Ezekiel Part 32

Judgment Against the Nations in Ezekiel 25

All right, we're gonna pray, and then we're gonna get back into our study of the book of Ezekiel. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, again, as we open up your word, we ask through your Holy Spirit to help us to rightly understand what is revealed there.

Truly, Lord, we are here because we love you, and as it's demonstrated in the work that you have done in us through the Holy Spirit, that we are attentive and we guard your word. So we ask all these things in Jesus' name, amen.

All right, in Ezekiel 25, which is where we are at, you'll note that this section of Ezekiel, I talked about this last time, we're gonna be looking at God speaking words of judgment and prophesying against different specific tribes and nations that are not Israeli.

We should take cautious note that God is giving us a sampling of his judgment of all the nations on the end of the day, although there is not a specific prophecy in scripture against the United States of America, that is not to say that God does not intend some specific words of rebuke against the United States on the day of judgment, things like this, because you'll note that all the nations will be brought before Christ at the end of days.

And thankfully, we all have dual citizenship, and so we don't have to worry about the United States being judged because our sins are forgiven and our citizenship is in heaven. So kind of think this out.

But as we take a look then, we need to consider as we look at these judgments of God, which commandments are being broken by these nations? What have they done wrong that God is going to judge them for?

And see if we can kind of roll it up into a more general understanding of what laws have been broken and learn from them so that we do not do the same. That's kind of a good way of approaching it when we have a prophecy against Ammon, and I don't know any Ammonites here.

Are there any, no Ammonites here? Okay. Uh-huh. Does anyone self-identify as an Ammonite? That is annoying. So let's take a look at these words and the prophecy against Ammon. The word of Yahweh came to me, son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

Say to the Ammonites, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh. Thus says the Lord Yahweh, because you said, aha, over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made barren, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile.

Therefore, behold, I am handing you over to the people of the east for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, they shall drink your milk.

I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks, and then you will know that I am Yahweh, for thus says the Lord Yahweh, because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel.

Therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand against you and I will hand you over as plunder to the nations and I will cut off from the peoples and I will make you perish out of the countries. I will destroy you and then you will know that I am Yahweh.

What commandments are being broken here? All of them? That's a safe answer. That does not lead to good discussion, okay? But I would note, everybody can make the claim, well, clearly the first commandment is being broken, all right, because when we break any of the second table commandments, we are also breaking the first, okay?

But that being the case, you'll note that there was an important word that was mentioned. That word was malice, okay? When we talk about malice, which commandment of the 10 commandments generally does malice fall into?

And I would note, you could probably make an argument right off the bat that it's going to obviously affect two commandments, okay? Thou shall not murder, okay? And bearing, good, and bearing false witness.

So you'll note that those who bear false witness against somebody else, they harbor malice in their heart. They're just too cowardly to kill the person they hate, okay, and so what do they do? They set out to destroy that person by destroying their reputation.

I'm not gonna murder you, I'm gonna murder your reputation, and by murdering your reputation, make it unbearable for you to live around us, and make it so that you have to leave us. Whereas the person who murders says, oh, forget breaking the eighth commandment, I'm just gonna make him stop breathing because I can't stand looking at him anymore, right?

So you kind of get the idea. So there's something along those lines. So we got the thou shall not murder and thou shall not bear false witness, but what is it when somebody rejoices at somebody else's terrible situation?

You know, I, huh? Yeah, it's totally against the love of your neighbor. So I remember, y 'all should remember this, the, remember the 9 -11 attacks, okay? And there was a news report on 9 -11 coming out of the Middle East, showing the people in the Palestinian-controlled parts of Israel, they were partying and rejoicing in the streets, and they were celebrating that the towers came down.

And it just, it was icky. It was just icky, right? It was only Hamas, right? Just the government. Right, I mean, we can't blame them after all. They are under the thumb of the Jews, and we all know, yeah, either way.

I'm saying that tongue-in-cheek because of all the slander out there regarding the Jews again. Nazism is on the rise, be warned. It's here, it's not coming, it's here, so. So you'll note that God does not permit that when God acts in judgment, we don't get to do the liturgical response of Kip from Napoleon Dynamite, okay?

