Ezekiel 25:1-7 To Ammon
God tells Ezekiel to say to Ammon that she will fall because of her rejoicing at Israel’s fall. She either had rejoiced or will rejoice over Judah’s judgment.
Israel’s neighbors are overjoyed to watch her fall. In my opinion, neighbor relations between Israel and Judah were never very good. And their relations with their other neighbors wasn’t any better. There were wars and battles breaking out all the time. Alliances were formed and broken so often that I have NO HOPE of keeping up or keeping track of them all. It all started with Solomon marrying daughters of his neighbors. Even though Solomon entered into these relations to improve political alliances, they DIDN’T last. Israel and Judah were at odds with their neighbors more than they were at peace. Unfortunately, this is still the case today. But let’s get back to the time of Ezekiel.
We don’t know if this prophecy was written before Ammon rejoiced at Judah’s fall or after. The verbiage leads one to think that it was after. “Because you said”, “when it was made” are all past tense sentence structures. But that does not mean that God couldn’t have said these things before they happened. He knows past, present, AND future. He can choose to use any ‘tense’ He wants because, to Him, it has already happened. He chooses to relate to us in our timeline so we can understand past, present and future events.
I have another question here about this prophecy. Did Ezekiel actually talk to the Ammonites or did he simply speak in their direction? Did Ammon hear this prophecy and have a chance to prevent the behavior listed? If this was a past event, and Ammon heard of their fate, did they have a chance to repent of it and avoid the outcome God had proclaimed?
Ammon didn’t attack Judah and desecrate the Temple. But they rejoiced at the happenings when Nebuchadnezzar did (or would). God says that Ammon was ‘dancing in the streets’ with joy over what happened (will happen) to Judah. NOT the way a former friend or neighbor should act. An enemy would no doubt behave this way. But even then, it would still be wrong; or at least mean.
I know that Jesus’ words are a LONG TIME off from Ezekiel’s moment in history, but I can’t help applying His words to the situation. Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies and to do good to those who spitefully use us. Jesus also tells us to love our neighbors and the example He used was between two people who would not only be neighbors but also enemies. But these are the actions of those who follow the Lord; NOT those required of ALL men. There will be people who rejoice at the downfall of others. The Pharisees rejoiced at Jesus’ ‘downfall’.
God is not judging His people with this prophecy. He is judging those who ‘laughed’ when she ‘cried’. He is standing up for His child. NOT that His child didn’t have the discipline coming, but their neighbor was cruel in their behavior. IF Judah had been actively coming against Ammon and she was stopped in her tracks, I could understand this rejoicing. But Judah was not at war with Ammon, nor had they broken any recent alliances. It was simply a case of sour grapes. Remembering past hurts and being glad that Judah was on the ‘short end of the stick’ for a change.
Another question that just occurred to me. Were they rejoicing because Judah’s God failed to protect her? Did they realize that this was a just punishment and not a failure on God’s behalf? God would let them know the HE was STILL GOD over ALL. They would feel His hand once again and KNOW the reason behind it. Which tells me that they somehow heard of their judgment and its cause from somewhere. Maybe not the lips of Ezekiel that day but someone would tell them so they could KNOW from where their judgment came; the Lord God, Creator of ALL the universe.
Reading this story reminds me of a time when my ex-daughter-in-law was in a legal battle against her mother. We (my son, his ex, and me) were all on one side and she was on the other. She was trying to get custody of my son’s children. There were so many times I would have feel compassion for her, even though she was making our lives miserable. But then she would do something else and my compassion would melt away instantly. She died a few years ago. Part of me wanted to rejoice over her FINALLY being unable to cause trouble any more but I couldn’t. I was happy my grandchildren were finally completely safe from her, but my heart hurt for her for all that she had missed because of her OWN behavior. Sometimes I marvel at the fact that her daughter actually mourns her loss each year, but she was her mother after all; no matter how atrociously she treated her throughout her life.
Father God, forgive me for the times I was glad over someone else’s distress. I don’t believe I have ever “rejoiced” or celebrated another’s disaster, but if I did, forgive me again. I don’t want to be that kind of person! I want to love people like You love them. That does NOT include loving everything they do! But loving them anyway and praying for the best for them. ALL of mankind is in Your hands, whether they choose to believe that or not. Some simply refuse to accept Your gifts that will make their lives better. I’m SO GLAD You convinced me to accept them! Thank You Father for EACH AND EVERY blessing You have and will bring into my life. I pray those blessings for those around me too.
