• - The Bünting cloverleaf map (1581). | Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Teachings

The Bible Speaks: Ezekiel 38:10-12

Cathy Coldicutt - 24 June 2024

This is what the Lord God says: “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, who live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, to capture spoils and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the ruins that are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who live at the center of the world.’”
Ezekiel 38:10-12

Ezekiel’s prophecy mentions the names ‘Gog and Magog’ here. A Jewish explanation points to their numerical value of 70 and then tells us that the attack on Israel involves the whole world. It is remarkable that the Hebrew literally says that God’s people live on the “navel of the earth”. This is more than just a geographical location. The navel is the connection to life. This is the tragedy: In turning away from the Jewish people, the world turns against God Himself.

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