HOW WILL HISTORY PLAY OUT? EZEKIEL 38:1-39:29 JULY

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1 HOW WILL HISTORY PLAY OUT? EZEKIEL 38:1-39:29 JULY 1, 2007 Recently, I have started reading The Hardy Boys mystery series with our oldest son, Chris. We take turns. He reads a page and then I read a page. While we read, our younger son, Drew, listens. In these stories, the two detectives, Frank and Joe, are always in danger. At one point, I asked the boys, Do you think Frank and Joe will escape this danger? At which point Drew said, Of course, Dad. There is a whole series of these books. They can t die in this story. Drew tends to be a worrier. However, because he knows that in the end everything will be alright; he enjoys these stories. He doesn t worry about the bad guys. He doesn t worry about the threatening situation. He can just enjoy listening to the Hardy Boys solve the mystery. We can be rightly worried by what is going on in the world. Yet, like Drew listening to the Hardy Boys, if we know how things will end, we can focus on how God will work all this mess out. Instead of worrying about the world, we can enjoy God s story. This morning, let s consider the question, How will history play out? If you have a Bible please open it to Ezekiel 38 and 39. We will look at these chapters and consider the question, How will history play out? Let s read Ezekiel 38: And the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. Who is Gog? Where is Magog? And what about Rosh, Meshech and Tubal? Gog may well be Gyges a 7 th century prince of Lydia. The land of Magog is unknown. Tubal and Meshech were territories in Asia Minor during Ezekiel s day. The greater question is, What is Ezekiel describing? Is he describing a present reality to his listeners? Or is he describing a future reality? I believe Ezekiel is describing a future reality for two reasons. These chapters are interpreted as a future reality in Revelation chapter 20. But, second, and more importantly, in Ezekiel 38:16, God describes this battle as taking place in the last days. Let s read verses I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; 5 Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops many peoples with you. 7 Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them. 9 You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you. One day God will draw a multinational force into battle against Israel. We see in verses 5 and 6 even more nations added to the invading force. Verse 8 gives Ezekiel s listeners hope. God is 1

2 saying, One day, you will be restored. And sometime, in the future, after you are settled in your land, a large multi-national army will come against you. Lest we think that because these armies are working out the will of God, they are not responsible for their actions, let s read verses Thus says the Lord GOD, It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, 12 to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world. 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil? This attack is driven by greed. They want to take Israel s wealth for their own. And Israel is an easy target. Israel appears defenseless. In verse 13, it seems that even a few more nations want in on this plundering of a defenseless nation. We see God s sovereignty and human free will coming together to execute the desires of the Lord. In verses 14-16, we understand the Lord s purpose in this attack on Israel. 14 Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD, On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army; 16 and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog. God is going to make Himself known to the world through Gog. How? Israel is defenseless. God has gathered the armies of the nations against Israel. Verse 9 describes this army as a storm, like a cloud covering the land. Who are you picking in this battle of Gog versus Israel? Me too, I am going with Gog on this one. I ll give you points. I ll even give you points and odds. 2

3 But this battle doesn t go quite like the odds makers predict. Let s read verses Thus says the Lord GOD, Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them? 18 It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, that My fury will mount up in My anger. 19 In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man s sword will be against his brother. 22 With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone. God steps in and obliterates this multi-national force. When I was in the 4 th and 5 th grade, we played dodge ball in physical education. The goal of the game was to be the last player standing. You could put another player out by hitting him with a ball or catching the ball he threw at you. Dodge ball was played both individually and as a team. Near the end of this particular class, the teacher said, Boys at this end, girls at that end. He then told us that we would play dodge ball, girls against the boys. We still thought that girls had cooties. There was a fair amount of animosity between the boys and the girls. So, when we found out we were playing the girls, we were thrilled. We began to strut and point to intimidate the girls. Because they were physically smaller, the girls shrank back with downcast looks on their faces. Right before we started, our teacher said, Oh yeah, did I forget to tell you? I am going to play with the girls. This teacher was about 6 2, 200 lbs. His statement changed the countenance of the boys and the girls. All of a sudden we were downtrodden and the girls were joyful. For the next 5 or 10 minutes, the girls just watched as Mr. Pluhart picked us off one by one. That is a little bit of the picture here in our battle. Israel cowers as the nations approach. The coalition of nations swaggers in anticipation of their overwhelming victory and the plunder to follow. Then, God announces that He is going to play. And the countenances of the two sides are reversed. Israel sits back and watches the Lord do His stuff. Why DOES God bring about this battle? Let s look at verse I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD. 3

