GOD VINDICATED
Play Audio
If you prefer listening to today’s Bible guide reading, play this audio file.
If the audio bar is not appearing, click here to play the audio.
Opening Prayer
Lord God, thank you for making yourself known to me and for proving your love and faithfulness each day. Help me to show others around me who you are.
Read EZEKIEL 39
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. 2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. 4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. 5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel. 8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of.
9 “‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. 10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.
11 “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.
12 “‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. 13 All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord. 14 People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground.
“‘After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search. 15 As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog, 16 near a town called Hamonah. And so they will cleanse the land.’
17 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan. 19 At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. 20 At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.
21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay on them. 22 From that day forward the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. 23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.
25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Reflect
Are there people in your life who make you feel known, that you can count on to understand you?
We are upset when our words or actions are misinterpreted: ‘How can they think this of me?’ we ask. Such misunderstandings hurt because we crave to be known for who we are so people can relate to our real selves. God is no human to get upset, but he is concerned for his holy name (v. 7; i.e., his reputation or identity) because he wants to be recognized for who he truly is so that his creatures honor him.
What do we learn about God from the continued prophecy related to Gog? First, God himself will deal with extreme evil (vv. 2–6). The extent of the adversary’s power is demonstrated in the way it will take Israel seven years to burn the enemy’s weapons and seven months to bury their corpses and rid the land of their unclean influence (vv. 9, 12). The number seems symbolic, indicating perhaps that the enemy is dealt with completely. It may also point to Israel’s sabbatical year of rest and release from slavery.1 Although some might see God as ineffective today, his power is greater than that of the enemies that look invincible in the world. Second, and paradoxically, the weapons intended for the destruction of God’s people will be turned to their benefit (firewood), a theme we have already met.
Finally, the extended time for burying the dead will allow for the gruesome banquet with wild animals gorging themselves on human flesh (vv. 17–20), the ultimate disgrace for God’s enemies, whose remains will thus be desecrated. God’s judgment on the nations for their sin will highlight why Israel went into exile: not because God was weak but because his people, too, sinned (vv. 21–24). Thus, God’s fairness and justice will be clear to all.
Apply
What in God’s character is difficult to see in the world today? What do unbelievers question about God?
Closing prayer
Lord, continue to show people everywhere who you are so that your name is honored among your people and throughout the world.
1 Exod 21:2. 2 Lev 25:1-7.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.