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Ezekiel’s scathing prophecies of judgment don’t stop at Israel’s borders. Today, we begin a new section of Ezekiel (chapters 25-32) focused on the prophet’s oracles of judgment against seven non-Israelite nations. A key refrain ties this section together: God declares that when he brings justice, they “will know that I am Yahweh.”

The passage begins with oracles against Israel’s neighbors, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. These nations cheered at the terrible downfall caused by Israel’s corruption. Now, they face the terrifying results of their own injustice and violence.

Next, Ezekiel delivers oracles against sister nations Tyre and Sidon. These Mediterranean coastal cities piled up gold and silver through international trade. Their exorbitant wealth made Tyre’s king so proud that he claimed to be one of the gods—the Hebrew word elohim, as you’ll learn in the video.

It’s not the first time a human has assumed a divine identity and experienced the consequences of such pretending. Like the first humans in Eden, the king of Tyre will lose the splendid riches of his garden land. Yahweh’s evil-wrecking storm will de-create Tyre’s world-famous ships. Babylon’s armies will break over the city in mighty waves, washing its ruined towers into the sea.

Then the camera pans from stormy seas and cosmic collapse to quiet houses and blooming vineyards. Ezekiel has placed his message of hope for Israel at the precise center of this section to make an important point: If Yahweh fights against the nations on Israel’s behalf, that means Yahweh fights for those who remain faithful to his way, those who remain his covenant partners. Even now, at the heart of God’s judgment is a desire to restore his people and the original blessing he intends to give through them, to everyone on Earth (see Gen. 12:2-3).

Reflection Questions

• Meditate on John’s description of the wealth and corruption of Babylon (John’s symbolic name for Rome) in Revelation 18. What parallels do you notice to Ezekiel’s prophecies against the rich but rotten city of Tyre in today’s reading?
• In the Bible, mountains are mentioned not merely as geographic settings but as sacred places where Heaven and Earth collide. Remember, for example, Moses and Elijah meeting God on Mount Sinai, or Abraham’s mountain test. Read Ezekiel 28:13-14 closely. What does Ezekiel tell us about the location of Eden? How does the biblical theme of mountains help you understand the significance of this first mountain garden?