We don't get to go, yes, okay? That's completely forbidden, okay? We do not get to rejoice when somebody else is being judged. Let me kind of put it this way, those of you who have small children, okay?

When one of them acts out, and it's time to discipline them, and they are going to get disciplined hard, okay? When the younger one rejoices at their discipline, how do you feel about that, okay? Well, you're gonna rejoice about your brother getting spanked?

Well, guess what? You're gonna get spanked, too, right? Something along those lines. So we recognize, then, that as we look at these judgments of God against these nations, we need to unpack what went wrong, and how, then, should we take caution here?

Because whenever we see in Scripture somebody else being judged, we need to sit there and go, okay, I need to get my act in order. And if you're not convinced of that, I can give you a biblical text to that degree, but let me hunt it down real quick.

I might go this direction to do it. Let me see. Let's see if it's here. No, it's gonna, let me try this. Hang on a second here. Four power, and let's see here. Here we go, 1 Corinthians 10. Listen to what it says.

1 Corinthians 10. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, all passed to the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.

And here comes the turn. Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. So when you read the story of the account of the Exodus, from the time they leave Egypt until the time they get to the promised land, how many of the generation of the people who actually left Egypt, and they were adults, how many of them were permitted to live in the promised land?

Just two, Joshua and Caleb. What happened to the rest? They died in the wilderness. Now watch what it says. Now these took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were, as it is written, the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play.

We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and 23 ,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer.

Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. So I'm not out of place when I sit there and go, you may not be an Ammonite, but you better pay attention to why God judged them.

Their demise, that God acting in judgment against them so that they would know that he is Yahweh, better pay attention because these sins that they are committing, we're all prone to. These sins that God is judging, many of us are guilty of those exact same sins.

And it's good for us to then recognize from God's law when those things burble up from within our sinful nature, like sludge in a backed up toilet, that we need to recognize it for what it is and confess it and ask God to forgive.

Vengeance Belongs to God, Not to Us

So thus says the Lord Yahweh, because Moab, so now we got a prophecy against the Moab, because Moab and Seir said, behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations, therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country Beth Jeshimoth, Baal, Maon, and Kiriathim, I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the east as possession that the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations.

And I will execute judgments upon Moab and then they will know that I am Yahweh. Now, you'll note this refrain, then they will know I am Yahweh, Marilyn pointed that out, that's kind of a big deal. And you'll note, that was a refrain that we were hearing when God was exacting judgments against the Jews in exile and the Jews in Jerusalem and bringing destruction upon them, then they will know I am Yahweh.

Well, you'll note that God is concerned that not only Jews and Israelites know that he is Yahweh, but that all the nations know that he is Yahweh. Prophesy against Edom, thus says the Lord Yahweh, because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them.

Therefore, thus says the Lord Yahweh, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast, and I will make it desolate from Timon even to Dadan, and they shall fall by the sword.

And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger, according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord Yahweh.

So, which passage of scripture is being broken here, and it doesn't matter if it's New Testament, why are they being judged again?

Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do.

Right, so say that again louder. That's right, are we as human beings permitted to take vengeance? Nope, who's gonna be taking vengeance? God, so let's take a look at a text here that talks about that, right?

And let's see here, I'm just gonna look for the word vengeance, vengeance, okay? And I'm gonna do a flex search and I'm gonna look, search in the New Testament. Hmm, here we go, Romans 12, let's see what this says.

Romans 12, so in Romans 12 we have, these admonitions, here we go, starting at verse nine. Let love be genuine, isn't there, I feel like there's nothing worse than counterfeit love. You know what I'm saying?

It is the ultimate manipulation and cruelty, counterfeit love. I don't really love you, but I'm gonna pretend like I do, and then that person, they believe that you love them and care for them, and eventually the truth slips out, and when it slips out it's often, it's a big moment, right?

So we're not allowed to do that. Let love be genuine, and oh, and by the word, the word is agape, do you mind if I just do a quick look at what the Greek says agape means? Because y 'all have heard the term agape, right?

