Ezekiel 35 Study Notes: Judgment on Mount Seir
God announces judgment on Mount Seir, the land of Edom, for its long hatred of Israel and for giving the Israelites up to slaughter in their time of calamity. Because Edom tried to seize Israel’s land, spoke proudly against the LORD, and celebrated Israel’s ruin, it will itself be made desolate.
General
Why does the LORD set Himself against Mount Seir (Ezekiel 35:5)?
Answer: It kept an age-old hatred and gave Israel up to the sword
Mount Seir stands for Edom, the nation descended from Esau, Jacob’s brother (Genesis 36:8). The LORD declares Himself against Seir and vows to turn its cities into ruins (35:3-4), because it held on to a long-standing hatred and gave the Israelites up to be killed in the hour of their calamity, when their punishment had reached its end (35:5). Since Edom did not hate killing, killing would pursue it, and its land would lie waste for all time (35:6-9). A brother nation had joined in Israel’s worst hour. Obadiah condemns Edom for the same violence against its brother (Obadiah 1:10), and a psalm remembers Edom cheering on Jerusalem’s fall (Psalm 137:7).
- Ezekiel 35:5-6 (BSB)“Because you harbored an ancient hatred and delivered the Israelites over to the sword in the time of their disaster at the final stage of their punishment, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.”Because Mount Seir nursed long hatred and handed Israel to the sword in their disaster, bloodshed will pursue it.
- Genesis 36:8 (BSB)“So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the area of Mount Seir.”Esau, also called Edom, made his home in the hill country of Seir.
- Obadiah 1:10 (BSB)“Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever.”Obadiah condemns Edom for its violent treatment of Jacob, its brother nation.
- Psalm 137:7 (BSB)“Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!””The psalmist recalls Edom urging on Jerusalem’s destruction on the day the city fell.
Theological
On what grounds does the LORD pronounce judgment on Mount Seir in Ezekiel 35:5?
Answer: It kept an age-old hatred and gave Israel up to the sword
Seir is Edom, Esau’s people (Genesis 36:8), and the LORD stretches out His hand to make it a ruin (35:3-4). Its guilt is an enduring enmity that broke out when Israel was at its lowest: it gave the Israelites up to be slain in the hour of their calamity, as their punishment reached its end (35:5). The sentence fits the sin—because Edom had no hatred of killing, killing would pursue it, and Seir would become a lasting desolation (35:6-9). The punishment Israel suffered came from the LORD, yet Edom remained fully accountable for its own cruelty in the hour of that punishment. Obadiah condemns the same violence against brother Jacob (Obadiah 1:10), and the exiles’ psalm recalls Edom urging Jerusalem’s demolition (Psalm 137:7).
- Ezekiel 35:5-6 (BSB)“Because you harbored an ancient hatred and delivered the Israelites over to the sword in the time of their disaster at the final stage of their punishment, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.”Because Mount Seir nursed long hatred and handed Israel to the sword in their disaster, bloodshed will pursue it.
- Genesis 36:8 (BSB)“So Esau (that is, Edom) settled in the area of Mount Seir.”Esau, also called Edom, made his home in the hill country of Seir.
- Obadiah 1:10 (BSB)“Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever.”Obadiah condemns Edom for its violent treatment of Jacob, its brother nation.
- Psalm 137:7 (BSB)“Remember, O LORD, the sons of Edom on the day Jerusalem fell: “Destroy it,” they said, “tear it down to its foundations!””The psalmist recalls Edom urging on Jerusalem’s destruction on the day the city fell.
General
True or False: The LORD says Edom’s scornful words were aimed only at Israel, so He did not treat them as words against Himself (Ezekiel 35:12-13).
Answer: False
This is false. Edom spoke with contempt about Israel’s ruined mountains, calling them easy prey (35:12). But the LORD says He heard every word, and that Edom boasted against Him and piled up words against Him (35:13). Mocking God’s people was mocking God. Obadiah also says Edom’s pride fooled it, and that God would bring it down (Obadiah 1:3-4). The LORD knows every word before it is spoken (Psalm 139:4), and Jesus warns that people will answer for each thoughtless word (Matthew 12:36).
- Ezekiel 35:12-13 (BSB)“Then you will know that I, the LORD, have heard every contemptuous word you uttered against the mountains of Israel when you said, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to devour!’ You boasted against Me with your mouth and multiplied your words against Me. I heard it Myself!”The LORD says He heard every insult against Israel’s mountains and that Seir boasted against Him.
- Obadiah 1:3-4 (BSB)“The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”Obadiah says Edom’s arrogance misled it and that the LORD would bring it low.
- Matthew 12:36 (BSB)“But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.”Jesus warns that on judgment day people must answer for their thoughtless words.
- Psalm 139:4 (BSB)“Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD.”The LORD knows every word before it is spoken.
Theological
True or False: In Ezekiel 35:12-13 the LORD treats Edom’s contempt as directed at Israel alone and not at Himself.
Answer: False
This is false. Edom’s taunts treated Israel’s hill country as desolate prey (35:12), but the LORD identifies Himself with His people: Edom boasted against Him and multiplied words against Him, and He heard them (35:13). Contempt for the covenant people is contempt for their God. Obadiah traces Edom’s ruin to the pride that deceived it (Obadiah 1:3-4). Nothing escapes the LORD’s hearing (Psalm 139:4), and Jesus warns that every careless word will be brought to account (Matthew 12:36).
- Ezekiel 35:12-13 (BSB)“Then you will know that I, the LORD, have heard every contemptuous word you uttered against the mountains of Israel when you said, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to devour!’ You boasted against Me with your mouth and multiplied your words against Me. I heard it Myself!”The LORD says He heard every insult against Israel’s mountains and that Seir boasted against Him.
