Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 38:12

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 38:12. To take a spoil - and a prey — When Antiochus took Jerusalem he gave the pillage of it to his soldiers, and spoiled the temple of its riches, which were immense. See Joseph. WAR, B. i. c. 1.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Invasion by the armies of Gog (38:1-23)

To the Jews of Ezekiel’s day, the nations referred to here would represent the most distant regions of the world - ‘the four corners of the earth’. They are led by a man called Gog, who lives to the north in the land of Magog and who is ruler of the joint kingdom of Meshech-Tubal (38:1-3). He will lead an attack on Israel and will be helped by other countries from the east (Persia), from the south (Cush and Put, meaning probably Ethiopia and Libya), and from the north (Gomer and Beth-togarmah). But because God is working in history, the attackers, not the people of God, are the ones who are doomed (4-6).
This combined army will launch its attack some time after the people of God are contentedly settled back in their land. God urges the enemies on in their preparations for battle, as he is going to use the occasion of the joint attack to destroy them all in one final great act of judgment (7-9; cf. v. 3-4).
Gog plans to take advantage of the peaceful circumstances in Palestine, where the nation Israel is no longer concerned with war. He will attack its defenceless cities and seize so much spoil that the greed of other nations will be aroused. They will then come and join with Gog, hoping to share the spoil (10-13).
After carefully laying his plans, Gog acts, but he does not realize that God is in control of events (14-16). God has been waiting for him, and now he deals with him (17-18). Through earthquakes, floods, fire, disease and bloodshed, God wipes out the forces of Gog (19-23).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: It shall come to pass in that day, that things shall come into thy mind, and thou shalt devise an evil device: and shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages, I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates; to take the spoil and to take the prey, to turn thy hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people that are gathered out of the nations, that have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth. Sheba, and Dealart, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take the spoil? hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great prey? Therefore, Son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; In that day when my people Israel dwelleth securely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: and thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes."

THE MOTIVATION FOR GOG'S ATTACK

At this point, we should inquire as to the reason why God desired that Satan through Gog and associates should come up against his people; and the reasons are clear enough as stated in this paragraph. God's people had allowed themselves to become defenseless. They were without walls, gates, bars, or any other means of protection. This has no reference whatever to earthly fortifications. What is meant is that the church has left off the whole armor of God, They have forsaken the holy doctrines of the Church of Christ; worldliness, licentiousness, drunkenness, and the works of the flesh are freely indulged by them. They no longer believe in a personal God; they do not accept the Holy Bible as God's Word; they have accepted a New Morality; they propose to be saved by Faith alone; and they have abandoned doing any work at all in the kingdom of God.

"I will go to them that are at rest" Is resting the work of God's church on earth? No! His people are not fighting the good fight of faith; they are not working in the vineyard of the Lord; they are not preaching the gospel to the whole creation; they have forgotten the admonition of the Lord who said, "Work for the night is coming when no man can work." On no! They are at rest!

"The spoil… silver, gold… cattle and goods… the prey… the great spoil" Notice the abundant use of this type of terminology in this paragraph. It is not hard to see what has aroused the cupidity, the avarice, and the jealous greed of the heathen. The so-called Christian world is the most affluent, the richest, wealthiest and most blessed of all the inhabited earth; but the Christians have lavished it all upon their own comforts, convenience, and luxurious preferences instead of evangelizing the world with it, as God commanded.

Thus, the three reasons why God announced in this prophecy that he would bring upon them Gog and Magog are: (1) they have forsaken God's Word which alone was their defense; (2) they are doing nothing for God, but merely resting in ease and luxury, and (3) they have grown wealthy and complacent. Anyone who is familiar with the religious picture in America today can hardly miss seeing this.

"That dwell in the middle of the earth" The literal Hebrew here has "the navel of the earth." The ancients thought that the middle part of the earth was naturally the best part of it. Not merely Israel, but other nations also claimed the same location for their land.

"Things shall come into thy mind" "We learn in Ezekiel 38:12-13 what those evil designs were."Ibid., p. 165. Gog would behold the defenseless church, their incomparable wealth, their idleness and complacency in God's service; and he proposed to go into the land (a metaphor for entering the Church), to rob and plunder it; and did he do it!

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 38

Now in chapter 38:

The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief ( Ezekiel 38:1-2 )

And the word translated chief is the word Rosh. And most Bible scholars say that the Rosh translated chief should be translated in modern English, Russia, for Rosh is a reference to the modern Russia, the word chief there. So,

the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal ( Ezekiel 38:2 ),

Meshech is the ancient name for Moscow, Tubal of Tobolsk, the Russian cities.

