Jerusalem’s judgment does not make her neighbors’ cruelty innocent. Ezekiel turns from bereavement and siege to the peoples who clap, sneer, remember grievances, and take revenge. The Lord distinguishes His judgment from the pleasure human beings take in another’s ruin.
Historical and Scriptural Context
Ammon and Moab lie east of the Jordan, Edom to Judah’s south and southeast, and Philistia along the southwestern coast. These are nearby peoples, not abstract symbols of evil. Chapter 25 begins the nations cycle of chapters 25–32. Its four oracles expose responses to Judah’s catastrophe before the prophecy turns to Tyre’s commercial pride. Israel has already been judged; the chapter cannot declare every action of Israel righteous.
The nearby nations and the sin of gloating (Ezekiel 25:1-17)
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face steadfastly against the children of Ammon, and prophesy against them; 3 and thou shalt say to the children of Ammon, Hear ye the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord; Forasmuch as ye have rejoiced against my sanctuary, because it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, because it was laid waste; and against the house of Juda, because they went into captivity; 4 therefore, behold, I will deliver you to the children of Kedem for an inheritance, and they shall lodge in thee with their stuff, and they shall pitch their tents in thee: they shall eat thy fruits, and they shall drink thy milk. 5 And I will give up the city of Ammon for camels’ pastures, and the children of Ammon for a pasture of sheep: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 6 For thus saith the Lord; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with thy foot, and heartily rejoiced against the land of Israel; 7 therefore I will stretch out my hand against thee, and I will make thee a spoil to the nations; and I will utterly destroy thee from among the peoples, and I will completely cut thee off from out of the countries: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. 8 Thus saith the Lord; Because Moab has said, Behold, are not the house of Israel and Juda like all the other nations? 9 Therefore, behold, I will weaken the shoulder of Moab from his frontier cities, even the choice land, the house of Bethasimuth above the fountain of the city, by the sea-side. 10 I have given him the children of Kedem in addition to the children of Ammon for an inheritance, that there may be no remembrance of the children of Ammon. 11 And I will execute vengeance on Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 12 Thus saith the Lord; Because of what the Idumeans have done in taking vengeance on the house of Juda, and because they have remembered injuries, and have exacted full recompence; 13 therefore thus saith the Lord; I will also stretch out my hand upon Idumea, and will utterly destroy out of it man and beast; and will make it desolate; and they that are pursued out of Thæman shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will execute my vengeance on Idumea by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall deal in Idumea according to mine anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord. 15 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because the Philistines have wrought revengefully, and raised up vengeance rejoicing from their heart to destroy the Israelites to a man; 16 therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon the Philistines, and will utterly destroy the Cretans, and will cut off the remnant that dwell by the sea-coast. 17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have brought my vengeance upon them.
The first chapter of this unit is brief, but it is morally sharp. Ammon rejoices over the profaned sanctuary, the wasted land, and the captivity of Judah. Moab treats Judah as no different from any other nation, as if the covenant’s collapse proves that the Lord is nothing. Edom remembers injuries and exacts full recompense. Philistia acts revengefully and seeks destruction from the heart.
The hard word here is vengeance. Ezekiel does not sanctify private hatred. The text names the Lord’s vengeance because vengeance belongs to Him, not to the bitter heart. The surrounding nations are not judged for being non-Israelite. They are judged for cruelty toward the wounded, joy over another’s humiliation, and old hatred turned into policy.
This is an important pastoral boundary. When an enemy falls, the heart may feel secret satisfaction. Ezekiel 25 says the Lord sees that inner movement. St. John Chrysostom explicitly recalls Ezekiel’s judgment of Moab: “not even when He punisheth will He have us rejoice over those that are punished.”1 Christ reveals the opposite heart. He judges without cruelty, and His people must never confuse zeal for righteousness with delight in another’s destruction.
The distinctive concern of Ezekiel 25 is gloating and cruelty. These nations did not merely fight; they celebrated the profanation of the sanctuary and the desolation of the land. Their sin is not ethnic otherness but the spiritual sickness of finding pleasure in the humiliation of the people of God. The Lord exposes this because it reveals a heart that has made another’s ruin its own security or entertainment.
Spiritual Fruit 🍇
Refuse the inward applause. When an opponent is exposed, distinguish relief that harm may stop from pleasure in humiliation. Pray for justice and repentance, and decline to pass along the extra story whose only purpose is ridicule.
Do not make old injury an identity. Naming harm and maintaining safe boundaries may be necessary. Organizing life around another person’s eventual pain is different. Bring the desire to retaliate honestly into confession.
Practice mercy without denying wrong. Christ commands prayer for enemies, not pretending abuse is harmless. Protect those at risk while leaving vengeance to God. His judgment is not our permission to become cruel.
Teaching Notes
Ezekiel 25:1-17 - The nearby nations and the sin of gloating
Ask: When have you felt secret satisfaction at the misfortune of someone who opposed you or the Church? What does Ezekiel 25 say the Lord sees in that moment?
Emphasize: Judgment on the nations is not tribal revenge. It exposes cruelty, contempt, and vengeance as sins that the Lord will not overlook, even when the victim is His own judged people.
Watch for: The temptation to turn “the Lord will judge” into permission to gloat or to treat another’s fall as entertainment or advantage.
Connect: Christ refuses the clap of the hands. He judges the nations yet gathers His people without cruelty. The opposite of Ammon’s rejoicing is the mercy that prays for enemies.
Sources
Embedded Scripture is from Brenton’s English Septuagint (LXX).
- Ezekiel 25; Matthew 5:43–48; Romans 12:17–21. Brenton text.
Footnotes
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St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on John, exhortation on envy explicitly citing Ezekiel 25:8. Direct passage. ↩