Ezekiel 38

God tells Ezekiel to prophesy against Gog, a northern leader who will gather many nations and attack Israel after she has been regathered and is living in peace. God Himself draws Gog in and then destroys him with earthquake, panic, plague and storm. The purpose is that the nations will know the LORD.

Ezekiel 38:1-2

Another message from the LORD comes to Ezekiel. He is told to turn toward Gog and speak against him. Gog is the leader of Magog and ruler over Meshech and Tubal, peoples to the north of Israel. God is in charge of this whole scene from the start.

BSA: face (“presence, towards”): Setting his face means Ezekiel must stand squarely and openly in opposition, as God’s spokesman.

Ezekiel 38:3

God’s first word to Gog is a challenge: I am against you. Gog thinks he is choosing to march, but the Lord of all stands against him. The title Lord GOD stresses His authority over every ruler and army.

BSA: Behold (“look, take notice”): The word calls for attention, because what follows is solemn and sure.

Ezekiel 38:4

God says He will turn Gog around and put hooks in his jaws. Picture a wild animal led by a hook. Gog believes he is acting freely, but God is steering him. The great army with its cavalry and armor is still under God’s control.

BSA: hooks (“like a nose ring or a controlling device”): Gog is led like a beast, showing that God directs the whole invasion.

See also: Isaiah 37:29.

Ezekiel 38:5-6

Gog’s allies are named: Persia, Cush and Put from the east and south, and Gomer and Beth-togarmah from the far north. These are real peoples at the edges of the known world. The point is that nations from every direction join the attack.

BSA: far (“uttermost parts of the”): Beth-togarmah lies at the remote edge of the map, showing how far the coalition reaches.

Ezekiel 38:7

God tells Gog to get ready and take command of the gathered forces. The words are bitterly ironic. Gog is told to guard his army, yet he cannot even guard himself from what God is about to do.

BSA: guard (“custody, safeguard, to keep and watch over them”): Gog is made the keeper of the host, though he cannot keep them from judgment.

Ezekiel 38:8

The attack comes in the latter years, after a long time. It falls on a land recovered from war and a people regathered from many nations to Israel’s once-desolate mountains. They feel safe. God sets the timing, and He summons Gog.

BSA: summoned (“visited, reckoned with”): The word can mean a visit for judgment, so Gog’s calling is also his reckoning. securely (“in safety, without fear”): Israel is at rest, which is exactly what tempts the invader.

See also: Ezekiel 37:21-22.

Ezekiel 38:9

Gog’s army sweeps in like a storm and covers the land like a cloud. The picture shows overwhelming numbers and darkness falling over a peaceful country. To human eyes it looks impossible to resist.

BSA: thunderstorm (“a tempest, storm”): The invasion arrives with sudden, frightening force.

Ezekiel 38:10-11

Gog’s plan is born in his own heart. God does not make him wicked, but He allows him to follow his greed. He sees a land without walls or gates and thinks it easy prey. Peace he takes for weakness, and he does not see who guards Israel.

BSA: mind (“heart, innermost being”): The evil scheme grows from inside Gog, from his own desires. unwalled (“open, unprotected”): Israel looks defenseless, which is why Gog judges the attack safe.

Ezekiel 38:12

Gog’s aim is plain robbery. He wants to seize spoil from the people who had been scattered and are now rebuilding, with herds and goods. Israel is said to live at the center of the land, a place of importance.

BSA: center (“middle, highest part”): The people sit in the middle of the earth’s lands, a place that draws the eyes of the nations.

Ezekiel 38:13

Distant trading peoples, Sheba, Dedan and Tarshish, ask Gog if he has come for loot. They do not join him or stop him. They stand watching and perhaps hoping for a share. Greed is shown as the driving force.

BSA: merchants (“traders, travelers”): These are commercial peoples who see the invasion only in terms of profit.

Ezekiel 38:14

God asks Gog whether he will notice that Israel is dwelling securely. It is a pointed question. That safety rests on God’s protection, not on walls. Gog takes it as an opening, but it is a trap set by God.

BSA: securely (“in safety, without fear, with confidence in God’s protection”): Israel’s rest is really safety under God’s care, which Gog fails to reckon with.

Ezekiel 38:15-16

Gog comes from the far north with a vast mounted army. God says it is He who brings Gog against His land. The goal is that the nations will know Him when He shows Himself holy in Gog before their eyes.

BSA: holy (“set apart, consecrated, sanctified”): God will show before all peoples that He is unlike every power and will not be mocked.

See also: Ezekiel 36:23.

Ezekiel 38:17

God asks whether Gog is the one the earlier prophets spoke of. Past prophets had warned that a final enemy would come against Israel. The question shows that this judgment was long planned, not an accident of history. Christians differ on exactly who or when, but the message of God’s rule stands.

BSA: servants (“attendants, messengers”): The prophets are God’s own attendants who carried His word faithfully.

Ezekiel 38:18-19

When Gog attacks, God’s anger rises. It is zeal for His people and His name, a fire of holy anger against those who harm them. A great earthquake shakes the land of Israel. God does not stay silent when His people are threatened.

BSA: zeal (“jealousy, fervent devotion”): God’s anger comes from passionate devotion to His people and His own honor.

See also: Zephaniah 1:18.

Ezekiel 38:20

The shaking reaches everything: fish, birds, beasts and people all tremble before God. Mountains, cliffs and walls fall. Creation itself responds to the presence of its Maker. No human defense stands when He appears.

BSA: presence (“before Me”): All creatures shake simply because they are in front of God.

See also: Haggai 2:6-7.

Ezekiel 38:21

God calls a sword against Gog on His mountains, and the invaders turn on one another. Confusion and panic seize them. God has used this kind of panic before in Israel’s history. The army destroys itself.

BSA: summon (“call for, send”): The sword comes at God’s command, as though it were a servant He sends.

See also: Judges 7:22; 2 Chronicles 20:23.

Ezekiel 38:22

God adds plague, bloodshed, flooding rain, hailstones, fire and sulfur. These recall the judgment on Sodom and the plagues of Egypt. Gog and the many nations with him fall under God’s judgment, not Israel’s strength.

BSA: torrents (“an overflowing shower, abundant rain”): The rain pours down in flood, adding to the chaos of the battlefield.

See also: Genesis 19:24; Exodus 9:23.

Ezekiel 38:23

The chapter ends with its purpose. God will magnify and sanctify Himself and make Himself known in front of many nations. They will see that the LORD is who He says He is. The final word is God’s glory, not the enemy’s defeat alone.

BSA: sanctify (“set myself apart as holy”): God shows that He alone is holy and above every power. reveal (“make myself known”): God uses the event to make Himself known to all the nations.

See also: Psalm 46:10.