“And say unto the Ammonites , Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;”
My Notes
What Does Ezekiel 25:3 Mean?
"And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity." God judges Ammon for one specific sin: gloating. They said "Aha" — a single syllable of schadenfreude — when Jerusalem's temple was profaned, when Israel's land was desolated, when Judah went into exile. They celebrated God's people's suffering. And God heard the celebration and pronounced judgment for it.
The sin isn't military aggression. Ammon didn't attack Jerusalem. They just enjoyed watching it fall. And God treats the enjoyment of his people's suffering as a sin worthy of its own prophetic oracle and its own judgment.
Reflection Questions
- 1.When have you said 'aha' — even internally — at the suffering of God's people?
- 2.How does God's sensitivity to schadenfreude challenge the way you respond to others' failures?
- 3.What does it mean that gloating over God's people's suffering is treated as a sin worthy of its own oracle?
- 4.Where do you need to replace schadenfreude with grief for what's happening to a community you might not agree with?
Devotional
Aha. One syllable. Ammon's entire crime against God compressed into a single expression of satisfaction at watching Jerusalem fall. And for that one syllable, God pronounces judgment.
They didn't attack Jerusalem. They didn't join Babylon's army. They didn't lay siege or carry away captives. They just watched. And smiled. And said: Aha. Serves them right. Good to see the high and mighty temple desecrated. Good to see the chosen people in chains. Aha.
God's response is a full prophetic oracle: seven verses of judgment (25:1-7) for one expression of gloating. The disproportion tells you something about God's sensitivity to how people treat his suffering people. You can be punished for enjoying someone else's punishment. The schadenfreude that feels private and harmless is audible in heaven.
Aha against my sanctuary. God calls it his. The temple Ammon gloated over belongs to God. The land Ammon celebrated being desolated is God's land. The people Ammon enjoyed watching go captive are God's people. When you gloat over the suffering of what belongs to God, you're gloating in God's face.
This applies directly to how you respond to the failures of God's people. When a church collapses. When a ministry implodes. When a believer falls spectacularly. The "aha" that rises in your throat — the satisfaction at watching the religious fail — is the same sound Ammon made. And God heard it then. He hears it now.
The person who enjoys watching God's people suffer has a prophetic oracle aimed at them. Not because God's people are exempt from consequences. Because gloating over someone else's judgment puts you in line for your own.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And say unto the Ammonites,.... Either to their ambassadors at Babylon, or merchants there; or by letters to them, the…
It was a distinct part of scriptural prophecy to address pagan nations. In Isaiah Isa. 13–19, Jeremiah Jer. 46–51, and…
Here, I. The prophet is ordered to address himself to the Ammonites, in the name of the Lord Jehovah the God of Israel,…
when it was desolate i.e. desolated. For the demeanour of the nations on the destruction of Jerusalem, cf. Eze 21:28;…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture