By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text:
Ezekiel
35:1-15
It did not take long for
persecution to begin in the Church. After the great revival that occurred in Acts
2 after Peter’s address to the crowd in which 3,000 were saved, A miracle
of healing by Peter and John brought about persecution (Acts
3,4). This persecution escalated with every Apostle, except John, suffering
martyrdom for their faith. God preserved John so he could author his gospel, three
epistles, and the Book of Revelation. Living and functioning in a fallen world
means God’s people should expect persecution, enduring it by knowing Jesus has
overcome the world (John
16:33).
Ezekiel receives another
word from the Lord and is instructed to prophesy against Mount Seir (Ezekiel
35:1-2). It is not a good word because it is a word telling them the Lord
intends to stretch out His hand against them and make the land most desolate (Ezekiel
35:3). The Lord will lay their cities to waste, and then they shall know
the Lord God is the Lord (Ezekiel
35:4).
The charges against the
people of Mount Seir are that they have harbored an ancient hatred against the
children of Israel using the power of the sword during Israel’s time of calamity
(Ezekiel
35:5). God is preparing them for bloodshed like they intended for Israel,
making Mount Seir most desolate with no one leaving or returning there (Ezekiel
35:6-7). The mountains, hills, and valleys will be filled with those slain
by the sword, with Mount Seir remaining perpetually desolate and uninhabited,
causing them to know the Lord God is the Lord (Ezekiel
35:8-9).
The reason for the
charges against the people of Mount Seir are their claims that the nations of
Israel and Judah are theirs with intentions of possessing them, even though the
Lord is there (Ezekiel
35:10). The Lord intends to return His anger against them making Himself
known to them as the Lord God (Ezekiel
35:11-12). The Lord reminds them that He has heard their words of boasting
against Him (Ezekiel
35:13). The Lord concludes by reminding the people of Mount Seir that the
earth will rejoice at their destruction like they rejoiced when Israel became
desolate, with them knowing the Lord God is the Lord (Ezekiel
35:14-15).
The region of Mount Seir
is the region in which Esau settled (Genesis
36:8). Since the people living in the region of Mount Seir were descendants
of Esau, God told the Israelites to leave them alone and not meddle with them
on their way to the Promised Land (Deuteronomy
2:1-7). The people of Mount Seir are mentioned again in Scripture (2
Chronicles 20:1-30) when they joined forces with the people of Ammon, Moab,
and Mount Seir to attack King Jehoshaphat of Judah. This led Jehoshaphat to
call the nation to prayer, culminating with the Spirit of God coming upon
Jahaziel, telling the army of Judah to come out against them because the Lord
is with them. The strategy of attack is for the singers to precede the army
with the praises of the Lord, causing ambushes to come upon Ammon, Moab, and
the people of Mount Seir. Whether this is the calamity referred to in Ezekiel
35:5 or not is unimportant, because God intends to execute judgment against
the people of Mount Seir for what they did to His people, Israel.
There are consequences
for anyone coming against God’s people, which now includes both the Jews and
the Church. While neither the Jews nor the Church are perfect, they are people
called by God with a purpose. However, we should pray that God will help them
deal with their imperfections instead of persecuting them. In Revelation
2 and 3, John addresses seven churches, pointing out their strengths and
weaknesses to return them to a right standing with God. When one observes an
imperfection in the Church, rather than persecution, one should try teaching
from the Word of God so that they can correct the imperfection. Persecution is
one trying to establish superiority over another, similar to the persecution of
Jesus and the early Church (John
11:47-48; Acts 4:13-17). A persecutor’s purpose is to put someone down to
build themselves up as superior (Luke
18:9-14). Instead of persecuting someone in the Church for a wrongdoing, we
should correct them using the word of God so they can repent and experience
restoration to a right standing with God. Persecution has consequences, but
correction can bring restoration. Remember, vengeance belongs to the Lord (Romans
12:19).
Restoration to the Lord
begins with one making Jesus their Lord through confessing Jesus as their Lord
with a genuine belief that Jesus died for their sins and was resurrected from the
dead in victory over sin and death (Romans
10:9-10). This is not optional for all of us have sinned (Romans
3:23) and live under a death sentence for our sins (Romans
6:23), but as the second half of Romans
6:23 tells us, God’s gift to humanity is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
If you have never done so or have drifted away from God, I invite you to
experience restoration by praying with me now.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
May God challenge and
bless everyone reading this post.