4 Because of this astounding defeat, the nations of the world will take notice of the God of Israel. They will know that He is the Lord. This refrain is sprinkled throughout the book of Ezekiel. First, God s people will understand that He is the Lord. Then the nations of the world will understand that He is the Lord. How will history play out? In the end, God will establish His name and reputation by defeating evil. In the end, God will establish His name and reputation by defeating evil. Ezekiel 39:1-20 restates that Israel will win a resounding victory using different pictures and metaphors. Starting in verse 21, the Lord gives His perspective on the future battle. Let s read verses And I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them. 22 And the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God from that day onward. 23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them. God sets the record straight. Israel s judgment and exile resulted because they failed to worship God. Their judgment and exile were not a result of God s inability to protect His people. God then moves on to assure the people of their future. Let s read verses Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. 26 They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. 29 I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD. Sadly, what often happens with future oriented texts like this one is that people try and specifically predict the future. They say Gog symbolizes this and Magog that and on and on. I don t think God wants us getting caught up in the specifics. He wants us to know that He will one day defeat evil 4

5 When people get caught up in the details of a prophecy, they forget the context. Ezekiel gives this prophecy at a time when evil seemingly rules. The Babylonians ruthlessly destroyed the city of Jerusalem and murdered thousands of people. And it appears that they will not face any accountability for their actions. As commentator Peter Craigie says, From an objective and empirical perspective the idea that God will triumph over evil is insane. There is no evidence supporting the conviction that God will one day triumph. But Ezekiel has a vision of God that impacts his understanding of currents events. We live in times in which it appears that evil might win out. We need Ezekiel s vision. We need Ezekiel s understanding of God. We must recognize that there is more to the future of this world than what we see right now. God s ultimate expression of this hope that rises above any circumstance is Jesus Christ. Just before He was crucified, Jesus addressed His disciples. It was a time of uncertainty. They did not understand what was about to happen to Jesus. In John 14:1-3, Jesus spoke into this uncertainty. He said, 1 Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. In those times of anxiety and uncertainty, Jesus calls us to believe in Him. He will prepare a place for us in heaven. In the mean time, He promises us His peace. John 14:27 says, 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. And what is our hope when evil appears to be out of control? Ezekiel s words remind us that Jesus will return to make things right. Revelation 19:11-21 tells us that Jesus will return to earth to put down evil once and for all. Then, He will establish a new heaven and new earth. Many of you believe in Jesus but are worried about what is going on in our world. My encouragement to you is to focus on the words of Jesus here in John. Remember He has a place for you. Remember He promises peace that is not of this world. Remember that He will come back one day to make things right. If you have never put your faith in Jesus Christ, now is the day of salvation. He will return to judge the world. John 3:18 says, 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 5 5

6 God created us to live for Him. All of us face judgment because we have given our heart to something else besides God. If we believe in Him, Jesus forgives us our sin and empowers us to live for God. In the winter of 1980, after studying in the library, I walked into the dorm and saw all three T.V. rooms packed. The crowd aroused my curiosity. So I walked over and poked my head in the door. People were glued to the Olympic hockey game between the United States and Russia. This was the so called miracle on ice when our amateur team beat the professional Russian team. I walked in during the third period with the U.S. ahead by a goal. I couldn t believe it. Could we pull off the upset? Could we hang on? Every time the Russians moved up ice with the puck, my stomach was in knots. I couldn t handle the pressure. On a commercial break, I said to the guy next to me, Wouldn t it be great if we won? To which he responded, We did. This is a tape of the game. That piece of information changed everything. After that, I enjoyed watching the game I didn t care what the Russians did. They could tie the game. They could go ahead. It didn t matter I knew that we won. Many of you are watching the game of life not knowing that we won. Christ secured the victory long ago. We should care about people and be involved in our community. We certainly will feel heartaches and tragedies in our lives and in the lives of those around us. But we need not worry about the events of our day. We can enjoy the game of life, watching Christ work out the victory. How will history play out? In the end, God will establish His name and reputation by defeating evil. In the end, God will establish His name and reputation by defeating evil. 6

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