Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Ezekiel 25-27
Ezekiel 25:2
Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them;
For the next eight chapters of Ezekiel’s prophecies his pronouncements are focused on various Gentile nations. In the first instance of these prophecies a subtitle lesson is highlighted. To fully understand the lesson learned from God’s overthrow of the Ammonites an obscure verse of Proverbs must be laid as the foundation for the lesson.
Proverbs 24:17-18 states clearly: Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. The Ammonites violated this law of God. Verse 3 of Ezekiel 25 proves it, And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; Evidently the Ammonites rejoiced over Judah’s overthrow and deportation and the anger of the Lord was turned against them.
To rejoice over the damage of others demonstrates an evil heart. Proverbs notes …let not thine heart be glad… Ezekiel also mentions the heart, For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; (Ezekiel 25:6) Rejoicing over the pain of others is an indication of wrongness in the heart of a person. Often, we hear those say of others’ wrongdoings, “I just want justice to be carried out.” Really? Does the person with that attitude want justice for their own misdoings? Who wants justice? Justice demands payment. For a child of God our payment for justice is the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah said as much, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) Praise His Holy name that those who trust in Him have satisfied the Justice of God, not through their own payment, but through the payment made for them in and through Jesus Christ!
Being forgiven of wrongdoing by God softens the heart, or should, toward others who also need that same pardon from sins. Christians, true born-again believers in Jesus Christ have escaped God’s judgment for sin. Holding to such a wonderful truth, how can they wish upon others anything less than that others would receive the same grace and possession? Therefore, in their pain we share that which we have received, forgiveness of sins.
Again, not rejoicing when an enemy falls is a matter of the heart. The Ammonites did not possess that grace.
Dr. William T. Howe
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