The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, 3 and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. 4 I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord. 5 Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, 6 therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it all who come and go. 8 And I will fill its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall. 9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
10 “Because you said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them’—although the Lord was there— 11 therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy that you showed because of your hatred against them. And I will make myself known among them, when I judge you. 12 And you shall know that I am the Lord.
“I have heard all the revilings that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are laid desolate; they are given us to devour.’ 13 And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it. 14 Thus says the Lord God: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. 15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 35 ESV
Ezekiel 35 Judgement Against Edom
14From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we lived many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers, 16and when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.…
…17Please let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” 18But Edom answered, “You may not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword.” 19“We will stay on the main road,” the Israelites replied, “and if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay for it. There will be no problem; only let us pass through on foot.”… Numbers 20: 14-19
1-9 Set your face against Mount Seir - Mt. Seir is in Edom which is east of Jordan, and the Edomites are the children of Esau, who is the brother of Jacob, whose name was changed by God to Israel. So theirs is old history, brothers, and this is much of Israel's relationship to others in that region. Abraham was the grandfather of Jacob, and he had two sons, Ishmael, the son of Abraham's choice, a human effort, faithlessness, and Isaac, the son of God's promise, "in Isaac shall thy seed be called." Abraham had a nephew, Lot, whose proud children are Moab. All the Arab nations are very closely related to Israel.
…11Now this matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son Ishmael. 12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned. 13But I will also make a nation of the slave woman’s son, because he is your offspring.”… Genesis 21: 11-13
15Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying, “This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open, 16the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: 17I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth.…
…18Edom will become a possession, as will Seir, his enemy; but Israel will perform with valor. 19A ruler will come from Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.” Numbers 24: 15-19
I will make you a desolation and a waste - God is now against Edom.
This prediction came to pass literally, first by Nebuchadnezzar and later in 126 B. C. by John Hyrcanus. There is no trace of Edomites now, though their desolate cities can be identified as predicted by Obadiah (Obadiah 18) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 49:13) - J Mac Study Bible
You shall know that I am the Lord - What a terrible time to find out, as so many will, at the time of judgement.
Because you cherished perpetual enmity - You refused to be reconciled to your brother Israel. You didn't welcome them back from Egypt, and could not see the image of God in your fellow man.
“The Edomites were the descendants of Esau; the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. Both these were brothers; and between them there was contention even in the womb, and they lived generally in a state of enmity. Their descendants kept up the ancient feud: but the Edomites were implacable; they had not only a rooted but perpetual enmity to the Israelites, harassing and distressing them by all possible means.” (Clarke)
ii. “Edom could not escape the application of the Abrahamic covenant, which explains the strong language and the irrevocable judgment on her. When a nation gives itself over to perpetual hatred of Israel, then there is no other alternative than perpetual desolation from God.” (Feinberg)
…8Then again, I am also writing to you a new commandment, which is true in Him and also in you. For the darkness is fading and the true light is already shining. 9If anyone claims to be in the light but hates his brother, he is still in the darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.… 1 John 2: 8-10
…22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell. 23So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.… Matthew 5: 22-24
…25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. 26“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.… Ephesians 4: 25-27
At the time of their calamity - When Babylon was destroying the Israelites, Edom jumped in, kicked him while he was down. They did not offer aid, but saw weakness and struck.
“The victims are not merely Judeans who may have fallen to Edomite soldiers participating in Nebuchadrezzar’s campaign; the bloodguilt was incurred by searching out and slaughtering fugitives.” (Block)
ii. “Psalm 137:7 and Lamentations 4:21–22 imply that Edom gladly aided the Babylonian invasion of Judah in 589–586 B.C. Obadiah 10–14 also denounces Edom for her betrayal of Israel in time of need.” (Alexander)
…6May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy! 7Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!” 8O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.… Psalm 137: 6-8
Because you did not hate blood shed - Men's feet are quick to shed blood, and here it is an eye for an eye, and God will repay. We cry about fair in this world, and here it is, they loved their brother's pain, rejoiced at his sorrow, aided in his murder, now they will reap the same. Our egos are so insane that we will smile when our enemy gets sick, injured, or even dies, if it proves our point. "I told him not to do that. This is because he messed with me. That will teach him."
10-12 Those two nations...shall be mine - Nations, as in Northern Israel and Judah, Edom thought their destruction and captivity a blessing, "now we can take the land that God should have promised to our father Esau, because he was the oldest." I'm sure they had all sorts of justifications and claims, as we all do for our sins, our greed, lust and envy.
…20You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 21You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Deuteronomy 5: 20-21
6But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. 7What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” 8But sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead.… Romans 7: 6-8
1What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? 2You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.… James 4: 1-3
13-15 - And you magnified yourself against Me - Remember in verse 10, it says, "although the Lord was there", this is where He revealed Himself. It was His temple that was torn down, and these are His people, so just as Israel always killed the messenger, so they taste the same from Edom, who will also be judged, because it is ultimately God they are against.
“If Edom forget that the Lord is there, that forgetfulness does not change the fact. That land was, and is, sacred for carrying out a Divine purpose, for the world, and through Israel; and God has never abandoned it. He is still there; and whosoever may covet it cannot hold it, for He will dispossess them.” (Morgan)
vi. “When all conflicts shall be ended, when the scattered shall be gathered, when the tabernacle of the Lord shall be among them; then this which is Zion’s bulwark to-day, shall be her everlasting glory. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH – ‘The Lord is there.’” (Spurgeon)
As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel - Israel was punished for the same grievous sins of Edom, Moab and all else in this world. Their falling is not praise worthy, it is sad to see those given so much from God, those having the word of God, a vineyard that He planted Himself, soil tilled by the word, yet a vine gone wild. When that city on the hill no longer shines, it is like looking for an untended light house during a cloudy night at sea, so take haste and remember, the Lord was there, pray for your adversary, pray that he recovers his wits and comes to repentance. We are all in this place no matter who we look across the battle field and see, we all come from Adam and Eve, we are all brothers, family, quit justifying your hate.
…19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” 20On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.… Romans 12: 19-21
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