(REFLECTIONS ON EZEKIEL 35:1-15)

Mount Seir is the land of Edom, the land that the Lord gave to Esau. Esau we know as Jacob’s brother. Jacob would later be named Israel, and was the father the 12 tribes of Israel. This hostility and emnity between Edom and Israel started in the womb, as both twins struggled in the womb, and where Jacob was grabbing at the heel of his older twin brother at birth.

This struggle continued as Jacob stole the birthright and blessing from Esau, and continued through their descendants throughout the generations. In today’s Scripture, regarding Edom, we read,

5 “‘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, 6 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.

This ancient hostility between Edom and the Israelites would be dealt with by the Lord, because although it was once Jacob that was grabbing the heel of his brother Esau, it was now Edom that desired and wanted to possess what was Israel’s.

10 “‘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, 11 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.

There is a generational hurt here, between Edom and “these two nations,” referring to the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah, the Israelites. Edom through Esau had what was rightfully theirs stolen from them, and so wanted to exact revenge and take what was Jacob’s, that is Israel and Judah. However, as we read in verse 10, Edom wanted to take possession of Israel and Judah, “even though I the Lord was there.”

Yes, Edom wanted to get back at the Israelites, as a generational curse handed down from their forefathers, but in order to do so, they would have to face the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that was a battle that they could not win.

The Lord would deal with this ancient conflict between Edom and Israel because it needed to be dealt with in order for Israel to move on. Holding on to this conflict, and having the insecurity of being surrounded by Edom and the other nations that surrounded them, would prevent Israel from being able to move forward in their relationship with God.

God would deal with them, just as He dealt with Israel and Judah, and it is only when these past issues are dealt with that restoration could happen. Today’s Scriptures remind us of the strangle hold past hurts and past sins can have on our lives. Does this ancient conflict between Edom and the Israelites, between Esau and Jacob, remind us of past hurts in our lives, that haunt us even til today?

Yes, the Lord wants us to move on because that is the only way we can move forward in our relationship with Him. The key in dealing with past hurts, is to give over their power to the Lord. As long as past hurts have a power over us, we will find that there are constant stumbling blocks preventing us from true freedom in Christ. Let us hand over our hurts to the Lord, for the Lord was, is, and will always be there for us.

The question for us, is if we are ready to let go of the past, or if will we hold on to these grudges and end up like Edom? Perhaps our initial response is to think of ourselves as Israel, and forget that at times we are the Edom in a relationship. We can always try to justify ourselves and say the issue is with those that hurt us, but does that then give us a right to hurt back? May the Lord help us in dealing with past hurts, no matter what our role we or the generations before us have played.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Ezekiel 35