The Enemies of God’s People Destroyed

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: Ezekiel 39:1-16

 

Ezekiel 39:3-4

Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. ⁴ You shall ^[b]fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.

(NKJV)

 

As we observe the convergence of nations against Israel, it is becoming easy to conclude that we may be on the verge of the fulfillment of the prophecies of Ezekiel 38, 39. While it is disconcerting to know there will be a convergence of powerful nations against Israel, the prophecy of Ezekiel 39:1-16 brings comfort because it foretells their destruction. However, it is also a warning for the Church to remain diligent in spiritual warfare, wearing the armor of God and remaining diligent in prayer (Ephesians 6:10-18)

 

Ezekiel receives another word from the Lord against Gog, reminding them that God will bring them out against the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 39:1-2). The Lord will disarm Gog and cause them to fall upon the mountains of Israel and be devoured by birds of prey and beasts (Ezekiel 39:3-5). God will also send fire upon Magog so there is no doubt this is from the Lord God (Ezekiel 39:6). The words of this prophecy are true and will come to pass, leaving no doubt that the Lord God is the Holy one of Israel (Ezekiel 39:7-8).

 

The nation of Israel will be able to have fuel for their fires for seven years by burning the weapons of their destroyed enemies with no need to cut down trees from the forest (Ezekiel 39:9-10). It will also take seven months to bury the dead from the failed attack of Israel’s enemies with people employed for this purpose (Ezekiel 39:11-15). A special burial place for these bodies will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog in Hamonah (Ezekiel 39:11,16).

 

Ezekiel’s previous prophecy in Ezekiel 38:1-23 foretold an attack on Israel from Gog or modern-day Russia. This prophecy foretells the sound defeat of these enemies of Israel. There are some interesting things to note in this defeat of Israel’s enemies.

1)      The defeat is God’s doing and not man’s – What is missing in this passage is any mention of Israel’s army engaging the enemy. This is not surprising because in the previous prophecy, we are told the people of Israel are living peacefully (Ezekiel 38:11). The attack by Gog on Israel is unprovoked and unexpected. It is God who takes away the weapons of the enemy and causes them to die on the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 39:3-6). Those witnessing this battle will have to attribute this defeat to God.

2)      The burning of the weapons of the enemy will provide fire for seven years – While the text uses the imagery of Israel burning the bows, arrows, javelins, spears, shields, and bucklers of the enemy, we must remember this is an ancient test written before the invention of modern weapons of war (Ezekiel 39:9). Modern armies do not carry such weapons but instead have explosive bombs, nuclear weapons, and missiles delivered from the air. Unexploded ordnance of this type could provide energy for Israel for seven years. The mention of enemies falling on the mountains of Israel could be a reference to planes crashing to the ground from fire coming from God in the sky, leaving unexploded ordinance (Ezekiel 39:6).

3)      It will take seven months to bury the enemy’s dead (Ezekiel 39:12) – Taking seven months to bury the enemy’s dead indicates a large number of casualties, but modern warfare can cause mass destruction with a small number of people. An aerial attack using planes requires a pilot and crew that can deliver mass destruction. Not to mention the use of drones without having any human crew aboard. This leaves us to wonder why it might take seven months to bury the dead. One answer could be that the bodies are contaminated with radiation or chemical weapons on board when the plane crashes. I can realistically picture search parties of people in hazmat gear using radiation and chemical detectors, marking bodies with burial teams following up to bury the dead in a safe location. This attack is unlike anything that has previously happened to Israel and something that will happen in the future that will fail due to God’s intervention.

 

Like Israel, the Church also has enemies seeking its destruction, with this prophecy a reminder of how God takes care of His people. The Church is under attack from,

1)      A woke culture trying to force the church to accept practices such as abortion on demand, homosexuality, and transgenderism as normal activities that are not sinful – This is an attempt to disarm the Church if its offensive weapon of the sword of the Spirit, the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). God values the unborn (Psalm 139:13), defines marriage as between a man and a woman (Mark 10:6-9), and each person has a gender given to them at birth, the gender God created them to have with God not making a mistake (Genesis 1:27). The Word of God, our sword disarms the enemy Satan of these weapons.

2)      A culture without any standard of truth – Culture tries to eliminate any standard of truth to justify sin. This is a nuclear weapon designed to destroy the standard of truth, the belt in the armor of God that holds everything together (Ephesians 6:14).

3)      Lukewarmness and apathy – Lukewarmness and apathy are a toxic chemical used by the enemy to render the Church ineffective and useless. It is this poison of lukewarmness and apathy that caused Jesus to stand outside the door knocking to come in (Revelation 3:20). The Church needs the standard of truth from the Bible and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (John 4:23-24).  

 

If you are reading this and have never prayed to make Jesus your savior or have grown lukewarm or cold in your walk with the Lord, I invite you to either commit your life to the Lord for the first time or rededicate your life to the Lord by praying with me.

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

I invite you to let someone know of your decision or to comment on this post about your decision. I also encourage you to become involved in a Church that teaches the Bible and follow through with baptism as a public confession of your faith in Jesus (Romans 10:9-10). May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.