Ezekiel 25 Study Notes: Judgment on Judah’s Gloating Neighbors
God pronounces judgment on four neighbors of Judah for how they treated its downfall. Ammon cheered over the defiled temple, Moab treated Judah as an ordinary nation, and Edom and the Philistines took spiteful revenge, so God promises to punish each in turn.
General
Why did the LORD announce judgment on the Ammonites (Ezekiel 25:1-7)?
Answer: They cheered when God’s temple was defiled and Judah exiled
Ammon’s sin was gloating. When the LORD’s sanctuary was defiled, Israel’s land laid waste, and Judah’s people carried off into exile, the Ammonites shouted in triumph (25:3). They clapped and stamped and rejoiced over Israel’s land with scorn in their hearts (25:6). Judah’s fall was God’s own judgment on His people, but that gave no one the right to celebrate it. Proverbs warns against rejoicing when an enemy falls, and Obadiah scolds Edom for the same kind of gloating over Judah’s day of trouble. Ezekiel had already announced a sword against Ammon for its scorn (21:28). So God would hand Ammon over to eastern peoples and to plunder by the nations, and Ammon would know that He is the LORD (25:4-5, 7).
- Ezekiel 25:3 (BSB)“Tell the Ammonites to hear the word of the Lord GOD, for this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you exclaimed, “Aha!” when My sanctuary was profaned, when the land of Israel was laid waste, and when the house of Judah went into exile,”Ammon’s shout of triumph over the defiled sanctuary, the ruined land, and Judah’s deportation is the charge against it.
- Ezekiel 25:6-7 (BSB)“For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you clapped your hands and stomped your feet and rejoiced over the land of Israel with a heart full of contempt, therefore I will indeed stretch out My hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD.’”Because Ammon celebrated with scorn, God turns His hand against it and hands it over to be plundered.
- Proverbs 24:17-18 (BSB)“Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.”Wisdom forbids delighting in an enemy’s collapse, because the LORD sees such delight and is displeased.
- Obadiah 1:12 (BSB)“But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress.”Edom is rebuked for the same sin of exulting over Judah in its day of ruin.
- Ezekiel 21:28 (BSB)“Now prophesy, son of man, and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt: ‘A sword! A sword is drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning—”Ezekiel had already announced a sword against the Ammonites and their scorn.
Theological
On what grounds does the LORD pronounce judgment on Ammon (Ezekiel 25:1-7)?
Answer: They cheered when God’s temple was defiled and Judah exiled
Ammon is judged for malicious delight. Its cry of triumph over the profaning of the LORD’s sanctuary, the devastation of Israel’s land, and Judah’s deportation (25:3), together with its clapping, stamping, and scornful rejoicing (25:6), was aimed at the LORD as well as at Judah, for the temple it mocked was His own sanctuary (25:3). That Jerusalem’s fall was God’s righteous judgment gave Ammon no license to exult. Proverbs forbids gloating at an enemy’s fall, Obadiah indicts Edom for the same sin, and Ezekiel had already announced the sword against Ammon’s contempt (21:28). The sentence fits the offense: the gloater becomes a possession of eastern peoples and plunder for the nations, and the outcome is that Ammon will know that He is the LORD (25:4-5, 7).
- Ezekiel 25:3 (BSB)“Tell the Ammonites to hear the word of the Lord GOD, for this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you exclaimed, “Aha!” when My sanctuary was profaned, when the land of Israel was laid waste, and when the house of Judah went into exile,”Ammon’s shout of triumph over the defiled sanctuary, the ruined land, and Judah’s deportation is the charge against it.
- Ezekiel 25:6-7 (BSB)“For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you clapped your hands and stomped your feet and rejoiced over the land of Israel with a heart full of contempt, therefore I will indeed stretch out My hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD.’”Because Ammon celebrated with scorn, God turns His hand against it and hands it over to be plundered.
- Proverbs 24:17-18 (BSB)“Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.”Wisdom forbids delighting in an enemy’s collapse, because the LORD sees such delight and is displeased.
- Obadiah 1:12 (BSB)“But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress.”Edom is rebuked for the same sin of exulting over Judah in its day of ruin.
- Ezekiel 21:28 (BSB)“Now prophesy, son of man, and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt: ‘A sword! A sword is drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning—”Ezekiel had already announced a sword against the Ammonites and their scorn.
General
What wrong do the LORD’s words against Edom and against the Philistines both name (Ezekiel 25:12-17)?
