PROCLAMATIONS AGAINST FOUR NATIONS THAT REJOICED FOR THE CALAMITY OF ISRAEL If Israel in the Old Testament referred to the people of God, the nations that opposed her in the old age, were symbols of evil and sin. Thus, if God proclaimed the chastisement of His people in long statements and in various ways, yet now He comes to proclaim His destruction of evil through those symbols. He started by the four enemies, whose animosity to the people of Israel goes back to the time prior to the establishment of the kingdom of Israel; and grew along the years. These four enemies are: Amon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia. 1- Proclamation against Amon 1-7. 2- Proclamation against Moab 8-11. 3- Proclamation against Edom 12-14. 4- Proclamation against Philistia 15-17. 1- PROCLAMATION AGAINST AMON The Amonites were descendants of ‘Ben- Ammi1. They were fierce, and used to offer their children as sacrifices to the god Molech (1 Kings 11:5-33); and worshipped Chemosh, the leading deity of the Moabites in the days of ‘Jephthah’ (Judges 11:24). They joined forces with the Moabites against the children of Israel; That is why God proclaimed that no one of them shall join the congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth generation (Deut 23:3). They were in continuous war against Israel (1 Sam 11:1-10; 2 Sam 12:26-31; 2 Chr 20:1; 2 Kings 24:2). And when Judah fell into the Babylonian captivation, the king of Babylon set ‘Gedaliah’ in Jerusalem, a governor in his name; to gather together the remnants of the Jews. Baalis king of the Amonites sent Ishmael son of Nathaniah and killed Gedaliah to scatter the Jews (Jer 40, 41). They used all the time, to reproach the Jews in their captivity; which led the prophet Jeremiah to threaten them with devastation (Jer 49:1-6); so did Amos (2:13-15), and Zephaniah (2:8, 11). They opposed Nehemiah as he tried to build the wall of Jerusalem after the captivity (Neh 4:3, 7). Finally the Jews fought them in the days of the Maccabees; then their history dwindled gradually in the days of the Greeks and the Romans. The city of Amman was built over the remains of their capital ‘Rabbah’ of the Amonites. God commanded the prophet Ezekiel to set his face against the Amonites and prophesy against them (Ez 25:2); as though representing God, “The face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (Ps 34:16). If the Lord has proclaimed His chastisements against Israel; that was for the sake of their repentance. But, as far as the Amonites are concerned, who represent the sin of pride, God set His face against them, to wipe them out for good. The Amonites represented the sin of pride, which is the first of iniquities; saying: “Because you said ‘Aha’ against My sanctuary... Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel” (Ez 1 BEN-AM'MI (ben-am'i; "son of my kindred"). A son of Lot by his youngest daughter. He was the progenitor of the Ammonites (Gen 19:38), twentieth century B.C. (From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois.) 7 25:3, 6). She haughtily stood to boast against the sanctuary of the Lord; clapping her hands, stamping her feet, and rejoicing in heart for what befell Jerusalem; things that Ezekiel has not seen by his own eyes, having been in the land of captivity; yet was revealed by the Lord to him. For that the Lord delivered her as a possession to the men of the east (Ez 25:4), to use all her possibilities, and to turn her capital ‘Rabbah,’ into a stable for camels, and a resting place for the flocks of sheep (Ez 25:5). In their pride they rejoiced for the desolation and tribulation of Judah; unaware that five years later, Nebuchadnezzar will return to attack her, and destroy her capital, the beautiful city ‘Rabbah1;’ and for the Aramaean and the Arab tribes, to use as a stable for camels, and a resting place for the flocks of sheep. When man exalts himself with pride, he falls, his splendor turns into desolation; and his heart becomes a pastureland for the beasts. “The herds shall lie down in her midst, every beast of the nation” (Zeph 2 :14). Man turns from his delicate humanity, with which God created him, according to His image and likeness, to a wild irrational animal. That is pride that drove king Nebuchadnezzar from men, made his dwelling with the beasts of the field, and let him eat grass like oxen (Dan 4:25). That is why the Fathers of the Church used to care very much for enjoying the spirit of humility, and for escaping from pride. One of them said: [Do not dwell in a place with a name; and do not sit with someone with a great name2.] And St. Basil the Great says: [If you want to be known to God, be sure to be unknown to men3.] And Abbot Timothy says: [If men dignify you, you should become afraid... Escape from dignity, to keep your boat from sinking4.] 