Ezekiel 39
COMMENTARY:
: 6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isle: and they shall know that I am the LORD. (983 “carelessly” [betach] means safely, securely, assurance, boldly, confidence, unsuspecting, or naïve.)
DEVOTION: In the book of Judges the tribe of Dan was looking for somewhere to live. They came upon a group of Sidonian who were living careless and conquered them. They thought that they were protected by keeping to themselves. They were wrong.
Here we find that those who think that their world is secure. There seems to be a time of peace. They are living as if they don’t have a care in the world.
Then comes destruction. Their world is torn apart. They are defeated by the LORD for their involvement with a nation that wanted to destroy Israel. The LORD didn’t allow that to happen.
In fact, the destroyer was destroyed and all those who were his allies were destroyed as well. The slaughter was complete. The LORD caused there to be so many dead that it would take seven months to bury them all. The animals would feast on their bodies. It was a great victory for the LORD in HIS protection of Israel.
This battle confuses many Biblical scholars. Some think that is related to Revelation 19 where we have an account of the battle of Armageddon. The slaughter is described the same. So it would be the end of the Tribulation period and would introduce the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Others think that it is going to happen earlier in the Tribulation period. It is hard to say. It seems to me that it is the battle of Armageddon.
Nonetheless, we are going to warn people who think that they don’t have a worry in the world to beware. There can be judgment at the door. Their world could be turned upside down.
Our security should be based on our relationship with Jesus Christ. If this is true nothing that comes our way could give us grief. We could have peace in the midst of a storm.
If our peace is based on human alliances it could be taken away. The peace that the LORD gives is different.
CHALLENGE: Realize that there is a battle coming. The LORD is going to be the victor. We are going to be caught in a battle that HE has promised to help us through. HE will never leave HIS people alone.
6 And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. (NKJV)
DEVOTION: Do we sometime think that everything is going well in our life? Do we think that nothing can happen to change this time period in our life? Sometimes there can be a feeling that everything is good and we have nothing to worry about.
This time period can be one that is reality is not faced. There is never going to be long periods of time in our life where we can let our guard down and think that our enemy will leave us alone.
God warns throughout Scripture that we have to put on the armor of God to face all the fiery trials of the devil. Adam and Eve faced them in a perfect environment. They had a time period each day when the LORD walked with them in the Garden of Eve. They could talk to God face to face. HE would answer their questions and give them instruction.
All it took is them letting their guard down and the enemy won the day. He only won a battle not the war but we are facing battles each day that only the LORD can help us through.
The people around the nation of Gog thought that everything was going their way but then suddenly their world ended.
CHALLENGE: Don’t fall into a false sense of security without the LORD by your side each day.
: 23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against ME, therefore hid I MY face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. (5641 “hid” [cathar] mean conceal, secret, close, denotes displeasure, cover, withdraw, be absent or shelter.)
DEVOTION: We see that the LORD withdraws from those of HIS people that continue to sin without repentance. This withdrawal also means that no blessing will be coming from the LORD. It also means that those who were HIS people are open to being attacked by their enemies because the LORD is not protecting them.
The heathen or unsaved nations know when the LORD is blessing HIS people and when HE has withdrawn HIS protection. They chose to be used of God to judge HIS people for their sins. The LORD allows them for a time period to have victory over HIS people.
We might not understand how God can use those who are not HIS followers to judge HIS followers but HE has done that throughout the history of the world. Once the followers of the LORD draft away from the LORD they open themselves to judgment.
Today we find that those nations that honored the LORD are now not honoring HIM and there is judgment happening. Has God removed HIS hand from those nations that once served HIM? Are we seeing a change in the attitude of nations toward Christians? Is this because Christians have wandered from the teaching of the Word of God and followed the world and worshiped their gods?
It is sad to see the example of what happened to the children of Israel and not learn from it. Yet we have many times throughout their history that the LORD has shown us the lesson of what happens to them when they disobey HIM.
They are not willing to repent and so HE allowed them to pay the consequences of their sins. Can this be happening even today to the “church”? Is the church turning to the world for leadership instead of the LORD?
CHALLENGE: The LORD is longsuffering but HE will withdraw HIS pleasure from any group of people who claim to follow HIM and are not.
: 29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my SPIRIT upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. (8210 “poured out” [shaphak] means lavish, bestow, give an object in great abundance, as a figurative extension of pouring out liquid from a container or gush out.)
DEVOTION: Gog is mentioned again in this chapter. Most of the chapter tells of the defeat of Gog and his allies. There is going to be such a battle that the birds and wild beasts will have a feast on the remains of the army. It will take the Israelites seven months to bury all the bodies. They are burying the bodies to cleanse the land. The LORD calls it the great sacrifice.
The nations thought that the LORD had turned HIS back on HIS people because they had gone into captivity. HE wanted the nations to know that HE had not turned HIS back but was judging them for their sins. Once HIS punishment was done, HE was going to restore the people to the land.
These last couple of chapters has been a prophecy against the heathens. They are going to be judged by GOD. They are going to be judged because of their treatment of Israel. Israel was judged for their sin against God. HE is going to restore them to a place of favor. When HE was judging them, the LORD hid HIS face from them.
This verse instructs us that the judgment is over and they are going to see HIS face again. During this time of blessing, the LORD is going to fill the house of Israel with HIS SPIRIT.
This is the Holy Spirit. This is going to be a time of blessing for Israel. When we choose to follow the LORD Jesus Christ, we are filled with HIS Spirit. We are indwelt with HIS Spirit. The filling can leave because of our personal sin. The indwelling will not leave us.
During this future time, the children of Israel will be gushing over with the Holy Spirit. Israel is going to be blessed. They are going to be sanctified. The LORD’S presence will be among them.
Are we presently gushing over with the Holy Spirit, so that, we are not grieving the Holy Spirit with our sin or we are not quenching the Holy Spirit by not following HIS leading in our lives? Remember the four signs of the filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives: speaking Scripture, singing, thankful, and submissive. Let’s have the face of the LORD shining on us today!!!
CHALLENGE: The Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost for the church. This is a time when the church grew. We need a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to cause HIS church to grow again.
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