Answer: Taking revenge on Judah out of spite
Both nations are charged with revenge. Edom took revenge on Judah and became deeply guilty by doing it (25:12). The Philistines, Judah’s neighbors along the coast, took vengeance with spite in their hearts, seeking to destroy Judah because of a hatred that went back a long way (25:15). God’s answer was that vengeance belongs to Him. He would stretch out His hand against both, and He would carry out His vengeance on Edom through His own people Israel (25:13-14, 16-17). The law had already said that paying back wrongs is God’s right (Deuteronomy 32:35), and Paul repeats this when he tells believers not to take revenge but to let God’s wrath settle accounts (Romans 12:19). Psalm 137 recalls how Edom urged on the destruction of Jerusalem (Psalm 137:7). God’s judgment on Judah did not make the neighbors’ spite righteous.
- Ezekiel 25:12 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt,”Edom took vengeance on Judah and became gravely guilty in doing so.
- Ezekiel 25:14 (BSB)“I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’”God will repay Edom Himself, carrying out His anger through His own people Israel.
- Ezekiel 25:15 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance, taking vengeance with malice of soul to destroy Judah with ancient hostility,”The Philistines are charged with spiteful revenge driven by an age-old hostility toward Judah.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 (BSB)“Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.””In the Song of Moses the LORD claims repayment of wrongs as His own right.
- Romans 12:19 (BSB)“Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.””Paul cites that same claim when he forbids believers to avenge themselves.
- Psalm 137:7 (BSB)“Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!””The psalmist recalls Edom urging the destruction of Jerusalem on the day it fell.
Theological
What common charge underlies the oracles against Edom and Philistia (Ezekiel 25:12-17)?
Answer: Taking revenge on Judah out of spite
The two oracles share one charge: vengeance. Edom avenged itself on Judah and so became gravely guilty (25:12). The Philistines took revenge with malicious intent, driven by a long-standing hostility bent on Judah’s destruction (25:15). In both cases the LORD reclaims vengeance as His own prerogative: He stretches out His hand against them, and in Edom’s case executes His vengeance through His own people (25:13-14, 16-17). Deuteronomy 32:35 reserves repayment to God, and Paul applies the same verse when forbidding believers to avenge themselves (Romans 12:19). Psalm 137:7 recalls Edom’s cry for Jerusalem’s razing. That Judah’s fall was God’s righteous judgment did not sanctify the spite of those who exploited it.
- Ezekiel 25:12 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt,”Edom took vengeance on Judah and became gravely guilty in doing so.
- Ezekiel 25:14 (BSB)“I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’”God will repay Edom Himself, carrying out His anger through His own people Israel.
- Ezekiel 25:15 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance, taking vengeance with malice of soul to destroy Judah with ancient hostility,”The Philistines are charged with spiteful revenge driven by an age-old hostility toward Judah.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 (BSB)“Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.””In the Song of Moses the LORD claims repayment of wrongs as His own right.
- Romans 12:19 (BSB)“Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.””Paul cites that same claim when he forbids believers to avenge themselves.
- Psalm 137:7 (BSB)“Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!””The psalmist recalls Edom urging the destruction of Jerusalem on the day it fell.
General
What did Moab and Seir say about Judah that brought the LORD’s judgment (Ezekiel 25:8)?
Answer: Judah was no different from any other nation
Moab and Seir (the hill country where Edom lived, Genesis 36:8) claimed that Judah was just one more nation like the rest (25:8). God had chosen Israel from among all peoples to be His own holy people (Deuteronomy 7:6), a people living apart who did not number themselves with the other nations (Numbers 23:9). Israel itself had wanted to become like the other peoples and serve idols, and God declared that this would never happen (20:32). To call Judah ordinary ignored what set it apart: Judah was under God’s discipline, but it was still the people He had chosen. So the LORD would lay Moab open to attack, hand it, together with Ammon, to eastern peoples, and bring judgment on it, and Moab would know that He is the LORD (25:9-11).
- Ezekiel 25:8 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,””Moab and Seir claim that Judah is simply one more nation among the rest.
- Ezekiel 25:11 (BSB)“So I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the LORD.’”God’s judgments on Moab will bring it to acknowledge Him as the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 7:6 (BSB)“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.”The LORD had chosen Israel from among every people on earth to be His own holy possession.
- Numbers 23:9 (BSB)“For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.”Balaam saw Israel as a people living apart, not numbering themselves with the other nations.
- Ezekiel 20:32 (BSB)“When you say, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the peoples of the lands, serving wood and stone,’ what you have in mind will never come to pass.”Israel itself had wanted to become like the surrounding peoples, and God vowed that their plan would fail.
- Genesis 36:8 (BSB)“So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the area of Mount Seir.”Esau, also called Edom, made his home in the hill country of Seir.
Theological
What claim of Moab and Seir does the LORD single out for judgment (Ezekiel 25:8)?