Okay, okay, so here are some of the definitions of agape. The quality of warm regard for, interest in another, esteem, affection, regard, love without limitation to very imitate relationships, very seldom in general Greek.

Okay, this is not talking about sexual attraction, it's talking about something, human love, without indication of the person who is the object of interest, okay? Let's see here, I wanna find two. Okay, a common meal eaten by early Christians, so they had agape meal, that's the other one.

Okay, it was referred to as a love feast. So it's that first definition that really should kind of key in here. The quality of warm regard for and interest in another, esteem, affection, regard, love without limitation, right?

Kind of the idea here. So let love, that kind of love, we're not talking about the love that you have for him or her, okay, we're talking about the love we have for each other, it's not that kind of love, it's the kind that means that we all look out for each other, I'm genuinely concerned about y 'all, y 'all are genuinely concerned about me, y 'all are genuinely concerned about each other, you love each other, let love be genuine.

And in the midst of all of that, what are we to do? Abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good. So, I'm just gonna kind of throw this out here, okay? When they put on a transvestite reading at the local library for small kids, should we be dispassionate about that?

No, that's just rank evil, it should be abhorred for the evil that it is, we hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection, here we go again with that love bit, okay? Outdo one another in showing honor.

Could you imagine if there was a competition here at Kongsminger, who can outdo the other in honoring each other? This would be a weird place, people would come and go, what is going on at Kongsminger, right?

Those people like each other, okay? The Kool-Aid will be served next week. Do not be slothful in zeal. Every time I hear this, I cannot help but think of a sloth, okay? Y 'all seen a sloth? I love the fact that they had that sloth working behind the counter, right?

At the DMV, it explains everything, okay? I just thought that was wonderfully portrayed, okay? So, when it comes to zeal, okay? Oh, let me get out of bed first, I need a cup of coffee. Uh, yeah, no, the opposite of slothful is to be like Johnny on the spot, right?

Be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation. Oy, how many of us have a hard time with that, okay? When tribulation and difficulty come along, we're annoyed and we want the problem solved right now.

Uh-uh. Next one, be constant in prayer. How often are you praying every day? Pray? Daily? I'm supposed to do that? Uh-huh, constantly, okay? Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality, and here we go.

It's in this context, then, that we hear these words. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another.

Hmm, does that sound consistent with an ideology that embraces racism? Nope. Do not be haughty. Associate with the lowly. But the lowly, how am I supposed to climb the corporate ladder if I'm associating with the lowly?

I need to associate and hobnob with the people of power and influence so that I can be taken up the ladder. Christ says, the scripture says associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Boy, there would be a lot of, Twitter would be a great place if this people followed this.

Okay. It wouldn't fall apart, yeah. I gotta tell you, if you haven't seen my Twitter feed this week, I have been thoroughly reprimanded and rebuked for teaching heresy. Again, I know, sorry Stephen, I forgot to send you the screenshots.

I did send those screenshots to Dr. Cary Larson, though, to let them know that he might be getting a phone call. But what was the heresy that I was embracing? That the Earth is a globe. And that the Earth orbits the sun.

Okay, and I have been thoroughly rebuked as somebody who's under the deceptions of the devil, who's abandoned the word of God. And so I told the guy, dude, here's the contact information for the American Association of Lutheran Churches.

Contact them and have me brought up on false doctrine charges, okay? And I actually CC'd Dr. Larson in on it and then texted him and said, I'm sorry that I'm doing this. That was not enough for that guy.

So just so you know, I'm committing heresy because I deny the flat Earth, okay? Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. Now, here's my question for you.

Does that admonition only apply to Christians? No. God's word universally applies to all. God wills for every human being to do this. How do we know that this is the will of God? Because it's in the word, it's in the New Testament.

So we can see what's going wrong with the Edomites here. And sure, they may have had some bitter conflicts with the Israelis. And sure, they might wanna get vengeance for all of that. And so they decided to take things into their own hands.

You're gonna treat me like that? I'm gonna treat you this way, right? Would the conflict in Israel be happening right now? No, right? Isn't this really, isn't that whole conflict about paying back people?