And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all of your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: [along with] Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; and all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all of his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all of his bands: and many people with thee ( Ezekiel 38:3-6 ).

So now the prophecy turns and is directed towards Magog, which is the ancient name for those people who lived in the area of the Caucasus and the mountains north of the Caucasus, which is the present day area of Russia, along with Meshech and Tubal, which people were the ancient Scythians that inhabited the area known as Russia today.

Along with Persia, which, of course, Russia, part of Russia is a part of the ancient Persia along with Iraq and Iran. Ethiopia and Libya, along with Gomer, which is Germany, but mainly eastern Germany and Poland. Along with Togarmah, which are your Balkan States: Turkey, and Yugoslavia, Romania.

Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all of your company that are assembled unto thee, and be a guard unto them. For after many days ( Ezekiel 38:7-8 )

Now here's the time of the prophecy.

After many days thou shalt be visited: in the [last] latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have always been waste: but is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them ( Ezekiel 38:8 ).

Now, God is predicting that when Israel is gathered back into the land, that there will come an invasion by these nations. Combining themselves together in a massive invasion of the land of Israel. Russia, eastern Europe, the Balkan States, Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Ethiopia.

Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shall be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shall think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages ( Ezekiel 38:9-11 );

Or into a land that really is not able to defend itself against my great power.

I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. [Now at the time of the invasion] Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all of the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, and to take away the cattle and the goods, and a great spoil? ( Ezekiel 38:11-13 )

Sheba and Dedan are Saudi Arabia. Tarshish is England. The young lions could conceivably be the United States, Canada, Australia. Are going to object to this invasion. Now the interesting thing to me is that Saudi Arabia is one of those that objects to the invasion of Russia. Big flack recently over the sale of these AWACS to Saudi Arabia. Israel sought hard to lobby against the sale of these radar-geared planes to Saudi Arabia. I really didn't get troubled or involved in the issue because knowing the scriptures I know that when the real showdown comes, Saudi Arabia will be an ally of sorts to Israel. So Israel really doesn't need to be worried or concerned about the AWAC sale to Saudi Arabia. And if they'd only read their own Bible they'd discover that. So that there will be an objection to this invasion by, first of all, Saudi Arabia, England, and the young lions thereof, which again could conceivably be the United States.

Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog ( Ezekiel 38:14 ),

That is the chief prince of Magog.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people Israel dwells safely, shalt thou not know it? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts ( Ezekiel 38:14-15 ),

Now take the map, look at Israel and go straight north from Jerusalem. And you find you come right on in to Russia and Moscow lies almost due north of Jerusalem. "Thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts,"

thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days [it's going to take place in the latter days], and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes ( Ezekiel 38:15-16 ).

Now let me say that there has nothing been taken place in history that can be related to these particular prophecies, so let no man tell you that these prophecies have already been fulfilled in some historic experience of the past. For there is nothing in history that can be fitted into these predictions. But the very fact that it says it's in the latter days when Israel has become a nation again and is dwelling in the land puts it in the days in which we presently live.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years, that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fish of the sea, the fowls of the heaven, the beasts of the field, and all of the creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother ( Ezekiel 38:17-21 ).

Very interesting prophecy. There will come an internal revolution in the Russian forces. Now we know that there's a lot of problems presently in some of the satellite countries of Russia. Poland, real problem; Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the prediction here is that part of the destruction will come from a civil war as men begin to turn their swords against their brothers. But then God said,

And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone ( Ezekiel 38:22 )

God has wiped out enemies of Israel in the past with these same types of weapon, raining upon the enemies of Israel the fire and brimstone from heaven. You remember Joshua at the battle at Ajalon where God rained down these rocks and fire from heaven upon their enemy.

Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD ( Ezekiel 38:23 ).

So a tremendous earthquake, a great shaking, civil war, or internal discord along with this heavy rain, hailstones, fire and brimstone, God will destroy this invading army. Will it involve atomic warfare? Will the United States be involved? This could only be speculation. We don't know. Could the fire and brimstone, the rain of fire and brimstone be atomic warfare? Possibly. Could it be that there will be an atomic exchange between Russia and the United States? Quite possibly. It could be that he is describing the effects of a nuclear holocaust. And it is quite possible that there will be a massive exchange of nuclear weapons between Russia and the United States. The Bible doesn't say that. That's only speculation as far as, yes, it is possible that that would take place.

