Ezekiel Chapter 35
Ezekiel 35
Jehovah Shammah; the LORD is There
Ezekiel 35 returns to Edom, represented by Mount Seir. The chapter is placed in the restoration section because Israel’s future hope also includes the removal of hostile enemies who seek to possess the land God gave to Israel. Edom descended from Esau, Jacob’s brother, yet Edom carried an ancient hatred against Israel and rejoiced when Jerusalem fell. Edom thought Judah’s calamity was an opportunity to seize the inheritance of Israel, forgetting one great truth: the LORD was there. Even after the glory departed from the temple, the LORD had not abandoned His covenant purposes for the land or His people. The uploaded notes emphasize Edom’s ancient hatred, bloodguilt, jealousy, desire to possess Israel’s land, blasphemous speech against the LORD, and the final desolation God would bring upon Mount Seir.
A. The announcement of God’s judgment against Edom, Mount Seir.
1. Ezekiel 35:1-3, God brings a word to Ezekiel against Mount Seir.
Ezekiel 35:1, Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Ezekiel 35:2, Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
Ezekiel 35:3, And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me shows that this prophecy is not Ezekiel’s ethnic resentment against Edom. It is the word of the LORD. Edom must answer to Israel’s God because the LORD is the God of all the earth.
Set thy face against mount Seir means Ezekiel is to turn in prophetic opposition toward Edom. Mount Seir was closely associated with the Edomites, the descendants of Esau. Edom and Israel were brother nations by descent, but Edom repeatedly acted as an enemy.
Esau’s connection with Edom and Mount Seir is stated plainly in Genesis.
Genesis 36:1, Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.
Genesis 36:8, Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.
Edom had opposed Israel from early in Israel’s journey toward the promised land. When Moses asked to pass through Edom’s territory, Edom refused and came out against Israel with force.
Numbers 20:14, And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:
Numbers 20:15, How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
Numbers 20:16, And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:
Numbers 20:17, Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.
Numbers 20:18, And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
Numbers 20:19, And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.
Numbers 20:20, And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.
Numbers 20:21, Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.
Balaam also prophesied that Edom would come under Israel’s dominion.
Numbers 24:17, I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
Numbers 24:18, And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Edom’s hostility continued through Israel’s monarchy. Saul fought against Edom.
1 Samuel 14:47, So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.
Solomon faced Hadad the Edomite as an adversary.
1 Kings 11:14, And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom.
1 Kings 11:15, For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom;
1 Kings 11:16, For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:
1 Kings 11:17, That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child.
Edom and its allies also came against Judah in the days of Jehoshaphat.
2 Chronicles 20:1, It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Chronicles 20:2, Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
Edom rebelled against Judah in the days of Jehoram.
2 Kings 8:20, In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.
2 Kings 8:21, So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.
Edom again struck Judah in the days of Ahaz.
2 Chronicles 28:17, For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.
The prophets also condemned Edom’s hostility. Amos rebuked Edom for pursuing his brother with the sword and casting off pity.
Amos 1:11, Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:
Amos 1:12, But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
Ezekiel had already given a shorter judgment against Edom.
Ezekiel 25:12, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;
Ezekiel 25:13, Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.
Ezekiel 25:14, And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.
And prophesy against it shows that Edom is now addressed again because Israel’s restoration requires God to deal with those who hate Israel and covet her inheritance. The surrounding enemies cannot finally frustrate the LORD’s covenant promises.
Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee is the dreadful announcement. The repetition of against in this opening section is like a drumbeat. Ezekiel is against Mount Seir because the LORD is against Mount Seir.
I will stretch out mine hand against thee means God will act in judgment. His hand will not merely point; it will strike.
I will make thee most desolate announces the outcome. Edom’s mountains, cities, and pride will be reduced to desolation.
2. Ezekiel 35:4, The announcement of judgment.
Ezekiel 35:4, I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
I will lay thy cities waste means Edom’s settled places would be ruined. Her strength was not only in mountain fortresses but in cities and communities. God would touch them all.
Thou shalt be desolate repeats and intensifies the judgment. Edom desired to possess Israel’s desolated land, but God would make Edom herself desolate.
