“Because you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. (Ezekiel 35:5-6)

These are the kinds of verses that make me very cautious in how I view and behave toward Israel. As previously mentioned, it’s become socially acceptable – even encouraged – to criticize Israel in the extreme. The more public and extreme, the better. Look at the clipped section above. In 5-6, God says He is punishing Edom because they “cherished perpetual enmity with Israel.”

Let’s go back in history. The Edomites are the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s firstborn twin brother. However, Esau traded his birthright for some stew … and the fight was on when he realized what he had done. In the end, the brothers separated. Esau went east and became the Edomites. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and his descendants became Israel.

Then, during their Exodus trip to the Promised Land, the Edomites forbade Israel’s safe passage, causing them to take a lengthy detour.

Later, both King Saul and King David battled with them, with David finally subduing them. This subduing reminds me of the kid who was forced to sit by his mother even though he didn’t want to sit. He told her, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside!” The Edomites remained bitter in their hearts.

When Babylon came calling, Edom sided with them against Judah. Here’s how Obadiah describes it: “Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress.” (Obadiah‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬-‭12‬) “Do not gloat, rejoice, or boast” at Judah’s suffering.

Verse 6 (see above) says that God will hammer Edom because of their heart toward Judah. Remember, God is giving Judah her biggest punishment at this time, and He does not allow others to celebrate that in any way. Yikes!

Father, help me be faithful toward those to whom you remain faithful. Help me also not to hold on to offense, but to release offenses into your care. Amen.