we are no different than anyone else, but since we represent God to the world, we should never give them a reason to think that, and if we are truly a Christian, He will one day show them how wrong they are.  

Verse ten continues, 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.  God said that He was going to bring about the destruction of the Ammonites and that they would no longer be remembered. Those who defy God will one day face utter destruction at His hand.

Verse eleven concludes, And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord.  God said that Moab would be destroyed as well, and then they would know that He is God, but it would be too late to save them.  One day, everyone will know that God is God, but for the vast majority it will be too late for this knowledge to save them.