2- PROCLAMATION AGAINST MOAB If the Amonites were the descendants of ‘Ben Aami’ the son of Lot from his younger daughter; Moab, on the other hand, was his son from his older daughter; so named because his mother conceived him from her father Lot, while he was totally drunk; and called ‘Moab;’ namely, “from the father.” That is why St. Jerome considered Moab to refer to the devil, and to represent those who are away from God their Father, those who do not mind about their Father5. The descendants of Moab extended over east of the Sea of Lot, from where they expelled the ‘Emims;6’ and worshipped the god ‘Chemosh.’ Their relationship with the Hebrews was sometimes good; the latter have been commanded by God not to harass them, nor to take any of their possessions (Deut 2:9). But most of the time, it was otherwise. In the time of the Judges, the Moabites submitted the Hebrews and made them pay taxes, until Ehud killed Eglin the king of Moab (Judges 3:12-30). ‘Ruth,’ the girl who loved and protected her mother-in- law, was a Moabite. 1 Meaning greatness of size or numbers. The chief city of the Ammonites. Known as Rabbah of the people of Ammon (Deut 3:11; 2 Sam 12:26). Rabbah is the only Ammonite city mentioned in the Bible. It was at the headwaters of the Jabbok River, 37 kilometers (23 miles) east of the Jordan. Today it is one of the most important Arab cities of the Middle East-Amman, Jordan.(Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publisher) . 2 بستان الرهبان ، طبعة 1968 ، ص 338 . 3 المرجع السابق ، ص 341 . 4 المرجع السابق ص 341 5 On Ps., hom 34. 6 A giant war-like race, which occupied the region E. of the Dead Sea, in which the Moabites succeeded them (Gen 14:5; Deut 2:10). Perhaps related to "Amu" the Egyptian word in the hieroglyphics for nomadic Shemites. The Hebrew means "terrible ones." The Rephaim were on the N.E. of Jordan, the Zuzim next, then the Emim, then the Horim on the S.E.; all gigantic .(Fausset’s Bible Dictionary) 8 King Saul fought the Moabites; and when David fled from his face, he placed his parents under their protection (1 Sam 22:3, 4); But when he became a king, “he forced them down to the ground” (2 Sam 8:2), and made them his servants. After the death of Solomon, Moab became a part of the Northern Kingdom; and in the reign of king Jehoshaphat, they attacked Judea, but were defeated before it (2 Kings 3). After that Moab was sometimes independent and sometimes not; and in the days of king Jehoiakim, the Moabites joined forces with the Chaldeans against Judah (2 Kings 24:2). In his prophecy against Moab, Ezekiel connected it to ‘Seir’ (Ezl 25:8), the center of the Edomites, on account of their mutual evil. ‘Seir,’ a Hebrew word meaning “with dense hair,” was given to the land taken by Esau or ‘Edom’ and his descendants (Gen 32:3). The Mountain of Seir, in the land of Judah (Jos 15:10) is a mountainous province on the eastern side of the Arabian wilderness. If the nation of the Amonites refers to the sin of pride; that of Moab refers to the ‘lack of discernment;’ having thought that there is no difference between the living God and the pagan gods; and assumed, when Judah was destroyed and Jerusalem was devastated, that there will be no more of them: “The house of Judas is like all the nations” (Ez 25:8). That is why God chastened them by clearing the territory of Moab of the fortified cities on its frontier, the glory of the country: Beth Jeshimoth1, Baal Meon2, and Kirjathaim3, who is the source of their strength; let the Chaldeans destroy them, and left them desolate to be used by the people of the east for their beasts, the way they did to the Amonites. If the Amonites lost their life because of their pride; so will the Moabites lose theirs, because of their lack of discernment or discrimination. And as St. Ephraim the Syrian says that without mud a tower would not be built; and [with no knowledge virtue would not be set4.] 3- PROCLAMATION AGAINST EDOM ‘Edom’ means “red” or “Bloody, blood- shedder.” It also means “from the earth5.” That is why the Edomites refer to blood shedding or to the sin of oppression. ‘Edom’ is the title of Esau, who was fierce in his animosity to his brother Jacob. The region dwelt by Esau has been named after Edom; namely the land of ‘Seir’ (Gen 32:3); a rough mountainous region, taken up by Esau and his descendants after driving out the Horites (Deut 2:12). They did not allow the Hebrews to pass through their land after the later came out of the land of Egypt (Num 20:14-41); although they were considered as their brothers (Deut 23:7, 8). When King David invaded Edom, and set a garrison there (Num 24:18), Hadad, one of its princes, fled to the land of Egypt, and became an adversary to king Solomon (1 Kings 11:14-22). In the days of Jehoshaphat, the Edomites, the Amonites, and the Moabites invaded Judah; then turned against one 1 "House or place of deserts"). A town in Moab, not far E of the mouth of the Jordan and just N of the Dead Sea (Num 33:49; Josh 12:3; 13:20; Ezek 25:9). Belonging to Sihon, king of the Amorites (Josh 12:3). It is to be identified with Tell el Azeima. (The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois.) 2 Means “owner of an habitation.” St. Jerome describes it as a very large village, nine miles from Heshbon. 