Daily Devotions
Ezekiel
"Destruction comes"
Text: Ezekiel 7:25
THE WORST OF THE GENTILES
The Babylonian army was made up of a lot of soldiers from other countries. Babylon was a vast and expanding empire. The king recruited anyone who would serve him faithfully. Some of the people who joined the Babylonian forces had their own hidden agenda.
“Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles,
And they will possess their houses;
I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease,
And their holy places shall be defiled.
Destruction comes;
They will seek peace, but there shall be none.”
Ezekiel 7:24-25
1. The military might of the Babylonians.
a) Some were Babylonians.
b) Some others would be mercenaries.
c) Still others would seize the opportunity to join the Babylonian army
i) To satisfy their blood lust
ii) To obtain wealth through plundering the enemies
iii) Few would have noble thoughts
2. The worst of the Gentiles
a) All would be Gentiles
b) But some of them would be very wicked and cruel ones
c) The conquered had everything to lose
i) Their homes
ii) Their wealth
iii) They would become slaves of the conquerors
3. The vanquished nation of Judah
a) Judah was once a strong country
b) There was pomp and ceremony once
i) In national events
ii) In religious festivals
iii) These would now cease
c) The holy places
i) The temple at Jerusalem would be desecrated
ii) All other holy places would be similarly trodden down
4. Peace
a) The Babylonians were bent on destroying Judah and Jerusalem
b) The authorities could not trust the leaders of Judah
c) Destruction was on the mind of the Babylonians
d) They would not grant any peace treaties with Judah