The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
Ezekiel 35
Chapter XXXV · Vol. III, pp. 1362–1363
The judgment of Mount Seir for their hatred of Israel, and insulting over their distress.
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.2
2 Heb. desolation and desolation, Is.34.8-15. Je.49.17,18,20. Ob.16. Joel 3.19. ch.25.13,14.
5 Becauseg thou hast had a perpetual hatred,3 and hast shed the blood of the children4 of Israel by the force5 of the sword in the time of their calamity, in hthe time that their iniquity had an end:
6 Therefore,i 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.
i ver.3,4,7-9. Is.34.5-8. Je.25.9,21;49.12,13. ch.25.14. La.4.21,22. Ob.9,10,15,16. Mal.1.3,4. Ps.109.17;137.7. Mat.7.2.
7 Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate,6 and cut off from it jhim that passeth out, and him that returneth.
6 Heb. desolation and desolation, ver.3. Is.34.8-15. Je.49.17,18,20. Ob.9,16. Joel 3.19. ch.25.13,14.
j Ju.5.6,7.
8 And kI 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.
k Ob.9,15,16. ch.25.13. Je.49.12,18. Is.34.2-7, with ch 32.4,5;39.4.
9 Il will make thee perpetual desolations,7 and thy cities shall not return; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
l ch.25.13. Is.34.9,10. Je.49.13,17,18. Mal.1.3,4. Zep.2.9. La.4.22. Ob.10,16.
7 See note * below.
* There is great reason to conclude that Edom was the original seat of learning and civilization, the instructress of Egypt, Chaldea, and consequently of Greece and of the world. See Wylie's Modern Judea, p.448, &c. The remnants of her ancient grandeur in the ruins of Petra (see as above, and Keith's Fulfilment of Prophecy) are justly ranked among the wonders of the world. At the time Ezekiel wrote she exhibited no symptoms of internal decay; and, for ages after his time, continued to advance to a degree of riches and power that promised to bid defiance to change. But, in face of all this, the prophet not merely foretells her decay, but her 'perpetual desolations.' And 'here,' says Dr. Shaw, 'is no place of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; the whole is an evil place, a lonesome desolate wilderness.' Travels, p.438. See also Stephens, vol. ii. pp.41, 51. Evidences these things are of the divine inspiration of the prophets, which it is hard to discover how scepticism can doubt or infidelity deny.—C.
10 Because thou hast said, nThese two nations,8 and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas9 the LORD was there:
n Ps.83.4,12. ch.36.23,5. Je.49.1.
8 These two nations—Israel and Judah—upon whose lands the Edomites did subsequently seize, extending their border to the Mediterranean, and making Hebron their capital.—C.
9 Or, though, ch.48.35. Ps.132.13,14;48.1-3;76.1,2. Je.51.5.
11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, Io will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy, which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and pI will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
o Ps.137.7. Am.2.11. Ob.10-14. ch.25.12-14; ver.5,12,15, with Is.3.11. Ro.2.8,9. Mat.7.2. Ja.2.13.
p Is.26.9,11. Re.29.1,2. Ps.83.17,18.
12 And qthou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that rI have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given sus to consume.1
q ch.6.7;7.4,9;36.11. Is.26.9,11. Ps.9.16.
r Ps.94.9,10. 2 Ki.19.28. ver.13,15.
s ch.36.2. Ps.83.12,13.
1 Heb. to devour, ver.10.
13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted2 against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
14 Thus saith the Lord GOD, When tthe whole earth rejoiceth, uI will make thee desolate.
t Is.14.7,8;65.13,14. Je.27.7.
u See ver.3,4,7,15. Is.34.8-15. Je.49.13,17,18. Joel 3.19. Ob.10,16. Zep.2.9. Mal.1.3,4. Je.25.9,21.
Notes
Reflections.—God's ministers must declare nothing but evil against the implacable enemies of Christ and his people. The quarrels of parents often descend to their children; and national antipathies are deeply rooted. Therefore parents should carefully avoid giving a bad example to their children, as it may insnare and ruin them, though themselves should repent. Nothing is more cruel than to insult and oppress the distressed. Even they who suffer for their sin here, ought not to be trampled on, but pitied. And it shows great baseness if our own advantage thereby render us glad at the losses and troubles of others. When God's church is in trouble, the constancy and fidelity of her friends, and the malice and pride of her enemies, are singularly manifested. God is highly provoked when his enemies lay claim to the peculiar property of his offending favourites. And they who jest at or help forward their misery may expect similar calamities. Neither men's words nor their deeds are forgotten by God in measuring out his judgments. And implacable malice must be punished with irreparable ruin.