3 A town of Reuben. Belonged first to the Emim (Gen 14:5 Shaveh Kiriathaim. “the plain of Kiriathaim,” or of the two cities) whom the Moabites dispossessed before the exodus (Deut 2:10-11). Moab lost and recovered Kiriathaim when the trans-jordanic tribes were carried captive (Jer 48:1,23; Ezek 25:9). . 4 بستان الرهبان، ص 441 5 St. Jerome: On Ps., hom. 15:34. 9 another (2 Chr 20:1, 22-23). The Edomites helped Israel and Judah in their war against Mesha king of Moab (2 Kings 3:4-27); but rebelled in the days of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, who defeated but did not submit them (2 Kings 8:20; 1 Chr 21:8-10). Amazia king of Judah put to death 10,000 of the Edomites, having them thrown from over a cliff in the Valley of Salt, and took over Sela1 their capital (2 Kings 14:7, 2; 2 Chr 25:11, 12). The Edomites invaded the tribe of Judah; and took captives of them in the days of Ahaz, and rejoiced when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem (Ps 137:7). Then they took it over up, to Hebron. The prophet prophesied against it because of its fierce animosity toward Israel; and prophesied its mergence among the kingdom of God (Jer 49:7-22; Lam 4:21, 22; Joel 3:19). In the fifth century B.C., the Nabataeans drove them out from the Mount of Seir. And in the second century B.C. Judah the Maccabee took over Hebron and other cities, that were previously taken over by the Edomites. John Hercalos forced the Edomites to undergo circumcision, and brought them over into the congregation of the Jews2. Herod the Great has been an Edomite. If Edom refers to the sin of oppression and blood shedding, it faced the same destiny. Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it” (Ezl 25:13). Whoever kills by the sword, by the sword he will be killed; He made it desolate from Teman in the north to Dedan in the south; all fell by the sword. 4- PROCLAMATION AGAINST PHILISTIA The Philistines in the Old Testament represented fierce animosity against the people of God. St. Jerome interprets their name to mean “death as a result of a poisonous dose.” That is why, according to him, they represented those who drink from the cup of seduction of the devil, to fall on the spot3. They, like the Edomites, acted in revenge against Judah; and might have been provoked by them to do that. Anyhow, Nebuchadnezzar defeated them, shortly after the fall of Jerusalem. The Cherethites he cut off (Ez 25:16), might have been a Philistine congregation who came from the Island of Crete during the first quarter of the twelfth century B.C. The animosity between the Hebrews and the Philistines dates back to the entrance of the former into the Promised Land; and their taking over some of their cities. After the death of Joshua (Judges 1:18) the Philistines took back their cities, and the Hebrews fell into their hands (Judges 10:6, 7), then they were later delivered. The Philistines then came back to humiliate the Hebrews for 40 years, before Samson delivered them (Judges 14-16). In the days of the prophet Samuel, the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant of God (1 Sam 4-6); to be defeated by king David after 20 years. In the days of king Saul they fought the Hebrews; and David twice took refuge in their land; yet when he reigned he fought them. After the death of David, we no longer heard much of them. 1 It means “rock;” Judg 1:36; cf. Obad 3.). Probably the capital city of the Edomites, later known as Petra. It took its name from its situation and the mode in which it was built, since it was erected in a valley surrounded by rocks and in such a manner that the houses were partly hewn in the natural rock. 2 Josephus: Antiq. lib 13, chap 17. 3 On Ps., homily 15. 10 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF E ZEKIEL 25 DEVASTATE, O GOD, THE CORRUPTION OF THE GENTILES IN ME I know the extent of Your love for mankind; for all nations! What Your prophets proclaimed, implied the devastation of evil in me! Who are the Amonites, but the pride that gets my soul down?! And who are the Moabites, but my rejection of Your fatherhood, and referring myself to another father?! And who are the Edomites, but my violent and bloodthirsty nature?! And who are the ancient Philistines, but my inner confusion?! Devastate, O Lord my corruption, To be sanctified for you! Devastate my pride, To enjoy Your humility! Get me back to Your Fatherhood, To forsake that of the devil! Renew my stony heart, To have compassion toward everyone! Uproot every confusion in me, To harbor Your everlasting peace!
Welcome