For thus says the Lord God, “Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the scorn of your soul against the land of Israel, 7 therefore, behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and I will give you for spoil to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands; I will destroy you. Thus you will know that I am the Lord,” (25:6-7).
As it had happened with Isaiah and Jeremiah, today we hear God direct Ezekiel’s attention away from the calamity coming upon the nation Israel to speak prophecies against the surrounding nations.
On Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia He will execute His judgment, for they had derived pleasure from the destruction of Jerusalem and the afflictions of God’s people, and had taken vengeance into their own hands.
And while His wrath would come in response to their actions, more importantly is what they would come to Know through His vengeance: He Will Make Himself Known as the LORD.
Consider Him Who Will Make Himself Known as the LORD
“I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and the sons of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Thus you will know that I am the Lord,” (25:5).
“Thus I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord,” (25:11).
“I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath; thus they will know My vengeance,” declares the Lord God. (25:14).
“I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will know that I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance on them,” (25:17).
God had also repeated His coming judgments against His own, so when it happened exactly as He said, they would Know He Is the LORD
“So throughout all their habitations I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; thus they will know that I am the Lord,” (Ezekiel 6:14).
“The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. According to their conduct I will deal with them, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 7:27).
“This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be flesh in the midst of it, but I will judge you to the border of Israel. 12 Thus you will know that I am the Lord; for you have not walked in My statutes nor have you executed My ordinances, but have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.” (Ezekiel 11:11-12).
And I had to stop and give thanks as I was reminded of how often He told the people in advance of what He was planning to do, with His express purpose being that when it happened they would Know He Is the LORD.
Each time God spoke how they Will Know Him, He used His Covenant Name, LORD (Yahweh) not simply the name, God (Elohim).
From Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance:
LORD (Yahweh): 3068. יְהוָֹה yehōwāh: A noun meaning God. The word refers to the proper name of the God of Israel, particularly the name by which He revealed Himself to Moses (Ex. 6:2, 3)… Although the exact derivation of the name is uncertain, most scholars agree that its primary meaning should be understood in the context of God’s existence, namely, that He is the “I AM THAT I AM” (Ex. 3:14), the One who was, who is, and who always will be (cf. Rev. 11:17). Older translations of the Bible and many newer ones employ the practice of rendering the divine name in capital letters, so as to distinguish it from other Hebrew words.
God (Elohim): 430. אֱלֹהִים ʾelōhiym: A masculine plural noun meaning God, gods, judges, angels. Occurring more than 2,600 times in the Old Testament, this word commonly designates the one true God (Gen. 1:1) and is often paired with God’s unique name yehōwāh (3068).
And this was a recurring theme throughout the book of Ezekiel:
“‘you will know that I am the Lord’, is repeated by Ezekiel about 70 times.” https://olddeadguys.com/2016/10/27/209/
Let that thought sink in. About 70 repeats!
When God called His people out of their bondage in Egypt, He had told them that He would be their God, the one true God (Elohim), and that they would come to Know Him as the Faithful Covenant-Keeping LORD (Yahweh). And while His people would Know by His deliverance, the Egyptians would Know when He stretched out His hand against them.
“Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,” (Exodus 6:7).
“The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst,” (Exodus 7:5).
What is conclusively evident is this: whether by His deliverance or by His wrath, He Will Make Himself Known as the LORD.
How do we respond to Him Who Will Make Himself Known as the LORD?
Think of how many times He repeated His Truth. Everyone will Know He Is the LORD, but not everyone will be saved; for knowing the fact that He is the one true God (Elohim), and even knowing that He is the Covenant God is far different than personally Knowing Him as the LORD (Yahweh), Knowing Him as our Covenant God through faith.
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder, (James 2:19).
“While ‘knowing that he is the Lord’ involves revelation, owning up to him as “your God” and us as his people involves commitment—or, in biblical language, covenant. In both cases, the wealth of repetition gives a sense of the idea’s importance.” https://olddeadguys.com/2016/10/27/209/
God calls us to be His covenant people that we would Know Him, the one true God, relationally and experientially through faith in His Covenant promise in Jesus Christ.
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent,” (John 17:3).
And this promise is for anyone and for every nation, but only through faith in Christ can we truly Know Him as our LORD.
For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, 9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy, (Romans 15:8-9).
In closing, let us ask ourselves: Has He Made Himself Known as the LORD so that I Know Him as my LORD? It is only as we hear His Word and respond in faith that we are saved from His judgment and brought into new life to Know Him as the LORD.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life,” (John 5:24).
And when we Know Him, let us be diligent to seek Him daily, asking Him to grow us to Know Him better and better, that our lives would honor and please Him as we bear the fruit of those Who Know Him as the LORD.
Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better, (Colossians 1:10 NLT).