Reflections on Ezekiel 35

Ezekiel 35 (Contemporary English Version)
1. The LORD said:
   
2. Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the people of Edom
   
3. and say to them: I, the LORD God, am now your enemy! And I will turn your nation into an empty wasteland,
   
4. leaving your towns in ruins. Your land will be a desert, and then you will know that I am the LORD.
   
5. People of Edom, not only have you been Israel's longtime enemy, you simply watched when disaster wiped out its people as punishment for their sins.
   
6. And so, as surely as I am the living LORD God, you are guilty of murder and must be put to death.
   
7. I will destroy your nation and kill anyone who travels through it.
   
8. Dead bodies will cover your mountains and fill up your valleys,
   
9. and your land will lie in ruins forever. No one will live in your towns ever again. You will know that I am the LORD.
   
10. You thought the nations of Judah and Israel belonged to you, and that you could take over their territory. But I am their God,
    
11. and as surely as I live, I will punish you for treating my people with anger and hatred. Then they will know that I, the LORD, am punishing you!
    
12. And you will finally realize that I heard you laugh at their destruction and say their land was yours to take.
    
13. You even insulted me, but I heard it all.
    
14. Everyone on earth will celebrate when I destroy you,
    
15. just as you celebrated when Israel was destroyed. Your nation of Edom will be nothing but a wasteland. Then everyone will know that I am the LORD.
    
    

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    Edom, the descendants of Esau, were ancient enemies of Israel stemming from the conflict of Esau and Jacob over the birthright of their father Isaac. During the Exodus the Edomites refused permission for Israel to cross their land and maintained a hostility toward them ever after. Addressed in this chapter of Ezekiel was Edom's participation with the Babylonians in the capture of Jerusalem. The Lord said to Edom through Ezekiel, "Because you maintained an ancient hatred and handed over the Israelites to the power of the sword in the time of their disaster, the time of final punishment, . . . I will destine you for bloodshed, and it will pursue you." (35:5-6)
    
    The outcome for Edom was that the nation became "a perpetual desolation; your cities will not be inhabited." (35:9)  The Lord said to Edom that once she was brought down to desolation, "Then you will know that I am the LORD." (35:9) This message is stated over and over throughout the prophecy of Ezekiel to one nation after another. The certainty is that one day all people will acknowledge God. As the Apostle Paul states in Romans 14:11-12, "For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." The choice is ours as to whether it is through blessing or through judgement that we come to bow before Him.