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Ezekiel 21 (ESV)
18 The word of the Lord came to me again: 19 “As for you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to a city. 20 Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver. 22 Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers. 23 But to them it will seem like a false divination. They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken.
REFLECTION:
In 589 BC, both the kingdom of Judah and Ammon were plotting against Babylon (see Jeremiah 27:3). The people of Judah who had been taken captive to Babylon heard the news and once again ignited the hope of returning home. But Ezekiel prophesied that the king of Babylon would send troops to quell the resistance. He would start from the north and stop at the fork of two roads, one road leading to Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and the other road leading to Jerusalem, the capital of Judah. The king of Babylon relied on false divination to decide which city to destroy first. In fact, King Nebuchadnezzar really captured Jerusalem first, as prophesied by Ezekiel. The Ammonites and the Israelites were old enemies and used to fight each other often. God repeatedly warned Israel not to ally with idolatry Gentiles. However, the nation of Judah disregarded the teachings of God for temporary common interests, and ally with Ammon against Babylon. As a result, God first judged Judah through Nebuchadnezzar, and then Ammon was also judged. The enemy of the enemy is not necessarily a friend. We should learn from the fate of the kingdom of Judah in those days, and we should not do things that violate our faith and the Word of God for the sake of temporary benefits or convenience. Remember that under any circumstances, even if we are in danger, we must not ally or compromise with the world, otherwise our lives will be harmed and we will be disciplined by God. The only thing we can trust is our faithful and gracious God!
PRAYER:
Pray for God to give you stronger faith, so that you can look to God alone in adversity and even danger, and not do anything that seems to open the way for you, but actually makes you fall into deeper and greater traps and snares; ask God to give you more spiritual wisdom, so that you can know what to do and what not to do in all circumstances, and experience God’s grace and edification more deeply.