It's about vengeance? Yeah, right? If it's possible, so far as it depends on who? You. What if it, shouldn't it depend on them, not me? No, you, okay? Live peaceably with how many? All. Beloved, sometimes avenge yourselves.

Nope, the text says never. Never avenge yourselves. But do what? Leave it to the wrath of God. Edom here is being condemned because they took God's prerogative into their own hands. They were acting in the office of God in seeking to exact vengeance on somebody.

That's one of the reasons why, as interesting as the story of the Count of Monte Cristo is, I think that story appeals to our human flesh. And is it any wonder that that story doesn't end beautifully, it ends tragically.

And in the movie adaptation, they had to do it like a decade and a half ago or two decades ago, they had to change the ending to make it have something of a happy ending. But when you read the Count of Monte Cristo, does Edmond Dantes get back with Mercedes?

No, not at all. If you haven't read the Count of Monte Cristo, it's an interesting book. I consider that to be our equivalent of an entire story based upon the Klingon proverb that revenge is a dish best served cold, okay?

Wrath of Khan, for those of you wondering, right? Revenge is a, Khan! Revenge is a dish best served cold. So the Count of Monte Cristo is the account of a guy who was legitimately wronged, sent to Chateau D 'If, this terrible prison, for a crime he did not commit.

And somehow he escaped, and what did he do? He got his vengeance on those who took his beautiful woman, took his life from him, and destroyed it, but they didn't recognize him, and all the machinations, oh, it was all about the revenge.

And is it any wonder that in the book version of it, the original one, that there was no happy ending? All of the Hollywood versions have to come up with a happy ending where Mercedes and Dantes get back together, but they don't in the book, yep.

So never avenge yourselves, leave it to the wrath of God. So are you being oppressed? Is there somebody that legitimately, they are in good need of the wrath of God, okay? What are we to do about them?

Well, listen to what Scripture says. Vengeance is mine, God says, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him strychnine. Nope, sorry, give him something to drink.

For by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. So what are we commanded by God to do? And this is all human beings, not just Christians, this is a result of the actual moral law. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with what?

Good. And I can hear people saying, you're telling us to be weak. You're telling us to be doormats. You're telling, yeah, I'm not telling you nothing. The text says this and God is the one saying it. These are God's words, not mine, right?

Yes. Okay, so the wrath of God, one of the ways in which the wrath of God is carried out is by the government. You'll note that God has established earthly authorities for the express purpose of punishing evildoers.

And this is really clearly laid out in the Old Testament that when a government duly instituted by God, when somebody is brought to trial, the evidence is brought forth, the required evidence, two or more witnesses, and the charge is established, and those who are hearing the case then make their judgment, God is the one judging them.

God is. And so should you find yourself in prison, okay? You don't sit there and go, I'm a victim of the system, man. This is what happens, the man just stuck it to me. They are after me. No, you're in prison because you did evil.

Now, the only exception to this then is if the government goes rogue, and contrary to its charter, then begins persecuting and punishing those who are doing good. Governments do that from time to time.

And you'll know every time that's happened, those particular governments usually go down in infamy and are read about in the subsequent centuries as like, this went terribly wrong here, and we need to avoid these types of governments.

Like, you think of Marxist communism in Russia, you think of the Nazis and the fascists in the 20th century, and you think of Mao Zedong and things like this, those are quintessential examples of governments that, contrary to God's command to punish the evildoer, instead they were the evildoers and they murdered millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions of their own citizens.

That's not serving, that's something different. But how do you overcome something like that as a Christian? By doing good, yes. It is a form of unforgiveness. Absolutely is a form of unforgiveness, but here's the other issue, okay?

When it comes to vengeance, who holds the only office where vengeance is doled out? God. So the person who acts in vengeance is stepping into God's office, okay? You don't wanna be in there. You just know, okay, that's not gonna work.

You don't have an office from which to exact God's vengeance. And therefore, God has held as his own prerogative that he will give vengeance. And you'll note, the time when Christ gives vengeance, it's on the last day.

