Ezekiel 35

Lexham Context Commentary:

(34:1–48:35))

The final section of Ezekiel concentrates on the future blessings that God has in store for his restored people.

He will gather his people, provide a shepherd and king over them,

and enter into covenant with them.

He will richly provide for them and protect them.

By giving them hearts of flesh, he will place his Spirit within them to cause them to obey him.

This work of the Spirit is a work of resurrection.

God will completely destroy the nations who gather against his restored people.

The final nine chapters describe the life of God with his people in terms of a restored temple, from which flow life‐giving waters.

Ezekiel 35:1-15

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,

Who is Mt. Seir ? The Bible makes 38 references to Seir

The earliest appearance comes in Gen 14:6, which describes the Horites as living in the hill country of Seir.. This is same scripture or chapter where lot and his wife are taken captive.

A mountainous region between the Dead Sea and Gulf of Aqabah.

In biblical times, this area marked the border between Judah and Edom. Seir (Hebrew: “hairy”) Seir is located southeast of Israel,

near the wilderness of Zin,

Seir often appears to be synonymous with Edom (Hebrew: “red”).

Esau is said to have settled in Seir (Gen 32:4), and his descendants, the Edomites, reside there still.

Seir and Edom are used together in Balaam’s vision Num 24:18 , and both places are mentioned in the description of Judah’s territory.

Numbers 24:10-19

10 And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.

11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.

12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,

13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?

14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.

15 And he took up his parable, and said,Balaam the son of Beor hath said, And the man whose eyes are open hath said:

16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, And knew the knowledge of the most High, Which saw the vision of the Almighty,Falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

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.

18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; And Israel shall do valiantly.

19  Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, And shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.

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.

Amos 1: 11

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:

Someone asked me one time why does the bible say Jacob have I loved But Esau have I hated. Esau never forgave his brother but carried that anger and resentment inside .Be careful what you carry in your heart! Anger , Bitterness, and resentment , can destroy your relationship with God!

Ezekiel 25: 12

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;

4  I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

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:

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.

7 Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.

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.

9 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

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:

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.

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.

13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.

14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.

Mal. 1:2-5

1 THE burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.

2  I have loved you, saith the LORD.

Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us?

Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD:

Yet I loved Jacob,

3  And I hated Esau,

And laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

4  Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished,

But we will return and build the desolate places;

Thus saith the LORD of hosts,

They shall build, but I will throw down;

And they shall call them, The border of wickedness,

And, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

5  And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say,

The LORD will be magnified †from the border of Israel.

Obadiah 1

1 The vision of Obadiah

Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom;

We have heard a rumour from the Lord,

And an ambassador is sent among the heathen,

Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.

2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen:

Thou art greatly despised.

3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee,

Thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high;

That saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle,

And though thou set thy nest among the stars,

Thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.

5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!)

Would they not have stolen till they had enough?

If the grapegatherers came to thee,

Would they not leave some grapes?

6 How are the things of Esau searched out!

How are his hidden things sought up!

7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border:

The men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee;

They that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee:

There is none understanding in him.

8 Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord,

Even destroy the wise men out of Edom,

And understanding out of the mount of Esau?

9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed,

To the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.

10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee,

And thou shalt be cut off for ever.

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.

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.

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;

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

15  For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen:As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee;*Thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

16  For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain,So shall all the heathen drink continually,Yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down,And they shall be as though they had not been.

17  But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness;And the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

18  And the house of Jacob shall be a fire,And the house of Joseph a flame,And the house of Esau for stubble,And they shall kindle in them, and devour them;And there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau;For the LORD hath spoken it.

19  And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau;And they of the plain the Philistines:And they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria:And Benjamin shall possess Gilead.

20  And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath;And the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad,Shall possess the cities of the south.

21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau;And the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Jer. 49:7-22

7  Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts;Is wisdom no more in Teman?Is counsel perished from the prudent?Is their wisdom vanished?

8  Flee ye, turn back,Dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan;For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,The time that I will visit him.

9  If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes?If thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.

10  But I have made Esau bare,I have uncovered his secret places,And he shall not be able to hide himself:His seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not.

11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive;And let thy widows trust in me.

12 For thus saith the LORD;Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken;And art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished?Thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

13 For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD,That Bozrah shall become a desolation,A reproach, a waste, and a curse;And all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

14  I have heard a rumour from the LORD,And an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying,Gather ye together,And come against her, and rise up to the battle.

15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen,And despised among men.

16  Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart,O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock,That holdest the height of the hill:Though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle,I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.

17  Also Edom shall be a desolation:Every one that goeth by it shall be astonished,And shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah And the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD,No man shall abide there,Neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

19  Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan Against the habitation of the strong:But I will suddenly make him run away from her:And who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her?For who is like me? and who will appoint me the time?And who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

20  Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD,That he hath taken against Edom;And his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out:Surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.

21  The earth is moved at the noise of their fall,At the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

22  Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle,And spread his wings over Bozrah: And at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom Be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

Ezekiel 21:25

And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come,

when iniquity shall have an end,

Last vrs in 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.