Connect Ezekiel 38:12 with God's promises to Abraham regarding Israel's inheritance. The Setting in Ezekiel 38 Ezekiel 38 describes a massive northern coalition plotting to invade Israel in the latter days. Verse 12 gives the motive: “to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the desolate places now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who live at the center of the land.” (Ezekiel 38:12) Key Details in Ezekiel 38:12 • Desolate places are now inhabited • The people are “gathered from the nations” • They have become prosperous (“livestock and goods”) • They live “at the center of the land” (literally, “navel of the earth”) • An enemy covets their wealth and seeks to dispossess them God’s Covenant With Abraham Genesis 12:7 – “To your offspring I will give this land.” Genesis 13:14-15 – “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.” Genesis 15:18 – “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land….’” Genesis 17:8 – “I will give…the land of your sojourn…as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.” The Promises Summarized • The land of Canaan is granted to Abraham’s descendants perpetually • The possession is “forever” and “eternal” • God Himself guarantees the covenant Parallels Between Ezekiel 38:12 and the Abrahamic Promises 1. Land Permanence – Abraham: “eternal possession” (Genesis 17:8) – Ezekiel: Israel is firmly re-established in its own land (“center of the land”) despite previous desolation. 2. National Restoration – Abraham: Seed will inherit after sojourn (Genesis 15:13-16) – Ezekiel: People “gathered from the nations” return from exile, matching the repeated promise of regathering (cf. Deuteronomy 30:3-5; Isaiah 11:11-12). 3. Prosperity in the Land – Abraham: Blessing includes material abundance (Genesis 13:2; 24:35) – Ezekiel: Returned nation has “livestock and goods,” provoking the invader’s greed. 4. Divine Ownership & Protection – Abraham: “I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8) – Ezekiel: Though enemies plan invasion, God rises to defend His covenant people (38:18-23), vindicating His ownership. Implications • The scene in Ezekiel 38 presumes the literal fulfillment of Abraham’s covenant: Israel back in the land, thriving. • The attempted theft of Israel’s inheritance highlights how Satanic opposition perpetually challenges God’s promises yet cannot nullify them (cf. Psalm 105:8-11). • God’s dramatic deliverance in Ezekiel 38-39 demonstrates His unchanging faithfulness to what He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Takeaway Ezekiel 38:12 showcases the very conditions the Abrahamic Covenant envisioned—Israel restored to its God-given land and blessed—while also revealing that God Himself will protect those promises when hostile powers attempt to overturn them. |
    |