Christ comes and he acts in vengeance. He acts in wrath. He gives to people what they have deserved according to his law and his condemnation. The only people who do not receive that are who? Christians.

We've earned it, but we don't get it. And the reason why is because Christ has suffered God's vengeance and wrath in our place. So you find yourself in an awkwardly terrible situation. Good, so did Jesus.

How did Jesus overcome evil? By doing good. How did that go for him? They murdered him. Should you expect anything else? No, right? So the Edomites here, they stepped into God's shoes. They act according to his office.

And they took vengeance. And as a result of it, God says, nope, guess what? Because you took vengeance, I'm taking vengeance on you. And again, this is an example to us, right? You don't read this and go, well, I'm glad I'm not an Edomite.

Me too, but that doesn't change, that doesn't mean that you made the point, okay? Now, what about Philistia? These are where the Philistines are from. And by the way, Canadia's where the Canadians are from.

Just saying, I wanna make sure we got that straight. Thus says the Lord Yahweh, because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy a never-ending enmity. There it is again.

Therefore, thus says the Lord Yahweh, behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will cut off the Karathites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes.

Then they will know that I am Yahweh when I lay my vengeance upon them. That's not to know in a way that's salvific, it's the way to know, oh, whoa, now I know. I always like to put it this way, you guys remember when one of the new atheists, and it's been a while since he died, Christopher Hitchens died of cancer?

Christopher Hitchens isn't an atheist anymore. But he's not in heaven. He knows that Yahweh is Yahweh, right? We're getting close to a really weird text. Let's keep going. So God now speaks wrath against Tyre.

In the 11th year, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came to me, son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, aha, the gate of the peoples is broken, it's swung open to me. I shall be replenished now that she has laid waste.

Therefore, thus says the Lord Yahweh, behold, I am against you, oh Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre, which clearly are Michelin, by the way, and break down her towers, sorry, did I?

I shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. She shall be in the midst of the sea, a place for the spreading of nets. I have spoken, declares the Lord Yahweh, and she shall become plunder for the nations and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword.

They will know that I am Yahweh. Now, a little bit of a note here. If you've read any atheistic propaganda, they'll sit there and go, well, Tyre's a thriving city today, so clearly this didn't happen.

Therefore, there's a contradiction in the Bible and God doesn't fulfill his word. Morons, it's like, sorry, the fool says in his heart, there is no God, right? That being the case, God did fulfill this and that generation who heard this prophecy against them, this is exactly what happened to them and subsequent generations have rebuilt Tyre, right?

For thus says the Lord Yahweh, behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. See, okay? Is Nebuchadnezzar around today? No, okay? From the Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, king of the kings and the horses, chariots and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers.

Host, by the way. This one is not Saba, that's interesting. Cahal, okay? And he will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you, throw up a mound against you and raise a roof of shields against you, describing in detail the siege of Tyre.

He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls and with his axes, he will break down your towers. His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and the wagons and the chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached.

With the hooves of the horses, he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. They will plunder your riches and loot, your merchandise, they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses.

Your stones and timber and soil, they will cast into the midst of the waters. I will stop the music of your songs and the sound of your liars shall be heard no more. I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets.

You shall never be rebuilt for I am Yahweh. I have spoken, declares the Lord. Yahweh. So the atheist keys in on this. Well, it says here it'll never be rebuilt. Has that city been rebuilt? It's not the way it was.

That city doesn't exist. Sure, there's a city there now, but that's like Tyre 4 .0, right? It's not the same city. It was not rebuilt, okay? For that says the Lord, God, to Tyre, will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made in your midst?

Then all the princes of the sea shall step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling. They will sit on the ground and tremble.

Every moment be appalled at you. They will raise a lamentation over you and say to you, oh, how you have perished, you who were inhabited from the seas. Oh, city renowned who is mighty on the sea. She and her inhabitants impose their terror on all their inhabitants.

Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall and the coastlands that are on the sea are dismayed at your passing. For thus says the Lord Yahweh, when I make you a city laid waste like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you, then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, Sheol, the hot side, to the people of old.

