Ezekiel 35
Judgment on
Pray
Future Judgment (vs. 1-4)
Ez. 35:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Ez. 35:2 “Son of
man, set your face against
Ez. 35:3 and say to it, “Thus says the Lord GOD:
‘Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;
I will stretch out My hand against you,
And make you most desolate;
Ez. 35:4 I shall lay your cities waste,
And you shall be desolate.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
√ Future judgment
First of all doesn’t chapter 35 seem to be out of place!
That is, as we’ve already noted beginning in chapter 33 God begins to lay out the future blessings and benefits that the Jewish people will experience when God restores them to their land.
Chapter 35 doesn’t fit that theme, rather, it speaks of judgment upon the
…
So what gives?! Bibles students suggest that chapter 35 is meant to be a contrast.
That is, as God announces the future blessings for His people
…He pronounces judgment
upon
And to a larger extent the judgment here is predictive, a type of, the judgment that God will bring on all the nations of the earth that have persecuted the Jewish people.
So, while the chapter seems a bit out of place at first
glance when we look at the whole of God’s prophetic plan it does fit as we
recognize that part of the fulfillment of God’s promises to
√ Live in unity with your brothers
If there’s an application that we can learn from this chapter it is a reminder that blessing is found when brothers live together in unity!
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!” ~ Ps. 133:1
The sad record of Jacob and Esau is that from the time they were in the womb they just couldn’t get along!
Jacob was always angling to take advantage of Esau.
Esau was plotting and planning to kill Jacob.
Together they could have formed a blessed and powerful team, but instead they and their descendants were divided and often at war with one another.
Ap. Unity in the Body
A unified, spirit-filled Church is the most powerful deterrent on earth to Satan and his plans.
It’s no wonder then that the Devil works so hard to bring division among the brethren.
It’s no surprise then that a repeated theme in the letters to the churches in the New Testament address the issues of unity!
Paul begged the Christians at Ephesus to get along!
Eph. 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
Eph. 4:2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
Eph. 4:3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Because the reality is that where there is no unity there will also be no fruit.
Ex. We make it a requirement for leadership!
Ministry is hard enough without having to fight with the people who are supposed to be on the same team!
Ancient Hatred (vs. 5-9)
Ez. 35:5 “Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end,
Ez. 35:6 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you.
Ez. 35:7 Thus I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns.
Ez. 35:8 And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall.
Ez. 35:9 I will make you perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the LORD.
√ Ancient Hatred
God explains the reason that He is going to bring judgment upon Edom is that they have held on to an “ancient hatred”…
“Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end.” ~ vs. 5
That is, they’d been nursing a grudge against Israel for a very long time!
Esau hated Jacob for taking his birthright ~ Gen. 27:41
Edom wouldn’t help the people of the Exodus & even threatened to attack them ~ Ex. 20
Edom fought against Israel throughout the kingdom years ~ Judges, Kings & Chronicles
Most recently the people of Edom double-crossed the people of Judah and helped the Babylonians slaughter those who escaped the fall of Jerusalem as revealed by Obadiah…
Obad. 1:10 “For violence against your brother Jacob,
Shame shall cover you,
And you shall be cut off forever.
Obad. 1:11 In the day that you stood on the other side—
In the day that strangers carried captive his forces,
When foreigners entered his gates
And cast lots for Jerusalem—
Even you were as one of them.
Obad. 1:12 “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother
In the day of his captivity;
Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Nor should you have spoken proudly
In the day of distress.
Obad. 1:13 You should not have entered the gate of My people
In the day of their calamity.
Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction
In the day of their calamity,
Nor laid hands on their substance
In the day of their calamity.
Obad. 1:14 You should not have stood at the crossroads
To cut off those among them who escaped;
Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained
In the day of distress.
That is, the people of Edom saw the judgment of God upon Judah as their opportunity to exact vengeance and satisfy their grudge.
√ Red like blood!
Well, as we read in verses 5-9 God was none to pleased with the Edomites!
So, God describes a time of great judgment that He plans to bring upon them, a time of such great slaughter that the hills will…
…run red with blood!
That is, because they were quick to shed the blood of their Jewish brothers…
…God would not relent of His judgment until all the blood of the Edomites had been spilled.
“therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you.” ~ vs. 6
This verse is interesting because God uses a play on words to describe just how severe His judgment will be.
The Hebrew word of blood is “dam” (like “Adam”)
The Hebrew word for Edom is “edom” which means “red” (like Esau’s hair).
Traditionally Mt. Seir and the mountain range where the kingdom of Edom was built is known as the “red mountains” because of the color of the soil.
Ex. Petra
Petra was the capital city of Mt. Seir of the Edomites and is to this day is called…
“The rose city”
…because of the color of the rock from which it was cut!
So, God in effect is saying through this little play on words that because the Edomites spilled the blood of their brothers…
…God would turn their red mountains red with blood!
Ap. Don’t harbor a grudge!
Christians should never hold a grudge! In fact, Jesus tells us that we’re to…
“…love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…” Matt. 5:
And, Paul writing to Christians said…
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.” ~ Rom. 12:19
Rather than hating other people we’re called to see everyone as a brother or sister in need of God’s Grace.
Envy and Pride (vs. 10-15)
Ez. 35:10 “Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,’ although the LORD was there,
Ez. 35:11 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.
Ez. 35:12 Then you shall know that I am the LORD. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’
Ez. 35:13 Thus with your mouth you have boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them.”
Ez. 35:14 “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate.
Ez. 35:15 As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the LORD.” ’
√ Envy and pride
The second reason God gives for the judgment He would bring upon Edom was their envy of Israel and their prideful attitude toward God.
Envy…
The people of Edom had a long history of being envious of their “brother” Israel.
The seeds of that envy can probably be traced all the way back to Esau’s envy of Jacob who got the best of their father’s blessings (ref. Gen. 27:41).
Nationally Israel received the greater blessing ~ a more productive & lush land, the city where God would place His Temple, as a people the “apple of His eye”.
So, when the Babylonians conquered Judah the people of Edom saw it as their opportunity to claim the inheritance of Jacob…
In a way they wanted to take back what Jacob had stolen from Esau by deceit!
Thus we find their thoughts revealed in vs. 10…
“Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,’ although the LORD was there…”
The two nations, and two countries, are Judah and Israel the land that God promised to the descendants of Jacob.
What the Edomites didn’t realize was that God’s promise to Israel was still in place.
Though the people of Israel had sinned and deserved judgment, none the less, God still had a bright future planned for His people.
So, the land wasn’t available for them to take and to plot and plan to do so only added to the judgment that God would bring upon them.
Ap. The land still belongs to Israel!
There are a whole host of people today who want the land of Israel for themselves.
Hamas, Hezbollah, the Palestinian Authority, Iran, etc.
What they fail to realize is that the land is not available.
It belongs to the descendants of Jacob.
Those who try by deceit or violence to wrestle the land away from the people of Israel will suffer the same wrath of God that the Edomites did.
Close
√ Judgment on Edom
Chapter 35 serves as preview of the final judgment of God on all the nations that have hated and persecuted Israel.
We see that predicted in Joel and the Revelation where we find the prophecies concerning the future battle of Armageddon.
We see that predicted in Matthew, Ezekiel, and the Revelation where we find that the nations will be judged by King Jesus according to how they treated His brothers.
So, it’s one more reminder that the promise that God made to Abraham is still in effect and that God is paying attention to those who bless or curse His people.