Ezekiel 35:1-4
Ezekiel was to set his face against Mount Seir. This visualizes a posture of bringing a prophetic voice to them. Mount Seir was synonymous with Edom, the region south of the Dead Sea. Edom is associated with Esau, the older brother of Jacob. Amos also prophesied against Edom:
"For three transgressions of Edom, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he pursued his brother with the sword,
And cast off all pity;
His anger tore perpetually,
And he kept his wrath forever.
12But I will send a fire upon Teman,
Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah." (Amos 1:11-12)
Note: Amos was a contemporary of Jonah, Hosea and Joel. He prophesied abou t 760-755BC.
As God would stretch His hand against them they would be made desolate. Two Hebrew words were translated to 'most desolate'. It means 'a wasteland that would strike horror in a person'. The two words together are poetic; shemameh ume shemameh. This desolation would inform them that He is Lord.
Ezekiel 35:5-9
As if someone asked, "Why?" the answer is given. An ancient hatred existed. It started in the womb with Jacob and Esau wrestling, jockeying for position. Jaco means 'heal catch' which meant someone who had your back, your rear guard. But it came to be known as a deceiver. Jacob deceived his father and received the blessing determined for the eldest son. Upon discovering, Esau said Jacob was rightly named. Esau had despised his birthright and felt it had no value to him. He later settled in Edom. This started an ancient hatred among them.
Edom may have been allied with Babylon at the time of Jerusalem's destruction. Either way, they celebrated the calamity of Jacob. They took advantage of it to exercise their hatred. Driven by this hatred they pursued blood. Since they had not hated blood, blood would come against them in judgment. This is a kind of 'live by the sword, die by the sword' understanding. Therefore, they would become 'most desolate' (shemameh ume shemameh). Thus, there would be no one on the highways & byways traveling to or from Edom. No one goes to a desolate place and those from there would be killed. This desolation would be perpetual, a forever wasteland. By this, it would be known Yahweh is Lord
Ezekiel 35:10-15
Ezekiel longed to expand their territory into Judah and Israel. They saw the troubles in these two nations and assumed God had abandoned them. They boasted against them and in doing so, boasted against God. They spoke against God's land and He makes it clear to them that He heard. The judgment would be in accordance with the envy, anger and hatred they showed towards His people and land. They rejoiced at the desolation of Jerusalem and Judah; God would make them desolate. As they celebrated desolation so will the world celebrate their desolation.
There is archeological evidence showing that Edom was attempting to expand its territory into Judah.
©2020 Doug Ford
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