I will make you dwell in the world below among the ruins of old with those who go down to the pit so that you will not be inhabited. But I will set beauty in the land of the living. I will bring you to a dreadful end and you shall be no more.

Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord Yahweh. These are sobering words, right? So the word of Yahweh came to me. Now you, son of man, raise up a lamentation over Tyre and say to Tyre who dwells at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlines, thus says the Lord Yahweh.

Oh, Tyre, you have said, I am perfect in beauty. Your borders are in the heart of the seas. Your builders made perfect your beauty. They made all your planks of fir trees from Seneir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

Of oaks of Bashan they made your oars. They made your decks of pines from the coasts of Cyprus inlaid with ivory, a fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail, serving as your banner. Blue and purple from the coastlands of Elasha was your awning.

The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvid were your rowers. Your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you. They were your pilots. The elders of Gabal and her skilled men were in you, caulking your seams. All of the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to barter for your wares.

Persia and Lod and Put were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and the helmet in you. They gave you splendor. Men of Arvad and Helech were on your walls all around and men of Gamad were on your towers.

They hung their shields on your walls all around. They made perfect your beauty. Is it beginning to sound like the, what would we call somebody from Tyre, a Tyrenese? Does it sound like the Tyrenese were a little idolatrous towards their own city and their own accomplishments and things like this, right?

Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of every kind. Silver, iron, tin, lead, they exchanged for your wares. Javan and Tubal and Meshech traded with you. They exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.

Uh-oh, what's that called? Slavery. Now, a little bit of a note here. Scripture forbids stealing another person and enslaving them. Now, that does not mean that the Bible's 100 against slavery because slavery was the means by which welfare was given to those who were bankrupt.

And it lasted for only a short amount of time and whoever purchased them had to save up enough money so that when they finally were able to be free, they were able to be free and start their life over again.

So you'll note here, along with their trade, they were engaging in something the scriptures forbid, the sale and trafficking of human beings, enslaving them. From Beth Torgormah, they exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.

The men of Dedan traded with you. Many coastlands were your own special markets. They brought you in payment ivory, tusks, and ebony. Syria did business with you because of your abundant goods. They exchanged for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and ruby.

You know what this sounds like? When you take Ezekiel and you overlay this portion of Ezekiel over the book of Revelation, right? Now you start to see it because it's kind of describing the same thing of Babylon, Babylon the Great, and how everybody traded with her, and all this kind of stuff, and then her demise came in a moment.

If you'll note then, the tire is at the types and shadows pointing to something that is revealed in the book of Revelation as well, that the two themes kind of go hand in hand, okay? Judah and the land of Israel traded with you.

They exchanged for your merchandise, wheat of Minoth, meal, honey, oil, balm. Damascus did business with you for your abundant goods because of your great wealth of every kind. Wine of Helban, the wool of Sahar, casks of wine from Uzal they exchanged for your wares, and wrought iron, cassia and calamus were bartered for your merchandise.

Dan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding. Arabia and all the princes of Kadar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats, and these they did business with you. The traders of Sheba and Ramah traded with you.

They exchanged for your wares the best of all kinds of spices and all precious stones and gold. Haran and Kena, Eden, traders of Sheba, Ashur and Chilmod traded with you. In your market, these traded with you in choice garments and clothes of blue and embroidered work.

Blue was a very expensive, very rare dye back then. Embroidered work in carpets of colored material bound with cords and made secure. The ships of Tarshish traveled for you with your merchandise so you were filled and heavily laden in the heart of the seas.

Your rowers have brought you out into the high seas. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas. Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots, your caulkers, and your dealers in merchandise, and all of your men of war who are in you, all with all your crew that is in your midst sink into the heart of the seas on the day of your fall.

At the sound of the cry of your pilots, the countryside shakes and down from their ships come all who handle the oar. The mariners and the pilots of the seas stand on the land and they shout aloud over you and they cry out bitterly.

They cast dust on their heads and wallow in ashes. They make themselves bald for you and put sackcloth on their waist. I'm not making myself bald for nobody, I'm sorry. But back then, shaving off all of your hair was a way of mourning, including your beard and your eyebrows and all that.