Ezekiel 38 records God’s word against Gog, a leader from the land of Magog, and the great northern army he gathers to attack Israel. This page gives you ready-made study questions with leader’s notes for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal reading. Each question names specific verses so the group can turn straight to the text.
Ezekiel 38 at a Glance
The chapter opens with God instructing Ezekiel to set his face against Gog and announce judgment. Verses 4 through 9 describe the vast coalition that Gog will assemble and lead toward the mountains of Israel. Verses 10 through 13 show Gog’s motive: he plans to plunder a land that feels safe and unwalled, and merchant nations watch to see what he will take.
From verse 14 onward the focus shifts to God. He reveals that the invasion will happen in a time when Israel is dwelling securely, and that God himself will bring Gog to the land so the nations will know who the LORD is. Verses 18 through 23 describe a cosmic shaking, infighting among the attackers, and a final act of judgment that displays God’s holiness.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before any interpretation. Ask the group to point to the exact words in the text and resist explaining yet. Read the chapter aloud once before you begin, and let quieter members answer first.
Ezekiel 38:2-3
2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord the LORD: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.
(WEB)
Reading the opening aloud establishes the speaker, the target, and God’s declaration of opposition. It sets the tone for the whole chapter and helps the group hear the authority behind Ezekiel’s message.
Ezekiel 38:8
After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, on the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought out of the peoples, and they will dwell securely, all of them.
(WEB)
This verse describes a land restored and gathered, dwelling securely. Reading it aloud helps the group picture the setting that Gog will target and prepares them for the reversal that follows.
Ezekiel 38:16
You will come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land. It will happen in the latter days, that I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when I am sanctified in you, Gog, before their eyes.”
(WEB)
Here God states that he will bring Gog against his land so the nations may know him. Reading this verse slowly brings the central purpose of the chapter into focus.
Ezekiel 38:19-20
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath I have spoken. Surely in that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all creeping things who creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the surface of the earth will shake at my presence. Then the mountains will be thrown down, the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground.
(WEB)
These verses capture God’s jealousy, his wrath, and the great shaking across creation. Reading them aloud lets the group feel the weight of the judgment and the scale of God’s presence.
Ezekiel 38:23
I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”’
(WEB)
The chapter closes with God magnifying and sanctifying himself so that people will know he is the LORD. Ending the reading here gives the group a clear statement of the chapter’s theological climax.
Memory Verse for Ezekiel 38
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come before you as people who often feel secure in things that can shift without warning. Thank you that you see the future clearly and that nothing in history takes you by surprise. Help us to examine where we have grown complacent, and give us the humility to trust you with what we cannot control. Make your name known through our lives, and let the way we live point others toward your holiness. When we are tempted to seek our own justice, remind us that you judge rightly and in your time. Teach us to rest in your faithfulness as we walk forward together. Amen.
