Commentary - Ezekiel 38:10-13

Bird's-eye view

In Ezekiel 38, we are introduced to one of the great villains of prophetic history, Gog of Magog. The dispensationalists have had a field day with this, identifying Gog with Russia and looking for a massive, end-times invasion of the modern state of Israel. But this is to misread the genre and flatten the Bible's own typological method. As the prophets often do, Ezekiel is painting a picture of the world's final, climactic rebellion against God and His people. This is not a specific geopolitical prediction for our day, but rather a paradigm of how God's enemies will always behave. God Himself orchestrates this final confrontation, not to destroy His people, but to sanctify His own great name before the nations. This passage, verses 10-13, gives us a glimpse into the very heart of that rebellion, showing us the arrogant assumptions and greedy motivations that drive the world's hatred of the Church.

The key to understanding this passage is to see that the "Israel" described here is not a nation with impressive tank battalions and a formidable air force. This is a people dwelling in "unwalled villages," living "quietly" and "securely." This is a picture of the Christian Church, whose security is not in carnal weapons but in the promises of God. The world looks at this kind of security and sees only vulnerability, an easy target for plunder. But what the world sees as weakness, God declares to be the occasion for the display of His ultimate strength.

Outline

Context In Ezekiel

Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 form a literary climax to the section of prophecies against the foreign nations (chapters 25-32) and the subsequent prophecies of Israel's restoration (chapters 33-37). After God has judged the nations surrounding Israel, and after He has promised to breathe new life into the dry bones of His own people, He now presents a final, ultimate antagonist: Gog. This is not just another historical enemy like Egypt or Tyre. Gog represents the sum total of worldly opposition to God's kingdom. The Lord's purpose in this great confrontation is stated repeatedly: "that the nations may know me" (38:23). God is not reacting to Gog's plan; He is authoring the entire event to put His own glory on display for the whole world to see. This section serves as a capstone, demonstrating that the restored people of God will face opposition, but that God's sovereignty will always have the final word.

Key Issues

Verse-by-Verse Commentary

Verse 10: ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “It will be in that day, that thoughts will come into your heart, and you will devise an evil plan,

The whole affair begins with the authoritative declaration, "Thus says Lord Yahweh." We must not miss this. The plan that is about to be described is an evil one, devised in the heart of a wicked ruler, and yet it unfolds under the absolute decree of the sovereign God. God is not being taken by surprise here. Earlier in the chapter, God says He will put hooks in Gog's jaws and bring him forth (38:4). So when we read that "thoughts will come into your heart," we must understand this in that context. The ultimate source of this entire stratagem is God Himself. He is baiting the hook. He is setting the stage. Wicked men act according to their own sinful desires, and they are fully culpable for the evil they devise. But in the mystery of providence, their free and wicked choices are the very means by which God accomplishes His own righteous purposes. Gog thinks this is his brilliant idea, his grand scheme. But he is a puppet, and the Lord Yahweh is pulling the strings. This is a profound comfort to the people of God. The most menacing threats against the Church do not arise outside of our Father's control.

Verse 11: and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who dwell quietly, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates,

Here is Gog's assessment of the target, and it reveals the core of the world's misunderstanding of the people of God. He sees a "land of unwalled villages." In the ancient world, a city without walls was a city asking to be conquered. It was the height of vulnerability. Gog looks at God's people and sees no visible, carnal defenses. He sees a people who "dwell quietly" and "live securely." This is not the quietness of apathy or the security of naivete. This is the deep peace and settled confidence of those whose trust is in the living God. The Church's ultimate defense is not a standing army or a political action committee, but the protecting presence of her Lord. But the worldly mind, the mind of Gog, cannot process this. It looks for walls, bars, and gates. Finding none, it concludes that the people are weak, ripe for the picking. This is precisely the world's view of the Church. They see our refusal to adopt their methods of power, coercion, and violence as a sign of weakness. They mock our trust in a crucified Savior. And so Gog says, "I will go up." It is an arrogant, self-confident declaration, based on a complete misreading of the situation. He sees an absence of walls, but is blind to the presence of the living God who is a wall of fire around His people.

Verse 12: to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places, which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and property, who live at the center of the world.’

This verse lays bare the motivation, and it is as old as sin itself: greed. The goal is simple and brutish: "to capture spoil and to seize plunder." The enemies of God are not driven by high ideals; they are driven by rapacious avarice. They see the blessings of God upon His people and they want it for themselves. Notice the description of the people. They are inhabiting "waste places, which are now inhabited." This is a beautiful picture of redemption. The gospel goes into the waste places of human hearts and fallen cultures and brings life, order, and fruitfulness. And what is the world's response to this miraculous restoration? Envy. They want to turn their hand against it and reduce it to waste again. The people are described as "gathered from the nations," which points beyond ethnic Israel to the reality of the new covenant Church, gathered from every tribe and tongue. They have "acquired cattle and property," meaning God has blessed their faithfulness with substance. And they "live at the center of the world." This is not a claim about geography, but theology. Wherever the people of God are, that is the navel of the earth, the center of God's purposes. The world may see them as marginal and insignificant, but in God's economy, the Church is the central project of human history. And it is this spiritual centrality and God-given prosperity that attracts the world's hostile, plundering attention.

Verse 13: Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your assembly to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?’ ” ’

Gog is not alone in his greedy assessment. Here we see the cheerleading section, the fellow travelers who are too cowardly to join the invasion but are eager to profit from it. Sheba and Dedan (in Arabia) and the merchants of Tarshish (likely in the far west, Spain perhaps) represent the global commercial interests. They are the world's capitalists and entrepreneurs, and their only question is about the bottom line. Their breathless series of questions all amount to the same thing: "Is there going to be a big payday?" They are called "young lions," eager for the kill, ready to feast on the carcass. They are not concerned with justice, or righteousness, or truth. Their only god is Mammon. This is a perpetual reality. When the Church is under attack, there will always be those standing on the sidelines, not necessarily throwing the stones, but calculating how they can benefit from the Church's demise. They see the entire conflict through a lens of pure materialism. The spiritual battle is invisible to them. All they see is silver, gold, cattle, and goods. Their excited questions reveal the utter bankruptcy of their worldview. They are cheering on a bully because they hope to get a share of the lunch money.

Application

First, we must settle it in our hearts that God is absolutely sovereign over the wicked intentions of men. The "evil plan" of Gog comes to fruition only because the Lord Yahweh has decreed it. This means we are never victims of blind chance or autonomous evil. The hatred of the world against the Church is on a leash, and our God holds that leash. This should fill us with a profound and settled peace, even when the headlines are screaming.

Second, we must embrace our identity as a people of "unwalled villages." The Church's security is not in political power, cultural cachet, or financial strength. Our security is the Lord Himself. When we begin to trust in walls, bars, and gates, we are adopting the mindset of Gog. We are called to live securely in Christ, which will always look like indefensible foolishness to the world. Our quiet confidence in God is our greatest witness and our truest defense.

Finally, we must recognize the world's motivation for what it is: a lust for spoil. The world hates the blessings of God on His people and wants to expropriate them. We should not be surprised when our fruitfulness provokes envy, or when our spiritual prosperity is met with hostility. And we must be on guard against the spirit of the "merchants of Tarshish" in our own hearts, the temptation to view God's kingdom through a lens of materialistic gain. The great spoil we seek is not silver and gold, but the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Let the world scheme to capture its plunder; we know that in Christ, we have already inherited all things.