[Son of Man, Prophesy against the Ammonites]
Pastor: Taehoon Kim
Ezekiel 25:1-7
Ezekiel, who was called to be a prophet of Israel, now begins to prophesy against the Gentiles and the nations. Through todays message, let us think about what it means to prophesy against the Ammonites as a son of man.
First, the judgment on the nations begins when the judgment on Israel is over.
The phrase, 'the Word of the Lord came to me', indicates that we listen to the Word as Gods living voice and take it as the God-given Word of the day. This is QT. Doing QT every day is the way to receive Gods power as the Word comes to me. When God called Ezekiel, He called him a 'son of man'. He called him so ninety three times in the book of Ezekiel. The son of man signifies that Ezekiel was a fragile creature who inevitably faces death in the end. In other words, God reminded him not to forget his identity as the same sinner as the others even though he had enlightenments on the Word and conveyed the message with power. So God told Ezekiel to turn his face from the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Up to chapter 24, Ezekiel was told to turn his face to Jerusalem, the Holy Place, and the temple. But from chapter 25, he was told to proclaim to the Gentiles and the nations. This structure of the book of Ezekiel tells us the order of Gods judgment. With this logic, we have to know that we, the Christians, have to change, instead of waiting for other non-Christians change first. If we change, others will change in Gods time. We have salvation, the truth, and life as Christians, thus, we have the key to solve the problems.
Second, we have to moan, not rejoice.
The Ammonites signified the world, and yet, they were to listen to the Word of God also. Conveying the Word and the love of Jesus to them is prophesying to them. As the kingdom of Judah fell by Babylon, the Ammonites, having been jealous of Judah, thought it was a chance for them. It is the same for us. If we do not care for the pains of the church of God or salvation of others, we are being like the Ammonites. The reason the Ammonites rejoiced was that they were among sin. The ancestor of the Ammonites was Ben-Ammi who was born from an incest of Lot and his second daughter. I thought of how they might have been feeling so inferior while their neighbor Abaraham became the respectable father of faith and the father of nations. We can find the sin in our hearts by doing QT. It should not be done superficially. We should think, meditate, and share on the Word through QT, worship, and small group meetings. In fact, the tribe of Judah was also born from the incest of Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar. However, the important thing is whether we have confessed, repented, and been forgiven or not. That was the difference between Judah and the Ammonites. David remembered that he was a sinner till the day he died and prayed that he be forgiven by the name of the Lord. No one on this earth is without sin, scar, or inferiority complex. When we meet JEsus, who loved us, died for us, and gave His blood and flesh for us, we will be saved from all our sins and scars and be recovered. Therefore, we must shout 'Alas!' as it was written in chapter 11. When we moan and grieve, God will give us the mark of salvation and give us the remnants of the church and the country.
Third, they will know about God through judgment.
The Ammonites thought that Babylons wrath subsided after Judahs fall. However, God acted the opposite and brought judgment on them through people of the east whom the Ammonites looked down on. At first, I was well-prepared when I went to the States to study. However, when I forgot Gods grace while studying for my doctors degree, my second child was born early and the oldest son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy disorder. My plan to elevate myself with my degree was then cut off, and I had no choice but to return to Korea. Through such a humbling event, I got to know the holy God who was destroying the idols of success and honour full of me . Over the years, I thought no other judgment would come, but my son, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, began to show cognitive disability over the physical disability. When these things came, I realized that I was completely incompetent and vulnerable without Gods grace, and I gradually understood my wifes heart that had been struggling.
It is one of the small group leaders confessions on an unexpected judgment. His wife is now suffering from hypomnesis. Because of her, the atmosphere at home while they attend online worship has now changed. Since his wife had a hard time summarizing the sermon, their two daughters, who fidgeted with their phones or laid down during worship, now help her summarize. The Word is now spreading throughout the family. As an application, he made a resolution to take care of her better, help her exercise with the daughters, and pray. A grave judgment has come upon this family, and I urge you to pray for this familys everlasting spiritual temple and the wifes health and memory.
God called Ezekiel a 'son of man' and told him to prophesy against the Ammonites. We have to realize our sin first and change first. We have to repent that we rejoiced for our enemys fall, and shout out 'Alas' in our repentance. I pray that the Lord will be your hope through the judgment.
