BibleProject | One Story That Leads to Jesusનમૂનો

Yahweh cares about his reputation, his name. Yahweh invited Israel to reflect his holiness, justice, and love to the world as his covenant partners, so that the nations could know the truth about his character. When the Israelites tarnished Yahweh’s reputation with their idolatry and injustice, Yahweh promised to purify and restore his kingdom of priests for the sake of his name.

After Yahweh deals with evil among his covenant partners, he turns his attention to the nations to do the same. In today’s reading, Ezekiel represents the nations’ evil with the supervillain Gog. This symbolic character combines all the worst rulers in the Bible into one menacing archetype of human rebellion against God.

Gog musters seven allies from the farthest corners of the globe to defy Yahweh’s plan to restore his people. The whole world teams up to take Israel down.

Yahweh responds to Gog’s cosmic rebellion with cosmic judgment. The ground will thrash with an earthquake that flips the mountains upside down. Hail and sulfur will pour from the skies. The bodies of Gog’s soldiers will become a feast for vultures. The leftover weapons and armor will provide Israel with seven years’ worth of firewood.

This resounding defeat is bad news for Gog, but good news for humanity. Yahweh refuses to let evil sully his good world—or his good name.

Reflection Questions

• Meditate on Revelation 20:7-10. How does John use Ezekiel’s image of Gog and his armies? What does this show you about the nature of God’s judgment on human evil across the biblical story?
• Review some of the prophecies against Tyre and Egypt in Ezekiel 26-32. What language and imagery from those passages do you see repeated in today’s reading? How might this help you better understand Ezekiel’s portrayal of the supervillain king, Gog?