1 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
2 "Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them;"
Now God’s attention is switched to the Ammonites.
3 "And say unto the Ammonites, 'Hear the word of the Lord God; Thus says the Lord God; Because thou said, “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;'"
“Give the Ammonites this message from the sovereign LORD: Hear the word of the sovereign LORD! Because you cheered when my Temple was defiled, mocked Israel in her desolation, and laughed at Judah as she went away into exile,…” New Living Translation (©2007)
The Ammonites made fun of God’s people instead of showing sympathy.
4 "'Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.'"
Ammon, descendants of Lot, was located just east of Israel.
Babylon, Persia, and the nomadic Arabian tribes were all east of Ammon and all had a hand in destroying her.
5 "'And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
6 "'For thus says the Lord God; Because thou have clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel;'"
Though the Ammonites were cousins to the Israelites, they were never nice to them. They harassed them and celebrated when Israel suffered.
7 "'Behold, therefore I will stretch out Mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shall know that I am the Lord.
8 "'Thus says the Lord God; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;'"
Moab was descended from Lot’s other son. They were located just south of Ammon.
Seir was the name of the region the Moabites settled before they got there.
They didn’t acknowledge that there was any difference between Judah and the rest of the world.
9 "'Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim,'"
These were beautiful cities of Moab located on their eastern border. God was going to allow them to be wiped out.
10 "'Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.
11 "'And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord.'"
Both the Ammonites and the Moabites were children of Lot and both were totally destroyed and no longer exist. We only know of their location because of clues given in the Bible.
12 "'Thus says the Lord God; Because that Edom has dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;'"
Edom was located just south of Judah and was descended from Jacob’s brother Esau. They were never any nicer to Israel that Lot’s descendants.
13 "'Therefore thus says the Lord God; I will also stretch out Mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.
14 "'And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to Mine anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance, says the Lord God.'"
Babylon and Egypt both did a number on them.
15 "'Thus says the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;'"
The Philistines were located on the south western border of Judah (between south Judah and the Mediterranean Sea). They are believed by many to be descended from people who migrated from the islands located just south of Greece, though Genesis tells us they were already in the land at the time of Abraham and were direct descendants of Noah’s son Ham. They had plagued and fought with Israel from the start, often subjugating them to servitude.
16 "'Therefore thus says the Lord God; Behold, I will stretch out Mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.
17 "'And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay My vengeance upon them.'"
Philistine was also destroyed from the face of the earth and no longer exists.