Ezekiel 25:9

The people of Moab believed they could attack Judah without punishment. They treated Judah as if it were just another nation.

This was not true. Judah had been acting like the other nations (see Ezekiel 20:32). However, Judah was different because it had a covenant with God.

God would not finally reject Judah. He would discipline his people, but he would not abandon them forever.

Moab, however, would face judgment. Like Ammon, Moab would be removed from the register of the nations (the official list of recognized nations). It would be left desolate (empty and ruined) forever.

• This section contains a series of messages of judgment against nearby nations. There are six shorter messages against Judah's immediate neighbors, arranged in a clockwise order, followed by a final message against Egypt (Ezekiel 30–32). Through experiencing God's judgment, the nations would recognize God's control over everything. The nations might be used to carry out God's judgment on his people, but they would not avoid judgment themselves.

• One of the main purposes of these messages was to show that the negative part of God's promise to Abraham ("I will … curse those who curse you," Genesis 12:3) was still active. No one can harm God's people and avoid consequences, even when God's people are under his judgment.