Answer: Judah was no different from any other nation
The taunt of Moab and Seir, Edom’s mountain homeland (Genesis 36:8), that Judah was simply one nation among many (25:8), ignored Israel’s election. The LORD had chosen Israel from among all peoples as a holy people for Himself (Deuteronomy 7:6), a people living apart who did not number themselves with the other nations (Numbers 23:9). Israel’s own apostasy had aimed at this leveling, wanting to become like the other peoples and serve idols, yet God vowed that it would never happen (20:32). Under judgment Judah remained the people of God’s choosing, so to deny its distinctiveness was to disregard the LORD’s choice of it. Moab is therefore laid open to invasion and given with Ammon to eastern peoples, that it may know that He is the LORD (25:9-11).
- Ezekiel 25:8 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,””Moab and Seir claim that Judah is simply one more nation among the rest.
- Ezekiel 25:11 (BSB)“So I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the LORD.’”God’s judgments on Moab will bring it to acknowledge Him as the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 7:6 (BSB)“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.”The LORD had chosen Israel from among every people on earth to be His own holy possession.
- Numbers 23:9 (BSB)“For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.”Balaam saw Israel as a people living apart, not numbering themselves with the other nations.
- Ezekiel 20:32 (BSB)“When you say, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the peoples of the lands, serving wood and stone,’ what you have in mind will never come to pass.”Israel itself had wanted to become like the surrounding peoples, and God vowed that their plan would fail.
- Genesis 36:8 (BSB)“So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the area of Mount Seir.”Esau, also called Edom, made his home in the hill country of Seir.
General
What outcome does the LORD keep naming for His judgments on Israel’s neighbors in Ezekiel 25?
Answer: They would know that He is the LORD
Again and again God says the result of His judgment will be that these nations know that He is the LORD (25:5, 7, 11, 17). This refrain runs through the whole book of Ezekiel. To know that He is the LORD means to recognize that the God of Israel is the one true God who rules every nation. The neighbors treated Judah’s fall as a reason to gloat and to call Judah ordinary (25:3, 8), but His judgments on them would show that He still reigned. God had said the same of Egypt at the exodus (Exodus 7:5), and the psalmist prays that God’s enemies would learn that He alone rules as the highest over the whole earth (Psalm 83:17-18). Later in Ezekiel, God says the nations will learn this when He shows His holiness through His people (36:23).
- Ezekiel 25:5 (BSB)“I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”The judgment on Ammon ends with the refrain that Ammon will know He is the LORD.
- Ezekiel 25:17 (BSB)“I will execute great vengeance against them with furious reproof. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them.’””The judgment on the Philistines ends with the same refrain.
- Exodus 7:5 (BSB)“And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.””At the exodus, God’s outstretched hand against Egypt was meant to teach the Egyptians who He is.
- Psalm 83:17-18 (BSB)“May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace. May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.”The psalmist prays that God’s enemies would learn that He alone reigns supreme over the whole earth.
- Ezekiel 36:23 (BSB)“I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.”Later God promises that the nations will acknowledge Him when He displays His holiness through Israel.
Theological
What end does the LORD repeatedly assign to His judgments on Israel’s neighbors in Ezekiel 25?
Answer: They would know that He is the LORD
This refrain recurs at 25:5, 7, 11, and 17: judgment issues in the nations’ acknowledgment that He is the LORD. It is the book’s governing refrain. The neighbors exulted over Jerusalem’s fall and called Judah one nation among many (25:3, 8); the LORD answers that His judgments, on His own people and on them alike, display His sole sovereignty over the nations. The refrain echoes the exodus, where Egypt was to learn the same through God’s outstretched hand (Exodus 7:5); it voices the psalmist’s petition that God’s enemies acknowledge Him alone as supreme over the earth (Psalm 83:17-18); and it anticipates the promise that the nations will acknowledge Him when He vindicates His holiness in Israel (36:23). In judgment as in salvation, the end of God’s works is the display of His own glory.
- Ezekiel 25:5 (BSB)“I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”The judgment on Ammon ends with the refrain that Ammon will know He is the LORD.
- Ezekiel 25:17 (BSB)“I will execute great vengeance against them with furious reproof. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them.’””The judgment on the Philistines ends with the same refrain.
- Exodus 7:5 (BSB)“And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.””At the exodus, God’s outstretched hand against Egypt was meant to teach the Egyptians who He is.
- Psalm 83:17-18 (BSB)“May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace. May they know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, are Most High over all the earth.”The psalmist prays that God’s enemies would learn that He alone reigns supreme over the whole earth.
- Ezekiel 36:23 (BSB)“I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.”Later God promises that the nations will acknowledge Him when He displays His holiness through Israel.