- Obadiah 1:3-4 (BSB)“The pride of your heart has deceived you, O dwellers in the clefts of the rocks whose habitation is the heights, who say in your heart, ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’ Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares the LORD.”Obadiah says Edom’s arrogance misled it and that the LORD would bring it low.
- Matthew 12:36 (BSB)“But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.”Jesus warns that on judgment day people must answer for their thoughtless words.
- Psalm 139:4 (BSB)“Even before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, O LORD.”The LORD knows every word before it is spoken.
General
What fitting judgment does the LORD announce on Mount Seir in Ezekiel 35:14-15?
Answer: It would be made desolate, as it rejoiced at Israel’s ruin
Edom had celebrated when Israel’s inheritance—its God-given land—was laid waste. So the LORD will do the same to Edom: Mount Seir and all Edom will become desolate (35:14-15). The punishment matches the sin. The result is that they will recognize Him as the LORD, the refrain that runs through Ezekiel. Obadiah gives the same principle: what Edom did would come back on it (Obadiah 1:15). Proverbs states a related principle: the one who gloats over disaster will face punishment (Proverbs 17:5), and Jesus teaches that the measure we use is measured back to us (Matthew 7:2).
- Ezekiel 35:14-15 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. As you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”Seir rejoiced over Israel’s desolate inheritance, so it and all Edom will become desolate.
- Obadiah 1:15 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.”Obadiah declares that Edom will receive the same treatment it dealt out.
- Proverbs 17:5 (BSB)“He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.”A related principle: rejoicing at another’s ruin brings punishment.
- Matthew 7:2 (BSB)“For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”Jesus teaches that the measure one uses will be measured back.
Theological
What corresponding sentence does the LORD pronounce on Mount Seir in Ezekiel 35:14-15?
Answer: It would be made desolate, as it rejoiced at Israel’s ruin
The judgment is measure for measure: because Edom rejoiced over the desolation of Israel’s inheritance, the LORD will turn Mount Seir and all Edom into a wasteland (35:14-15). Its glee over God’s judgment on His people becomes the pattern for its own sentence, and the outcome is the book’s refrain—they will recognize Him as the LORD. Obadiah states the same law of retribution for Edom (Obadiah 1:15), Proverbs states the related principle that one who gloats over disaster will be punished (Proverbs 17:5), and Jesus teaches that the measure one uses is measured back (Matthew 7:2).
- Ezekiel 35:14-15 (BSB)“This is what the Lord GOD says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. As you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”Seir rejoiced over Israel’s desolate inheritance, so it and all Edom will become desolate.
- Obadiah 1:15 (BSB)“For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head.”Obadiah declares that Edom will receive the same treatment it dealt out.
- Proverbs 17:5 (BSB)“He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.”A related principle: rejoicing at another’s ruin brings punishment.
- Matthew 7:2 (BSB)“For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”Jesus teaches that the measure one uses will be measured back.
General
When Mount Seir planned to take over the two nations (Israel and Judah), what did it leave out of account (Ezekiel 35:10)?
Answer: That the LORD Himself was present in that land
Edom said that the two nations (Israel and Judah) and their countries would become its own possession. But the land was not empty for the taking: the LORD was present there (35:10). Israel’s land belonged to Him, and so did His people. Because of this, God would repay Edom in keeping with the fury and envy it showed in its hatred, and would make Himself known by judging it (35:11). Ezekiel returns to this charge, saying Edom seized God’s land for itself (36:5). The psalm calls Israel the LORD’s own people and flock (Psalm 100:3), and Paul teaches that repaying wrong belongs to the Lord (Romans 12:19).
- Ezekiel 35:10-11 (BSB)“Because you have said, ‘These two nations and countries will be ours, and we will possess them,’ even though the LORD was there, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred against them, and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.”Mount Seir planned to take both nations and lands, though the LORD was there, and God will repay its anger.
- Ezekiel 36:5 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Surely in My burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who took My land as their own possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, so that its pastureland became plunder.”The LORD speaks against all Edom for seizing His land for itself.
- Psalm 100:3 (BSB)“Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.”The psalm declares that the LORD’s people belong to Him as the flock He tends.
- Romans 12:19 (BSB)“Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.””Paul tells believers to leave repayment of wrongs to God.
Theological
What did Mount Seir disregard in its claim on the two nations and lands (Ezekiel 35:10)?
Answer: That the LORD Himself was present in that land
Edom’s design was to annex the two nations (Israel and Judah) and their territory, as though a ruined land were ownerless—yet the LORD was present there (35:10). The land was His and the people His own, and His claim on them did not lapse when He disciplined them. He would therefore repay Edom according to its anger and jealousy and make Himself known in the judgment (35:11). The charge recurs in 36:5, where Edom is said to have seized His land for itself. Israel is the LORD’s own people and flock (Psalm 100:3), and vengeance belongs to the Lord (Romans 12:19).
- Ezekiel 35:10-11 (BSB)“Because you have said, ‘These two nations and countries will be ours, and we will possess them,’ even though the LORD was there, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred against them, and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.”Mount Seir planned to take both nations and lands, though the LORD was there, and God will repay its anger.
- Ezekiel 36:5 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Surely in My burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who took My land as their own possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, so that its pastureland became plunder.”The LORD speaks against all Edom for seizing His land for itself.
- Psalm 100:3 (BSB)“Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.”The psalm declares that the LORD’s people belong to Him as the flock He tends.
- Romans 12:19 (BSB)“Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.””Paul tells believers to leave repayment of wrongs to God.