“I AM THE LORD” 2500 years ago, God Almighty repeated this announcement over 70 times to His chosen people and the surrounding nations through the prophet Ezekiel. Whether we believe it or not, He continues to announce it today to every nation in the entire world.

Last week we witnessed the Lord rebuking the wayward, remnant nation of Judah with the parable of The Cooking Pot in Ezekiel 24. “The people there refuse to obey me. I have a story with a message for them. Tell them, 'This is what the Lord God says: "Put the pot on the fire." Jerusalem fell to their Babylonian enemies. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=651739830509587&set=a.243759214640986

In the next chapter, Ezekiel 25, set around 589BC, the Lord begins announcing a prophecy of judgment on surrounding nations who had maligned and turned against the remnant nation of Judah: Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre and Sidon, ending with Egypt.

Ammon was a country to the northeast of Judah, on the edge of the desert that is east of the Jordan River. The chief city, known today as Amman, Jordan, is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the entire world. A few years earlier, the nation of Ammon had joined Babylon to fight against the southern kingdom of Israel, known as Judah. After they gloated over the destruction of Jerusalem and the capture of Judah, the Babylonians literally annihilated Ammon. It did not exist as a nation ever again. “You will never again be a nation. I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.” Ezekiel 25:7

A few years later, the Babylonians also annihilated Moab, an ancient nation in the mountains east of the Dead Sea, who had also mocked the remnant of Israel, known as Judah. “Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,” Ezekiel 25:8. God responded with judgment in verses 9-11. “…Therefore I will expose the flank of Moab.... I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations; and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

The trouble between the ancient nations of Edom and Israel began with the twin brothers Jacob and Esau. In Genesis 36:1-9, Esau is identified as the ancestor of the Edomites, while Jacob’s name was changed to Israel by God Almighty. Like a jealous brother, “…Edom took revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so, therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Ezekiel 25:12-14. Even though the Babylonians also destroyed much of Edom, it remained as a nation for hundreds of years. In 126 BC, just like God's Word said, Israel conquered Edom. Interestingly, the area from Teman to Dedan, decimated by foreign conquests, is now known as modern-day Saudi Arabia.

The Philistines of Philistia, also called the Sea Peoples, built 5 city-states along the Mediterranean Sea in the 12th century BC. They are remembered as plotting to bring down the ironman Samson through Delilah, and for the Philistine giant, Goliath, killed by the shepherd boy, David. Later as King of Jerusalem, David again defeated the Philistines in battle. The Philistine animosity toward Israel continued over the centuries. “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines... Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I take vengeance on them.’” Ezekiel 25:15-17. After dominating their part of the world for thousands of years, their great union of states crumbled and ceased to exist when they were taken into exile by the Babylonians.

The ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon are located today in Lebanon on the Mediterranean coast just north of Israel. In their heyday, they were thriving commercial port cities where most of the world’s eastern trading was done. Wealthy and proud, in the end, both Tyre and Sidon surrendered to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon God seems to compare the king of Tyre to Satan in Ezekiel 28. “You were in Eden, the garden of God…You were anointed as a guardian cherub…Your heart became proud on account of your beauty and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendour.”

“… I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers… She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 26:3-4, 6

“‘I am against you, Sidon, and among you I will display my glory. You will know that I am the Lord, when I inflict punishment on you and within you am proved to be holy. I will send a plague upon you and make blood flow in your streets. The slain will fall within you, with the sword against you on every side. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 28:20-23.

After going through 10 plagues and the ensuing destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, you'd think that Egypt would have learned the hard lesson that God is Lord of all. But 860 years after the Exodus, God found it necessary to identify Himself once more to Egypt. The 1st century historian, Josephus, records that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon went on a warring campaign into Egypt around 586-589 BC. The once mighty nation, known as the "Cradle of Civilization", was reduced to a mere desert wasteland where few humans would live for over 40 years. Egypt would never again be the great nation that ruled over vast territories and peoples.

“In the tenth year, in the tenth month on the twelfth day, the word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. Speak to him and say: "This is what the Sovereign Lord says, '…You have been a staff of reed for the people of Israel. When they grasped you with their hands, you splintered and you tore open their shoulders; when they leaned on you, you broke and their backs were wrenched. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will bring a sword against you and kill both man and beast Egypt will become a desolate wasteland. Then they will know that I am the Lord.' " Ezekiel 29:1-2,6-9.

The Words of God Almighty in Ezekiel 28:24-26 perfectly announce God's future intent for His coming kingdom on this earth. “No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will show myself holy among them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God."

We must keep in mind the big picture of God’s restorative plan for His creation. Paul identifies those who conform to the new creation in Christ as part of the single identity of Israel: “Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” Ephesians 2:12-16

The 10th month, the 12th day, on God’s calendar recorded for all time in Ezekiel 29 began the evening of January 11 on our 2025 calendar. Right this very minute, God Almighty is announcing AGAIN to His people that His Word NEVER changes.

In the end, one way or another ALL nations will finally understand the true meaning of His eternal words:

"I AM THE LORD."