seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ezekiel 35:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir; prophesy against it 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate waste. 4 I will turn your towns into ruins and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
5 “‘Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax, 6 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go. 8 I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines. 9 I will make you desolate forever; your towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
10 “‘Because you have said, “These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession of them,” even though I the Lord was there, 11 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will treat you in accordance with the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them and I will make myself known among them when I judge you. 12 Then you will know that I the Lord have heard all the contemptible things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You said, “They have been laid waste and have been given over to us to devour.” 13 You boasted against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it. 14 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. 15 Because you rejoiced when the inheritance of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, Mount Seir, you and all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
It's a short chapter this morning..... and the commentaries are relatively short but packed with old lessons. This is from the easy English site. Here Mount Seir means the country that was called Edom. That country was to the east of the Dead Sea. It went down to the Gulf called Aqaba. The main cities were called Petra and Teman.
Perhaps Edom hated Israel more than all the other nations. Edom came from the family of Esau. And Israel came from the family of Esau’s brother, Jacob. There had been problems between them from the start. They hated each other. Esau turned away from God. Edom had done as much damage to Israel as it could.
Through their history, Edom had helped those who attacked Israel. The Edomites joined with Babylon in the fight against Judah. They were glad because of the defeat of Jerusalem. They killed many of the Jews. So, God would cause the Edomites’ enemies to kill them.
The Edomites wanted to own the land that belonged to Judah and Israel. They had spoken against the Lord. They did not recognise that the God of Israel is the Lord of all. They did not realise that the Lord was with his people. So, the Edomites could never possess the country called Israel.
As the Edomites had done to the Jews, so the Lord would do to the Edomites.
This is from bibletrack.org.Here's another prophecy against Edom. Mount Seir is located in Edom. They already received mention in Ezekiel's prophecy (Ezekiel 25:12-14), but here's a whole chapter devoted to their destruction. Edom had a long, colorful history with Israel going all the way back to Jacob and Esau. Edom was Esau's nickname, and the very way he came by this nickname was a sore subject found in Genesis 25. Remember when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup? Here's what Genesis 25:30 says, "And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom." Edom is the Hebrew word for "red." The very name of these people continually resurrected bad memories, and they lived up to these bad memories with their constant harassment of Israel over the centuries. Edom had sought to block Israel’s first entrance into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:14-21; Numbers 24:15-19).
Note these other conflicts with the Edomites:
- Saul (I Samuel 14:47)
- Solomon (I Kings 11:14-22)
- Jehoshaphat (II Chronicles 20:1-23)
- Jehoram (II Kings 8:21)
- Ahaz (II Chronicles 28:17)
Other prophets also prophesied concerning Edom:
Therefore, it would seem that Ezekiel uses Edom as the epitome of nations that sought to overrun and acquire Israel’s land for themselves. Ezekiel is clear on the reason for Edom's demise in verses 5-6, "Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee." That kinda reminds me of God's words to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee."
It is clear from this passage that Edom will not prosper. Incidentally, this land coincides with the nation of Jordan today. There's a rather interesting prophetic theory that centers around this region during the tribulation period. The last great eradication of the enemies of God before the millennium will take place at the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19:11-21.
So all this fighting in the Middle East is what spurred the reading of the Old Testament from Genesis 1:1 to the end. I want to know about those people in the Middle East.... and why they are always fighting with everyone. Now it appears it started in the womb..... with Jacob and Esau.... Abraham's twin grandsons. Isaac and Rebekah had a horrible time getting pregnant..... and having sons was the only way to have a legacy back in the day..... when Rebekah finally got pregnant.... it was with twins.... and it was extremely difficult because according to Genesis 25:22-24..... they were fighting.I'm going to leave a couple maps here for easy comparison......
The problem with Edom wasn't just their hatred for Israel........ they didn't accept God as the One True Living God......
