Deeper Commentary

Ezekiel 35:1 Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me saying- The entire section from Ez. 33-39 outlines the possibility of the exiles repenting and a Divine kingdom being reestablished in Israel, with Judah joined by the repentant remnants of the ten tribes and the surrounding nations. In the prophecies against the seven Gentile nations in Ez. 26-32, all are envisaged as coming to "know Yahweh", i.e. to enter relationship with Him; except Edom. The unforgiveable sin, it seems, is of hatred of ones' brother as Esau / Edom / Seir hated Jacob / Israel. And so the total elimination of "Mount Seir" was intended as coming at this time of restoration. It didn't, then, because the wider prophetic picture didn't come about, and has been transferred, reapplied and rescheduled to our last days. But see on :9.

Ezekiel 35:2 Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it- This prophecy isn't just inserted here for no reason. It follows on the prediction that Judah shall be saved by God's grace, and made to "dwell safely", which I pointed out in the commentary on chapter 34 is the language of Israel rewarded for obedience to the Old Covenant. They were not obedient to that covenant, but under the new covenant of grace introduced in Ez. 34:25, they are counted as if they were obedient and given the blessing for obedience, even though they were disobedient. Seeing God's righteousness has been imputed to Israel, now we read of the judgment of Seir / Esau / Edom, who mocked Judah's unrighteousness at the time of her exile, and joined in the judgment upon her. So now, Judah is counted righteous, and those who judged her for her unrighteousness are now judged.

Ezekiel 35:3 And tell it, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out My hand against you, I will make you a desolation and an astonishment- The very phrase used about the judgment upon Judah which Edom / Seir participated in bringing about (Ez. 6:14; 33:28,29). See on :1. In commentary upon the book of Revelation, I have noted that the seals refer to judgments upon Israel in the last days, but then the essence of those judgments is found again in the later judgments poured out upon the beast system which brings those judgments. Edom / Seir / Esau's descendants (the Arabic peoples surrounding Israel) are therefore very much associated with the latter day Babylon who is the beast.

Ezekiel 35:4 I will lay your cities waste and you shall be desolate; and you shall know that I am Yahweh- This could imply an ultimate repentance by Seir / Esau, leading to the final reconciliation between Jacob and Esau. Or it could mean that in the death throes of condemnation, they come to know Yahweh- but all too late. Just as those who condemned the Lord Jesus will be resurrected and say "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!", but tragically all too late. See on :1,9,11,12.

Ezekiel 35:5 Because you have had a perpetual hatred- The age old tension between Esau and Jacob. But "perpetual" is literally "old" or "ancient". The "enmity" is the same word as in Gen. 3:15, and the 'ancient' enmity strengthens the allusion. They were the seed of the serpent at enmity with Israel, the seed of the woman; which considering Judah's deep sin at this time, reveals how God by grace still saw them as His special people of purpose.

And have given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity- The prophecy against Edom in Obadiah 13,14 makes the same point, as in Ps. 137:7, giving more detail as to Edom's abuse of Judah at the time of the Babylonian invasion.

At the time when the punishment of their iniquity had an end- There is no very solid evidence for the total destruction of Edom in the terms of this prophecy as a result of their viciously joining in with the Babylonian judgment of Judah. Neither was the Babylonian invasion "the time when the punishment of [Judah's] iniquity had an end". Such language has to refer to our last days; and so we are to look for a latter day Seir / Edom / Esau's descendants who will join in the assault upon Israel by the latter day Babylonian, and who will receive their judgment in the terms of this prophecy. For God's words here shall finally come true. With Israel today surrounded by Esau's descendants, the required scenario is ripe for fulfillment. See on Ez. 35:14 When the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.

Ezekiel 35:6 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you. Since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you-  See on Rev. 6:9. "Edom" means 'red', hence the play on the word 'blood'. The idea of pursuit suggests the revenger of blood. And it was God who would avenge the blood of His people, upon Edom. Edom is held far more culpable than Babylon- because they were behaving like this against their brother.

Ezekiel 35:7 Thus will I make Mount Seir an astonishment and a desolation; and I will cut off from it the one who passes through and the one who returns- The one who returns may refer to the returning exiles, the returned / repentant ones [as they were envisaged], who would skirt around mount Seir and not pass through it. Or the idea may be as GNB "I will make the hill country of Edom a wasteland and kill everyone who travels through it". The area would gather the reputation of being haunted, a place to be avoided by travellers.

Ezekiel 35:8 I will fill its mountains with its slain. In your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses shall they fall who are slain with the sword- All these terms are used elsewhere about the judgment upon Israel at the hand of her invaders (e.g. Ez. 6:3). What is done to Israel will be done to her invaders. Those who destroy the earth / land of Israel will be destroyed (Rev. 11:18). See on :11 I will do according to your anger. But there was no such wholesale murder of the Edomites at the time; they continued for centuries. The intended prophetic scenario for that time didn't come about because Judah didn't repent and the Kingdom wasn't reestablished under the new covenant and a Messiah figure, as was potentially possible. And so Edom wasn't totally destroyed either, although these things will have their final fulfilment in the last days.