Thou shalt know that I am the LORD gives the purpose. Edom had acted as if Israel’s God was absent or defeated. Through judgment, Edom would know that Yahweh still ruled.
B. The reasons for God’s judgment against Edom.
1. Ezekiel 35:5-9, Because of their ancient hatred.
Ezekiel 35:5, 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:
Ezekiel 35:6, 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.
Ezekiel 35:7, Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.
Ezekiel 35:8, And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword.
Ezekiel 35:9, I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred gives the first reason for judgment. Edom’s hatred was old, rooted, and enduring. The conflict went back to Jacob and Esau, but Edom cherished the hatred and acted on it generation after generation.
Genesis shows the beginning of the conflict between Jacob and Esau.
Genesis 25:22, And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
Genesis 25:23, And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger.
After Jacob received the blessing, Esau hated him.
Genesis 27:41, And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
Edom’s ancient hatred was not merely personal hurt. It became national hostility against the covenant people.
Hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword means Edom’s hatred became violent. They were guilty of bloodshed against Israel. They did not merely dislike Israel; they acted against her with the sword.
In the time of their calamity makes the sin worse. Edom attacked or exploited Israel when Israel was already under judgment and distress. To wound the wounded is especially cruel.
Psalm 137 remembers Edom’s attitude in the day of Jerusalem.
Psalm 137:7, Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
Lamentations also speaks to Edom’s rejoicing over Zion’s fall.
Lamentations 4:21, Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.
Lamentations 4:22, The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.
Obadiah gives the fullest prophetic indictment of Edom’s conduct during Judah’s calamity.
Obadiah 1:10, For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
Obadiah 1:11, In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
Obadiah 1:12, But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
Obadiah 1:13, Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
Obadiah 1:14, Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
In the time that their iniquity had an end refers to the time when Israel and Judah’s guilt had reached the point of judgment. God was chastening His people, but Edom had no right to exploit that chastening. God may discipline Israel, but hostile nations are not justified in hating, plundering, or murdering Israel.
Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD is a solemn oath. The judgment on Edom is certain because God swears by His own life.
I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee means Edom’s punishment will fit her sin. Since Edom shed blood, blood will pursue Edom. The bloodguilt she embraced will become the bloodshed she cannot escape.
This recalls the principle of blood crying out for judgment.
Genesis 4:10, And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee means Edom did not hate violence and bloodshed. She loved it when it was directed against Israel. Therefore, blood would hunt Edom down.
There is also a wordplay between Edom and blood, because Edom is related to the word red, and blood is red. Edom’s name becomes tied to the blood she shed and the blood that would pursue her.
Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate repeats the judgment. God will make the place associated with Edom into a severe desolation.
And cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth means normal movement, travel, trade, and life will cease. The land will be cut off from ordinary activity.
I will fill his mountains with his slain men means Edom’s strong places will be filled with death. The mountains that seemed secure will be covered with the slain.
In thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword means the judgment will reach every part of Edom’s terrain: high places, low places, and watercourses. There will be no safe place.
I will make thee perpetual desolations matches Edom’s perpetual hatred. The punishment fits the crime. Edom held a long hatred; God announces long desolation.
Thy cities shall not return means Edom’s cities would not regain their former strength and glory. The ancient Edomite power would be broken.
And ye shall know that I am the LORD again gives the purpose. Edom will learn that Israel’s God is not absent, defeated, or indifferent.
2. Ezekiel 35:10-13, Because of their jealousy.
Ezekiel 35:10, Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there:
Ezekiel 35:11, Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
Ezekiel 35:12, And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
Ezekiel 35:13, Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it gives another charge. Edom saw Israel and Judah weakened by exile and judgment and thought the land could now be taken. The two nations likely refer to Israel and Judah, the northern and southern kingdoms, or to the two territories Edom hoped to seize.
Edom did not merely rejoice in Israel’s fall. She coveted Israel’s inheritance. She wanted the land.
Whereas the LORD was there is the great theological statement of the chapter. Edom assumed that because Jerusalem had fallen and Judah had been exiled, the LORD was gone. Edom thought Israel’s land was abandoned. But the LORD was there. Even after the glory departed from the temple in judgment, God had not abandoned His covenant purpose for the land.
