Ezekiel 39:1–16

Read the passage.

To this point the prophecies against Gog have been general and corporate, referring to the judgements delivered to his armies. Now, they become specific and personal. The Lord addresses Gog by name and title1, speaking in the second person now instead of the third (i.e., speaking to Gog instead of about Gog). He will be lead out into the mountains of Israel, and there he will fall without his weapons in hand. He and his army will die in the open, and become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the field.

Through this judgement, then Lord displays His holiness and defends His name. This event will be known across the world when it happens. So great will Gog’s army be that it will take seven years to burn their weapons and shields for fuel. The army that came to plunder Israel is instead the one plundered. After they have been defeated, it will take seven months to bury them all. Though there are dedicated workers going through the land to find all of the slain, they will still be finding human bones. But eventually the land will be cleansed of the corruption caused by death.


No one can stand against Your might and Your wrath.


[1]: Some people take the Hebrew word used in “chief prince”, ro’sh, to mean Rosh, a variant on the root name in Russia. This is then used to connect these prophecies with the modern-day Russia. However, the name for Russia or its people wouldn’t be known to the Levant region for at least a thousand years after Ezekiel’s day. Furthermore, it is very rare for the Lord to name names in prophecies of the future. Contrast Isaiah 44:28 with Daniel 7–12. Cyrus was told about his appearance in prophecy, but Alexander the Great and Antiochus IV were not (I presume).


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2023-06-27