This chapter is about the terror that the Lord will bring on the nations when He oversees the destruction of Egypt, Edom, and Assyria.

These are nations that conquered others. They stole, killed, and destroyed. Assyria taunts Israel about how no nation’s gods had been able to stop Assyria. They conquered all they went after. Of course, they don’t get Judah at that point. Our God is a true God and is mighty to save.

These were powerful nations. They prided themselves in their power.

It reminds me of Psalm 73 where David is looking at the wicked and seeing their strength and thinks they have no struggles and doesn’t understand why they have it so easy while he continually struggles but is righteous. But then he asks God about it and God shows him how the wicked will come to an end in a moment.

God will make an end of them.

We read phrases like, “I will cast you on the ground” and “on the open field I will fling you.”

But how did it start? What was Ezekiel to do? God told Ezekiel to raise a lamentation.

This chapter is a lament. It’s a sorrowful thing.

God’s not rejoicing over their downfall.

That makes me think of when Osama bin Laden was killed. He was supposedly the one who planned the plane attacks in New York on 9-11. People rejoiced. I was really uncomfortable with that. Someone had just gone to hell and people rejoiced.

What if you had been born in the Middle East into a family that considered Jews to be the enemy and Christians to be dangerous?

All humans are equal in our depravity. One is not more evil than another. We could be caught in the same things but for the mercy and grace of God that rescues us out of it. Give thanks and have compassion.