The God Who Is Against: Judgment on Sidon Text: Ezekiel 28:20-24
Introduction: The Divine Antithesis
We live in a soft and sentimental age, an age that wants a God who is for everyone and everything, no questions asked. Our culture desires a divine grandfather in the sky, a celestial therapist whose only job is to affirm our choices, whatever they may be. The modern conception of God is that He is for us, meaning for our self-esteem, for our personal fulfillment, for our agenda. But the God of the Bible is not a cosmic participation trophy. He is the holy, sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, and as such, He is a God of stark and glorious antithesis. He is for holiness, which means He is against sin. He is for His people, which means He is against their enemies. He is for His own glory, which means He is against all that which would seek to usurp it.
This is the great offense of the biblical worldview. It draws lines. It makes distinctions. It declares, with absolute authority, "this is righteous, and that is wicked." And nowhere is this clearer than in the prophetic judgments against the nations. These are not angry, divine temper tantrums. They are the methodical, righteous, and necessary dismantling of all rival kingdoms, all counterfeit claims to glory. Ezekiel has just finished a magnificent and detailed prophecy against Tyre, a center of commercial pride and self-deifying arrogance. Now, the prophetic lens shifts slightly, just up the coast, to its sister city, Sidon.
Sidon was an ancient Phoenician port city, a hotbed of idolatry, a center for the worship of Baal and Astarte. It was a place whose influence had for centuries seeped into Israel, corrupting her worship and seducing her people. Think of Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Sidon, who brought her Baal worship with her and set it up as a state religion in Israel. Sidon was not some distant, irrelevant bystander. It was a corrupting influence, a spiritual and moral pollutant on Israel's border. And so, God sets His face against her. We must understand that God's judgments in history are never arbitrary. They are a public education. They are designed to teach the world a lesson it desperately needs to learn, a lesson about who God is. And the central theme of that lesson is found in the refrain that echoes through this passage: "Then they will know that I am Yahweh."
The Text
And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, "Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, prophesy against her and say, 'Thus says Lord Yahweh, "Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, And I will be glorified in your midst. Then they will know that I am Yahweh when I execute judgments in her, And I will manifest My holiness in her. For I will send pestilence to her And blood to her streets, And the wounded will fall in her midst By the sword upon her on every side; Then they will know that I am Yahweh. And there will be no more for the house of Israel a prickling brier or a painful thorn from any round about them who scorned them; then they will know that I am Lord Yahweh."'
(Ezekiel 28:20-24 LSB)
The Divine Declaration (v. 20-22a)
The prophecy begins with a divine command and a terrifying declaration.
"And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 'Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, prophesy against her and say, Thus says Lord Yahweh, Behold, I am against you, O Sidon...'" (Ezekiel 28:20-22a)
The phrase "set your face toward" signifies a determined, unyielding, and hostile intention. This is not a casual glance. This is the fixed gaze of a judge who has heard all the evidence and is now preparing to pronounce the sentence. God is directing His holy opposition toward this city. And the declaration itself is one of the most fearsome statements in all of Scripture: "Behold, I am against you."
If God is for us, who can be against us? That is the great comfort of the believer. But the terrifying corollary is this: if God is against you, who can possibly be for you? To have the Creator of the universe, the one who spoke galaxies into existence, set Himself as your adversary is the definition of ultimate and certain ruin. This is not a contest between equals. This is the potter declaring his intention to smash a flawed and rebellious pot. Sidon's sin was not just that they worshipped false gods; it was that in doing so, they set themselves against the true God. All idolatry is adversarial. It is an attempt to set up a rival government in God's world. And God will not tolerate rivals.
Notice the authority: "Thus says Lord Yahweh." Ezekiel is not giving his political opinion. He is not offering a geopolitical analysis. He is a herald, speaking the words of the King. This is a divine court summons and a declaration of war, all in one.
The Purpose of Judgment (v. 22b)
God immediately states the purpose of His opposition. This is not about mere destruction; it is about revelation. It is about glory.
"And I will be glorified in your midst. Then they will know that I am Yahweh when I execute judgments in her, And I will manifest My holiness in her." (Ezekiel 28:22b)
This is the key to understanding all of God's judgments. God is always after one thing: His own glory. He will be glorified. This is not an option. The only question is whether a person or a nation will glorify Him willingly, through worship and obedience, or unwillingly, as a monument to His righteous wrath. Sidon had refused to glorify God through worship, so God would glorify Himself through her destruction.
How does judgment glorify God? First, it reveals His holiness. Holiness means to be set apart, distinct, other. Sidon was a cesspool of pagan syncretism, blurring every line, worshipping every foul thing. In judging her, God draws a stark line in the sand. He demonstrates that He is not like the Baals and Astartes. He is utterly separate from sin, and He will not tolerate it. His judgment is a manifestation of His holy character. It shows the world what He is like. He is a God who hates evil and will not let it stand forever.
