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God Over All – Ezekiel 25
God Over All – Ezekiel 25
Our reading in Ezekiel now covers God’s proclamation of judgment upon the nations (ch. 25-32). The gods of ancient people were often local deities with limited power. People had corrupted the very idea of God. Is God a God of the hills or LORD of all? “Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they… Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because the Arameans have said, "The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'" (1 Kings 20:23, 28) God then gave Israel the victory.
We saw this earlier in our reading as God displayed himself over the false gods of Egypt. Most of the plagues (some would say all) were directed at various ‘gods’ of Egypt. They were powerless against God, but of course such is easily seen as they were no gods at all. “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens” (1 Chronicles 16:26).
As Jeremiah said: “O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, And my refuge in the day of distress, To You the nations will come From the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, Futility and things of no profit." Can man make gods for himself? Yet they are not gods! Therefore behold, I am going to make them know— This time I will make them know My power and My might; And they shall know that My name is the Lord." (Jeremiah 16:19-21)
Earlier, Ezekiel showed that all souls belong to God. "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die. Ezekiel 18:4 This was known even in the days of Moses where He is called the God of all spirits (Num. 16:22 and 27:16). Paul would say:
Not only is this true of individuals, but also of collectives such as nations and governments. Thus, the prophets included not only judgments upon Judah and Israel, but on the various nations around them. While they were not held accountable for the covenant law that God had made with Israel, yet there was basic understanding of human dignity and human rights.
God still is God over all. We cannot control how all the people in our nation respond to God, but WE can acknowledge Him and serve Him as God. Will you acknowledge Him as your God?
Hugh DeLong