Ezekiel 35:9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited; and you shall know that I am Yahweh- Heb. "your cities shall not return", whereas even though Jerusalem was as Sodom, yet she and Samaria would be cities which returned to their former estate (Ez. 16:55). But Edom would not share in such a revival. I noted on :1 that in the prophecies against the seven Gentile nations in Ez. 26-32, all are envisaged as coming to "know Yahweh", i.e. to enter relationship with Him; except Edom. The unforgiveable sin, it seems, is of hatred of ones' brother as Esau / Edom / Seir hated Jacob / Israel. And so the total elimination of "Mount Seir" was intended as coming at this time of restoration. They would only "know Yahweh" in that as explained on :11,12, they would all too late come to know that Yahweh had heard their insults and remembered their harsh attitude to their brother in his time of rightful judgment for sin.

Ezekiel 35:10 Because you have said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it- Edom thought that by siding with Babylon in the destruction of Jerusalem (Ps. 137:7) they would be granted possession of Israel by Babylon. But this didn't happen. So although they didn't get their desire, yet their desires were still judged.

Whereas Yahweh was there- Perhaps it is to the physical presence of the Angel in the land (see on Dt. 11:12) that this refers. Ezekiel's prophecy closes with the statement that "Yahweh is there" (Ez. 48:35), but in essence, His presence was just as real in the land at the time of Judah's exile as it will be in the Kingdom. This has profound relevance to our own sense of Yahweh's presence; for He is essentially with us now just as really as He will be in the Kingdom age. And it continues a theme developed in Ezekiel through the cherubim visions- that the presence of Yahweh was just as much with Judah in captivity as it had been with them in the days of temple worship before the exile.

The Divine presence as symbolized by the cherubim Angels was in the land until Judah went into captivity; hence the cherubim removed from Jerusalem. But here we read that “the Lord was there” after the fall of Jerusalem. Yet God’s intention was that His people would return, the Angel cherubim of glory would return, and again it would finally be true that “the Lord is there” (Ez. 48:35). See on Ez. 3:23. And so God speaks of His presence as still being there. It's a case of 'now but not yet'.

Ezekiel 35:11 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I will do according to your anger, and according to your envy which you have shown out of your hatred against them-  See on Ez. 35:8. What we feel about others is often done to us. Edom will be judged according to what they did or intended to do to God's people.

I will make Myself known among them, when I shall judge you- God's Name is articulated in the condemnation of the wicked. This is why His judgments will make the world learn righteousness (Is. 26:9). There is here a difference between "them" and "you". The "you" is Edom (:12) and the "them" is Israel and Judah (:10). When God's people know Yahweh, i.e. re-enter relationship with Him, then Edom would be judged; they would only 'know Yahweh' (see on :9) insofar as they would "know" then that Yahweh had heard their insults against their brother Jacob (:12).

Ezekiel 35:12 You shall know that I, Yahweh, have heard all your insults which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they have been given us to devour-  God listens to the words of pagan nations. His knowledge is total, and this should influence our walk before Him. Verse 13 continues the theme: "I have heard". See on :1,9,11. Edom thought that by siding with Babylon in the destruction of Jerusalem (Ps. 137:7) they would be granted possession of Israel by Babylon. But this didn't happen. So although they didn't get their desire, yet their desires were still judged. And the full judgment of Edom for these things is yet future, for not every detail of these judgments against her came true at Ezekiel's time. This is a sober warning to us concerning our desires and feelings against others, even against those who are under rightful judgment for their sins.

Ezekiel 35:13 You have magnified yourselves against Me with your mouth, and have multiplied your words against Me, which I have heard- They had spoken against God's people, but whoever touches Israel touches the apple of God's eye. He was and is intensely manifest in us His people. He is extremely sensitive to all evil done to us. And at that time, Judah were rightfully under condemnation for their sins. But all the same, even in that state, God still identified with His sinful people under judgment. How much more does He do so with us who are in His dear Son.

Ezekiel 35:14 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: When the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate- Another indication that this prophecy is of the latter days, at the time of the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth. The same words for "the earth rejoices" are used about the time of the Kingdom when God reigns in Israel (1 Chron. 16:31; Ps. 67:4; 96:11; 97:4). But the nations of the eretz / earth were intended to repent after the judgments of and upon Babylon, and thus come to joy. That joy was to be in Zion, the reestablished temple system where the presence of Yahweh would be (Ps. 48:2; Jer. 33:9; Lam. 2:15). The joy of Edom's heart was the destruction of Zion (Ez. 36:5), so their exclusion from the eternal joy of the restored Zion is appropriate.

Edom would differ from the other nations in that they alone would not rejoice. Thus in the prophecies against the seven Gentile nations in Ez. 26-32, all are envisaged as finally coming to "know Yahweh", i.e. to enter relationship with Him; except Edom. The unforgiveable sin, it seems, is of hatred of ones' brother as Esau / Edom / Seir hated Jacob / Israel. But see on :9.

Ezekiel 35:15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do to you. You shall be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, even all of it; and they shall know that I am Yahweh- As noted on :1, Edom / Esau is the only one of the seven nations judged in Ez. 26-32 who doesn't in the end come to "know Yahweh", into relationship with Him. So here we do not read that "you", Edom, "shall know...", but rather that "they shall know that I am Yahweh", referring to the nations of "the whole earth" / eretz promised to Abraham in :14. But see on :9.