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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Edom took
revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so, therefore this is what the
Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill both man
and beast. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the
sword. I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they
will deal with Edom in accordance with My anger and My wrath; they will know My
vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face
against Mount Seir; prophesy against it 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. I will turn your towns into ruins and you will
be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
“‘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, 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. I will make Mount Seir a
desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go. 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. I will make you desolate forever; your
towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
“‘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, 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. 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.” You boasted against Me and spoke against Me without
restraint, and I heard it. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: While the
whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. 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.’”
Ezekiel 25:12-14 and Chapter 35
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Gloating over Judah’s misfortune. Asserting that Judah’s God
was no better than any other nations' gods.
These were the two things that led to judgment coming upon
Ammon and Moab respectively as we have seen in our study of Ezekiel 25. Today,
we add another nation, Edom, to the list. Look at these verses:
“This is what the
Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Edom took revenge on Judah and became very guilty
by doing so, therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out
my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast. I will lay it waste, and from
Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. I will take vengeance on Edom by
the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with
My anger and My wrath; they will know My vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Ezekiel 25:12-14 and Chapter 35
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face
against Mount Seir; prophesy against it 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. I will turn your towns into ruins and you will
be desolate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
“‘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, 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. I will make Mount Seir a
desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go. 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. I will make you desolate forever; your
towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
“‘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, 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. 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.” You boasted against Me and spoke against Me without
restraint, and I heard it. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: While the
whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. 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.’”
Ezekiel 25:12-14 and Chapter 35
Note the chief charge God brings against Edom:
“Edom took revenge on
Judah and became very guilty by doing so.”
Why did the Edomites feel compelled to seek revenge?
Perhaps it was in their cultural DNA because if you look
into the one who founded the Edomite people, you will find none other than a
man named Edom, a man you may also know by another name: Esau.
You remember Esau, right?
He was born just ahead of his brother Jacob, thus he was the
oldest and entitled to the birthright of his father Isaac. But that never
happened because his brother Jacob, with the help of his mother, duped Isaac
into blessing him with the birthright, leaving Esau cheated out of what was
rightfully his. Esau would go on to form his own people, the Edomites, while
Jacob would go on, find his name changed to Israel, and produce twelve sons who
would form the twelve major tribes of the Israelite nation.
Would a grudge become formed with Israel?
Well, there is evidence of it.
Go to Book of Numbers and you will find the Israelites on
their journey to the Promised Land after their deliverance from the hands of
Pharaoh. The path they were traveling, a road famous for trade called the King’s
Highway, passed through the nation of Edom and when the Israelites, led by
Moses, asked for permission to pass through Edom, they were rejected by force
(Numbers 20:14-21).
Afterwards, Edom consistently attacked Israel. They did so
during the reigns of Saul and David with David winning victory and taking
control of the Edomite territory. In fact, David’s son, Solomon, had ships
built at the Edomite port of Ezion-Gaber and conducted trade and commerce from
there (1 Kings 9:26-28). After Solomon’s reign ended, the Edomites were able to
break free and establish their own rule again, repelling the attempts of Judah
and its king, Jehoram, to bring them back into the fold. Scriptures clearly
state that from that point, Edom was in rebellion against Judah (2 Kings
8:20-22).
We need this background to understand why Edom would be
called out for its desire for vengeance against Judah. We also need to clearly
see that God is not going to stand for the matter of anyone taking it upon
themselves to seek revenge. Look at the penalties He imposed on Edom for such
behavior:
“This is what the
Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Edom took revenge on Judah and became very guilty
by doing so, therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out
my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast. I will lay it waste, and from
Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. I will take vengeance on Edom by
the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with
My anger and My wrath; they will know My vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
God promised His vengeance in return for the vengeance that
Edom showed against Judah. That vengeance would include:
1. Death.
“I will stretch out
my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast…from Teman to Dedan they will
fall by the sword.”
Part of the Edomite desire for revenge involved bloodshed
and the killing of the Israelites in Judah. God would take that desire and put
it into tangible action as many of the Edomites and their animals would lose
their lives.
2. Destruction.
“I will lay it waste.”
The Edomites would have liked nothing more than seeing Judah
completely obliterated and devastated. Indeed, they must have rejoiced in
seeing how the Babylonians laid Judah and its beloved city of Jerusalem to
waste. But as we see, God was going to bring the same level of destruction to
Edom and He would lay the nation to waste.
3. His anger and wrath.
“I will take vengeance
on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in
accordance with My anger and My wrath.”
God saw it fitting that His own people would be the
instruments of His judgment and His prophecy was fulfilled in the period of the
Maccabees who conquered the Edomites and made them convert to Judaism which included
circumcision.
God’s message is clear in today’s devotion. He will not
stand by idly and allow anyone to seek revenge on their own terms. If they do,
then they can expect to experience His judgment.
So do you have a grudge against someone, someone you wish
you could get even with?
If so, I encourage you to seek God’s will and way over the
matter before you take matters into your own hands.
It certainly would have saved the Edomites a lot of trouble.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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