Ezekiel 35 Devotional

An Old Hatred Answered

Edom was already named among Judah's neighbors (25:12-14), but God returns to Mount Seir for a whole chapter, and the charge goes deeper. Edom nursed an ancient hatred and handed Israel over to the sword in the very hour of their disaster (35:5). It claimed the lands of both Israel and Judah as its own, even though the LORD was there (35:10), and it mocked the ruined mountains of Israel as food to devour (35:12).

God's answer is that he heard every word. Edom thought it was talking about a defeated neighbor, but God says those boasts were spoken against him (35:12-13). When the risen Jesus stopped Saul on the road to Damascus, he asked why Saul was persecuting him, though Saul had been hunting his followers (Acts 9:4-5). The LORD takes what is done to his people personally. That is sobering for any grudge carried for years. It is also a comfort when you are the one being mocked, because nothing said against those who belong to God goes unheard.

To think about: Is there an old resentment you have been nursing toward someone, and what would it look like to bring it honestly before God today?