I do believe that the rapture of the church is going to be taking place simultaneously with these events, as we will point out as we get into chapter 39. It would be very interesting indeed if there was a nuclear holocaust and the church was translated out of the earth during the time of the nuclear holocaust. They would surely be able to explain the disappearance of many people in a very natural way without causing, really, too much great alarm. Something to think about. The Bible doesn't say. It is only speculation and something to consider, something to think about. However it happens, by whatever means it takes place, these will be the events: a great shaking, even the mountains and the steep places being shaken, so tremendous avalanches, this heavy rain, great hailstones, the fire and the brimstone, plus the civil war. And thus, God will deal with this great invading army of Russia. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

At that time Gog would devise an evil plan against the Israelites. He would plan to invade the Israelites while they are at rest and plunder them. Israel would seem to be completely defenseless relying on her God to protect her and not fortifying herself. Israel has never in her past or present history enjoyed such an ideally peaceful situation. She would be living then at the center of the world as far as God’s purposes for the world are concerned (cf. Ezekiel 5:5; Deuteronomy 32:8), namely, the Promised Land.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The enemy’s intention 38:10-13

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

To take a spoil, and to take a prey,.... These are the words of Gog continued; suggesting that he should have no occasion to fight; should have nothing else to do but to seize upon the goods and plunder the substance of these people:

to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited: such as were before desolate, and had lain long so, but now peopled and cultivated; these he would attack and demolish, and make a spoil and prey of:

and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations; a description of the Jews, as before; Ezekiel 38:8

which have gotten cattle and goods; so that it should seem that Gog or the Turks will not immediately attack the Jews upon their possession of the land of Judea; but some time after, when they have settled in it, and have acquired much wealth and riches in cattle and goods, and then think to have a fine booty of them:

that dwell in the midst of the land; or, "the navel of the land" p; which may design Jerusalem, situated in the midst of the land of Israel, and so called the navel of it, as that is in the midst of the body; as Enna is said by Cicero to be the navel of Sicily: or, as Kimchi thinks, the land of Israel itself is meant; which is in the midst of the world, and so the navel of it; though the former seems best.

p על טבור הארץ επι τον ομφαλον της γης, Sept.; "in [vel] super umbilico terrae", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Starckius.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,   2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,   3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:   4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:   5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:   6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.   7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.   8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.   9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.   10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:   11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,   12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.   13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

      The critical expositors have enough to do here to enquire out Gog and Magog. We cannot pretend either to add to their observations or to determine their controversies. Gog seems to be the king and Magog the kingdom; so that Gog and Magog are like Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Some think they find them afar off, in Scythia, Tartary, and Russia. Others think they find them nearer the land of Israel, in Syria, and Asia the Less. Ezekiel is appointed to prophesy against Gog, and to tell him that God is against him,Ezekiel 38:2; Ezekiel 38:3. Note, God does not only see those that are now the enemies of his church and set himself against them, but he foresees those that will be so and lets them know by his word that he is against them too, and yet is pleased to make use of them to serve his own purposes, for the glory of his own name; surely their wrath shall praise him, and the remainder thereof he will restrain,Psalms 76:10. Let us observe here,

      I. The confusion which God designed to put this enemy to. It is remarkable that this is put first in the prophecy; before it is foretold that God will bring him forth against Israel it is foretold that God will put hooks into his jaws and turn him back (Ezekiel 38:4; Ezekiel 38:4), that they might have assurance of their deliverance before they had the prospect given them of their danger. Thus tender is God of the comfort of his people, thus careful that they may not be frightened; even before the trouble begins he tells them it will end well.

