“Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,” says the Lord (Ezekiel 35:2,KJV). According to NetBible, the word ‘Seir’ Hebrew meaning is “hairy” or “shaggy.” We learn that this was the dwelling place of Esau, Jacob (the father of the Israelite’s) brother. It is written in Genesis 36:8 (KJV), “thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.” Remember, Esau was born a red and hairy baby.
But in the piece we are studying today, Ezekiel 35 (KJV), God is giving a warning to the people of Edom and Seir. The warning we read: “Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord (verses 3-4).
One need to wonder why God feels so strongly against this nation and people. God tells us in verse 5, “because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end.” Israel’s iniquity came to an end in 1948 when they received the land of Israel back. Although Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel we need to remember the past between these two countries. “Jordan lost the West Bank including East Jerusalem to Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Jordan is the second Arab country after Egypt to sign a peace treaty with Israel and many of its more than 8 million citizens are of Palestinian origin” (Reuters). According to this article Jordan (Edom) are against annexation of the West Bank and are warning Israel against such a move, that can destroy such a peace treaty.
God is long suffering, meaning, He shows patience in spite of troubles, especially to those who caused His people harm. God’s case against the nation of Jordan is that they have claimed possession of the land saying “these two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the Lord was there” (Ezekiel 35:10, KJV). God has also heard (verse 12) “all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.” Verse 13- “thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.”
Jeremiah, too, have spoken a warning to Edom, stating “therefore hear the counsel of the Lord , that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman (son of Esau): Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them” (Jeremiah 49:20, KJV).
Because God knows the heart of every man, He knows of Jordan’s anger towards His people (Israel) and also of their envy against them, which has become a bitter hatred that will cause them to go up against the people of Israel (verse 11). God will therefore, 6-“prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee” (Verse 6). And He will cause Mount Seir to become bare so that no one will pass through it (verse 7), “and I 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” (verse 8). Finally, God will “make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the Lord” (verse 9).
The land of Edom might say that they will rebuilt which was broken down, but even that God will destroy in the face of the world. We read: “whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever” (Malachi 1:4 KJV). The whole world will be witnessing these events. For, “thus saith the Lord God ; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Edom, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses 14-15).
I believe there is hope for everyone. God pressed this following verse on my heart to give to the people of Jordan: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV). We serve a merciful God, after all.
My prayer for us today is that we will find favor in God’s eyes, and that He will show us His mercy and grace. Let us humbly come to His mighty throne and ask forgiveness for our sins, so that our sins may be forgiven, and we be saved. #GodCanDoThis
Notes:
The main text I will be discussing comes from Ezekiel 35:
https://bible.com/bible/1/ezk.35.2-15.KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/2ch.7.14.KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/mal.1.4.KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/jer.49.20.KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/gen.36.8.KJV
http://classic.net.bible.org/dictionary.php?word=seir
Facts on Jordan stance to Israel I found on:
Lightbearer's Quest 