Second, it reveals His identity. "Then they will know that I am Yahweh." The name Yahweh is the covenant name of God, the great "I AM." The gods of Sidon were nothing, wood and stone, backed by demonic powers. They were finite, created, and ultimately powerless. When God executes judgment, He demonstrates that He alone is the self-existent one, the sovereign ruler of history. He is the one who does what He says He will do. The fall of Sidon would be a history lesson, written in blood and fire, teaching the watching nations that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is the only true God.
The Means of Judgment (v. 23)
The method of this education will be severe and total. God's judgment is not a slap on the wrist.
"For I will send pestilence to her And blood to her streets, And the wounded will fall in her midst By the sword upon her on every side; Then they will know that I am Yahweh." (Ezekiel 28:23)
God is sovereign over every means of judgment. Pestilence, disease, is His to send. The sword of foreign armies is His instrument. He speaks of blood in the streets and the wounded falling "on every side." This depicts a complete, inescapable catastrophe. There will be no exit, no flank to escape through, no corner of the city left untouched. This is total collapse.
This is a hard word for us. We want to believe that judgment is something that can be managed or mitigated. But when God sets His face against a people, the ruin is comprehensive. This is what happens when a culture or a nation makes a final break with reality, with the law of God. The consequences are not partial; the entire structure comes down.
And again, the refrain: "Then they will know that I am Yahweh." The severity of the judgment is directly proportional to the lesson being taught. A small lesson can be taught with a gentle rebuke. A foundational lesson about the very nature of God and the universe sometimes requires a cataclysm. The smoking ruins of Sidon would be a testament, a sermon in rubble, to the reality and power of the God they had scorned.
The Result for God's People (v. 24)
The final verse shifts the focus from the pagan nation being judged to the covenant people of God. The judgment of Sidon is not an isolated event; it has a direct and beneficial consequence for Israel.
"And there will be no more for the house of Israel a prickling brier or a painful thorn from any round about them who scorned them; then they will know that I am Lord Yahweh." (Ezekiel 28:24)
This is agricultural language. Israel was meant to be a fruitful vine, a cultivated garden for God. But they were surrounded by thorns and briers, pagan nations like Sidon that constantly pricked them, tore at them, and infected them with their idolatrous thorns. These nations were a constant source of pain, temptation, and scorn.
God's judgment on the nations is an act of divine horticulture. He is weeding His garden. He is clearing the land. By judging and removing the corrupting influences, He is making a safe place for His own people to flourish. The security of the church is directly related to the judgment of the world. When God brings down the proud and the idolatrous, He is clearing a space for His kingdom to grow. This is why we are taught to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." That prayer is necessarily a prayer for the removal of all rival kingdoms.
And notice, for the third time, the great purpose is revealed: "then they will know that I am Lord Yahweh." But this time, the "they" includes Israel. When God's people see Him act decisively on their behalf, defending them, removing their enemies, and vindicating His own name, their own faith and understanding are deepened. They see His covenant faithfulness in action. They learn not just that He is Yahweh the Judge, but that He is Lord Yahweh, their sovereign Master and protector. They learn that His opposition to their enemies is the flip side of His love for them.
Conclusion: Knowing Yahweh Today
This prophecy is not just a historical record of what happened to an ancient seaport. It is a revelation of the character of God, which does not change. God is still against all that sets itself up against Him. He is still glorified in judgment. His holiness is still manifested when He brings down the proud.
We live in our own Sidon. The West is awash in idolatry, sexual rebellion, and a proud scorn for the things of God. It is a prickling brier to the faithful church. And we see the pestilence and the blood in the streets, not necessarily from a foreign sword, but from the internal rot of our own making. Our sins are themselves judgments. When God gives a culture over to its lusts, He is already judging it.
But the central lesson remains. All of this is so that the world, and the church, will know that He is Yahweh. The ultimate judgment against all the Sidons of the world took place at the cross. There, God set His face against His own Son, who bore our sin. The full measure of His wrath against sin was poured out. Pestilence, blood, and the sword of divine justice fell upon Him. Why? So that God could be glorified. So that His holiness could be manifested. So that He could be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
At the cross, God dealt with the ultimate "painful thorn," which is our sin. He removed it. And in the resurrection, He demonstrated that He is Yahweh, the Lord over life and death. For those who are in Christ, the phrase "I am against you" will never be spoken. Instead, we hear the glorious words, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Therefore, we can look at the chaos of our world, the judgments that are already falling and those that are yet to come, and not lose heart. Because we know the purpose. It is all for this: that every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It is so that all the world, willingly or unwillingly, will finally know that He is Yahweh.