      II. The undertaking which he designed to engage him in, in order to this defeat and disappointment. 1. The nations that shall be confederate in this enterprise against Israel are many, and great, and mighty (Ezekiel 38:5; Ezekiel 38:6), Persia, Ethiopia, c. Antiochus had an army made up of all the nations here named, and many others. These people had been at variance with one another, and yet in combination against Israel. How are those increased that trouble God's people! 2. They are well furnished with arms and ammunition, and bring a good train of artillery into the field--horses and horsemen (Ezekiel 38:4; Ezekiel 38:4) bravely equipped with all sorts of armour, bucklers and shields for defence, and all handling swords for offence. Orders are given to make all imaginable preparation for this expedition (Ezekiel 38:7; Ezekiel 38:7): "Be thou prepared, and do thou prepare. See what warlike preparations thou hast already in store, and, lest that should not suffice, make further preparation, thou and all thy company," Let Gog himself be a guard to the rest of the confederates. As commander-in-chief, let him engage to take care of them and their safety; let him pass his word for their security, and take them under his particular protection. The leaders of an army, instead of exposing their soldiers needlessly and presumptuously, and throwing away their lives upon desperate undertakings, should study to be a guard to them, and, whenever they send them forth in danger, should contrive to support and cover them. This call to prepare seems to be ironical--Do thy worst, but I will turn thee back; like that Isaiah 8:9. Gird yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces. 3. Their design is against the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 38:8; Ezekiel 38:8), against the land that is brought back from the sword. It is not long since it was harassed with the sword of war, and it has been always wasted, more or less, with one judgment or other; it is but newly gathered out of many people, and brought forth out of the nations; it has enjoyed comparatively but a short breathing-time, has scarcely recovered any strength since it was brought down by war and captivity; and therefore its neighbours need not fear its being too great, nay, and therefore it is very barbarous to pick a quarrel with it so soon. It is a people that dwell safely, all of them, in unwalled villages, very secure, and having neither bars nor gates,Ezekiel 38:11; Ezekiel 38:11. It is a certain sign that they intend no mischief to their neighbours, for they fear no mischief from them. It cannot be thought that those will offend others who do not take care to defend themselves; and this aggravates the sin of these invaders. It is base and barbarous to devise evil against thy neighbour while he dwells securely by thee, and has no distrust of thee, Proverbs 3:29. But see here how the clouds return after the rain in this world, and what little reason we have ever to be secure till we come to heaven. It is not long since Israel was brought back from the sword of one enemy, and behold the sword of another is drawn against it. Former troubles will not excuse us from further troubles; but when we think we have put off the harness, at least for some time, by a fresh and sudden alarm we may be called to gird it on again; and therefore we must never boast nor be off our guard. 4. That which the enemy has in view, in forming this project, is to enrich himself and to make himself master, not of the country, but of the wealth of it, to spoil and plunder it, and make a prey of it: At the same time that God intends to bring this matter about things shall come into the mind of this enemy, and he shall think an evil thought,Ezekiel 38:10; Ezekiel 38:10. Note, All the mischief men do, and particularly the mischief they do to the church of God, arises from evil thoughts that come into their mind, ambitious thoughts, covetous thoughts, spiteful thoughts against those that are good, for the sake of their goodness. It came into Antiochus's mind what a singular people these religious Jews were, and how their worship witnessed against and condemned the idolatries of their neighbours, and therefore, in enmity to their religion, he would plague them. It came into his mind what a wealthy people they were, that they had gotten cattle and goods in the midst of the land (Ezekiel 38:12; Ezekiel 38:12), and withal how weak they were, how unable to make any resistance, how easy it would be to carry off what they had, and how much glory this rapine would add to his victorious sword; these things coming into his mind, and one evil thought drawing on another, he came at last to this resolve (Ezekiel 38:11; Ezekiel 38:12): "I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; yea, that I will; it will cost me nothing to make them all my own. I will go and disturb those that are at rest, without giving them any notice, not to crush their growing greatness, or chastise their insolence, or make reprisals upon them for any wrong they have done us (they had none of these pretences to make war upon them), but purely to take a spoil and to take a prey" (Ezekiel 38:12; Ezekiel 38:12), in open defiance to all the laws of justice and equity, as much as the highwayman's killing the traveller that he may take his money. These were the thoughts that came into the mind of this wicked prince, and God knew them; nay, he knew them before they came into his mind, for he understands our thoughts afar off,Psalms 139:2. 5. According to the project thus formed he pours in all his forces upon the land of Israel, and finds those that are ready to come in to his assistance with the same prospects (Ezekiel 38:9; Ezekiel 38:9): "Thou shalt ascent and come like a storm, with all the force, and fury, and fierceness imaginable, and thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, to darken it, and to threaten it, thou and not only all thy bands, all the force thou canst bring into the field, but many people with thee" (such as are spoken of Ezekiel 38:13; Ezekiel 38:13), "Sheba and Dedan, the Arabians and the Edomites, and the merchants of Tarshish, of Tyre and Sidon and other maritime cities, they and their young lions that are greedy of spoil and live upon it, shall say, Hast thou come to take the spoil of this land?" Yes he has; and therefore they wish him success. Or perhaps they envy him, or grudge it to him. "Hast thou come for riches who art thyself so rich already?" Or, knowing that God was on Israel's side, they thus ridicule his attempts, foreseeing that they would be baffled and that he would be disappointed of the prey he promised himself. Or, if he come to take the prey, they will come and join with him, and add to his forces. When Lysias, who was general of Antiochus's army, came against the Jews, the neighbouring nations joined with him (1 Mac. iii. 41), to share in the guilt, in hopes to share in the prey. When thou sawest a thief then thou consentedst with him.