Earlier Ezekiel saw the glory depart from Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 11:22, Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
Ezekiel 11:23, And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
Yet the departure of temple glory did not mean the LORD had surrendered the land to Edom. The land remained His.
Leviticus 25:23, The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
The LORD had sworn the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Genesis 13:14, And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
Genesis 13:15, For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
Genesis 17:7, And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
Genesis 17:8, And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all-the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Genesis 28:13, And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy-father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and-to thy seed;
From a literal, dispensational understanding, Edom’s mistake was assuming that Israel’s temporary judgment canceled Israel’s covenant inheritance. It did not. The LORD was there.
The final name of the restored city in Ezekiel also points to this truth.
Ezekiel 48:35, It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be,-The LORD is there.
Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD introduces another solemn oath. Edom’s covetous claim will not stand.
I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them means God will answer Edom’s own spirit. Edom acted in anger, envy, and hatred. God will judge Edom according to that hostility.
I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee means God will reveal Himself among His people by judging Edom. Israel will see that the LORD has not abandoned them or His land.
And thou shalt know that I am the LORD means Edom too will learn. Edom’s theology was false. The LORD was not defeated by Babylon. He was judging Judah while still ruling over Edom.
I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel means Edom’s words against Israel’s land were also words against Israel’s God. The mountains of Israel belonged to the LORD’s covenant purpose. To boast over them and claim them was blasphemous.
They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume records Edom’s speech. Edom interpreted Israel’s desolation as permission to devour. But Israel’s desolation was God’s chastening, not Edom’s invitation.
Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me shows that Edom’s boasting against Israel was ultimately boasting against the LORD. To attack God’s covenant purpose is to speak against God Himself.
Have multiplied your words against me means Edom’s arrogance was repeated, abundant, and deliberate.
I have heard them is chilling. Edom may have thought her words were merely political ambition or private hatred. God heard every word. He would answer.
The Abrahamic covenant remains relevant to the way nations treat Israel.
Genesis 12:1, Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and-from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Genesis 12:2, And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;-and thou shalt be a blessing:
Genesis 12:3, And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall-all families of the earth be blessed.
Edom cursed Israel, coveted Israel’s land, rejoiced in Israel’s bloodshed, and boasted as though the LORD were not there. Therefore judgment would come.
3. Ezekiel 35:14-15, The joy of the earth when Edom is judged.
Ezekiel 35:14, Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
Ezekiel 35:15, As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will-I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it:-and they shall know that I am the LORD.
When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate means Edom’s fall will not be mourned like the fall of Tyre. The whole earth will rejoice when Edom is made desolate. This does not mean every individual will understand it rightly, but it shows that God’s judgment on Edom will be recognized as fitting and just.
As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate gives the principle of fitting judgment. Edom rejoiced when Israel’s inheritance was desolate. Therefore, Edom would become desolate.
Scripture condemns rejoicing over calamity.
Proverbs 17:5, Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be-unpunished.
Proverbs 24:17, Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Proverbs 24:18, Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
Edom did the very thing wisdom forbids. She rejoiced when her brother nation fell.
So will I do unto thee means God will measure judgment back to Edom. What Edom delighted to see in Israel will come upon Edom herself.
Thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it means the judgment will reach the whole Edomite sphere. Mount Seir and all Edom will be made desolate.
And they shall know that I am the LORD closes the chapter with the repeated purpose. Edom will know the LORD by judgment. Israel will know the LORD by seeing Him defend His covenant purpose. The nations will know that Israel’s chastening did not mean Israel’s God was absent.
Ezekiel 35 teaches that ancient hatred, bloodshed, envy, land-coveting, and blasphemy against God’s covenant purpose will not go unanswered. Edom hated Israel with a perpetual hatred and used Judah’s calamity as an opportunity for revenge and territorial gain. Edom looked at the desolated inheritance of Israel and said, “It is ours.” But Edom forgot the decisive reality: the LORD was there. Even when Jerusalem lay in ruins, the land was still God’s land, Israel was still God’s covenant people, and Edom’s words were heard by God. Therefore Mount Seir would become desolate. The chapter stands as a warning that God’s discipline of Israel is never permission for the nations to hate Israel, seize her inheritance, or boast against the LORD who is there.
