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Two Nations from Womb to Inheritance Sermon- August 2000 Charles R. Biggs Ezekiel prophesied to the Israelites during the exile. He brought the words, rebuke and prophetic promises of God to bear upon the Israelites' situation while exiled in the foreign, pagan, non-covenantal land of Babylon. Our Scripture tonight is between chapter 34, concerning the judgment of the false shepherds of Israel, and the future Shepherd God will ultimately provide, and between the end of chapter 36 on the promise of God removing the iniquity from Israel and giving them a heart of flesh so that they might be obedient. So what does Ezekiel 35:1-36:15 teach us in this context? Ezekiel 35:1-15 comprises a prophecy against the nation of Edom under the figure of its central mountain, Mount Seir. Ezekiel 36:1-5 is a prophecy of hope for exiled Israel under the figure of its central mountain, Mt. Zion. You may remember in chapter 25:12-14, Ezekiel had already delivered a brief prophecy against Edom in his prophecies or oracles against foreign nations: 12 "Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance upon them, Again, in contrast to the prophecy against Edom in chapter 25, this larger prophecy against Edom is linked together with the prophecy that follows it concerning Mt. Zion, in chapter 36:1-15. This is a pair of contrasting mounts: Mount Seir and Mount Zion; representing Edom and Israel respectively. Having spoken of the restoration of the monarchy in chapter 34 in speaking of God's Shepherd to come who will lead Israel, the central feature of the Davidic covenant, Ezekiel now addresses the future of the land of Canaan, the central feature of the covenant with Abraham. The issue at stake between Israel and Edom is nothing less than the possession of the Promised Land. In our verses tonight, God pronounces doom on Mount Seir, followed by salvation pronounced on the mountains of Israel. The judgement of Edom is a necessary prerequisite for the restoration of Judah to the Land of Promise. One thing we want to appreciate is how Ezekiel speaks to both of the nations. This prophecy is more than mere mountains being contrasted- - this is nothing more than the ongoing struggle between the non-elect and the elect people of God, as we will see in our study. Remember, Edom comes from Esau, and Israel from Jacob- -both the sons of Isaac and Rebekah as we read earlier. The chapter opens with an address through the prophet against Mount Seir, the symbol of Edom (in 35:2). Edom, the nation to the southeast of Judah, had taken advantage of the power vacuum left by the destruction of Jerusalem to move into Judean territory and take it over. Her fortunes seemed on the rise, but that was not God's final word. Ultimately, God would act to bring Edom down. The Lord declared that judgment would come on Mount Seir, so that she would become "a desolate waste" as 35:3 teaches. The LORD is declaring that he will make Mt. Seir like Sodom and Gomorrah- - like a desolate waste or wilderness after his wrath has been poured out upon them. The reason for God's judgment is given in 35:5: Because of the "ancient hostility" between the two nations, the Edomites gave the Israelites over to the sword in their time of judgment. This hostility reached all the way back to the time of their fathers, Jacob and Esau (also known as Edom), as recorded in Genesis 27-28. Even the establishment of peace between these two individuals as recorded in Genesis 33 did not take away the deep-seated grievances among their descendants, which stretched down throughout history, amplified rather than diminished by the passage of time. Thus, when Judah was under God's wrath and Jerusalem was judged in the Exile to Babylon, Edom saw an opportunity to reclaim the stolen birthright by helping the Babylonians. But their animosity will rebound on their own heads, says the Lord. Because of their "bloodthirsty hatred" as Ezekiel 36:6 teaches, blood will in turn pursue them until they are utterly cut off. To match their ongoing enmity toward Israel, now they will become "desolate forever" as verse 9 says. The LORD will make Edom a perpetual desolation and all the cities of Edom will be uninhabited. What was the source of Edom's perpetual enmity toward God's people? This becomes clear in 35:10. The Edomites desired to possess the two lands of Israel and Judah (the north and the south) for themselves and thus to reclaim by force the stolen birthright that Jacob deceptively took from Esau his brother years ago. This was in spite of the Lord's promises to Jacob/Israel and his past presence in the land with his people. This ambition will not be allowed because the Lord will intervene to protect the honor of his own name, which was linked to the gift of Canaan to his people. Look at verses 11-12. God says: "I will make myself known among you when I judge you. And you shall know that I, the LORD, have heard all the reviling which you uttered against the mountains of Israel…" In Light of verses 11-12, you may remember how God's name "the LORD" is linked to the land and his covenant promises. In Exodus 32: 11-14, after the golden calf incident, Moses is speaking to God about his name and his people: 11 But Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, "O LORD, why does thy wrath burn hot against thy people, whom thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Far from Edom possessing the land which was Israel's inheritance, their own inheritance will be wiped out; just as they rejoiced at Israel's downfall, many nations will rejoice at theirs. Look at 35:15-15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Then indeed Edom will know that the Lord is the One who stands behind the assignment of the land of Canaan to Israel as an everlasting inheritance as Numbers 34:2 teaches. God's present abandonment of the land is not permanent; the hope of Ezekiel's prophecy is that the Exile will not be permanent and he will raise Israel up again from the dead as he later prophesies in chapter 37. It is the divine election of Israel- - the covenant promises of God- - that makes the mountains of Israel the permanent "inheritance of the house of the Israel". Though Israel has been temporarily removed from the land of promise, the land of Canaan remains the rightful property of the Lord. The Living God will not be mocked or trifled with as verse 13 says: "You boasted against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it." Edom's foolish boasting will ultimately be seen as the empty words of the godless, who think to overthrow God's kingdom, only to find themselves the object first of God's mirth and then of his wrath as Psalm 2 teaches. Ps. 2 says: "Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed…He who sits in heaven laughs…then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury saying, 'I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill'." Let's now turn from Mt. Seir's fate to Ezekiel's prophecy to Mt. Zion, or the mountains of Israel. If Ezekiel 35 gives the dark side of the future in the prophesy of the destruction of Edom, 36:1-15 gives the bright side: the return of God's people to the land of promise from Exile. The address to the "mountains of Israel" parallels the earlier address to Mount Seir in chapter 35. Whereas Edom sought to possess the mountains of Israel, the "ancient heights" (or "ancient high places") spoken of in 36:2, they will be brought down to the depths and Israel will return to possess the land that is now in the hands of other pagan nations (36:3). It becomes clear as the prophecy progresses that Edom in Ezekiel 35 is merely one representative of the nations at large who oppose Israel and her God. One representative of nations who conspire against the LORD and his Anointed. Her fate is therefore representative of all who oppose God's place; all who seek to benefit from Israel's misfortune will meet the same end at the hands of Israel's jealous God. Though the promise of the land to Israel may at present be in abeyance because of Israel's unfaithfulness, because they are in exile away from the land, the land has not been abrogated and ultimately will be fulfilled because of the Lord's concern for his name. Look at 36:6-11: 6 Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I speak in my jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. Whereas in the past God's jealously and wrath were poured out on the mountains of Israel so that they became the object of scorn for the nations, that scorn will be returned on the head of the nations (36:7). Israel will once again become "my people Israel" according to 36:8. The mountains of Israel will burst forth with great fruitfulness as the Lord turns his face toward them in blessing (36:9). People and animals will multiply and be fruitful for the Israelites in 36:11. Being fruitful and multiplying is an echo of the creation mandate in Genesis 1:28, where God commands his people to "be fruitful and multiply." This re-creation will not merely be a return to the former status quo but will be something even better than their original state, according to 36:11. The mountains of Israel, Israel's heartland, would once again be a place of prosperity and blessing, experiencing the positive fruits of divine election; no longer would it be a barren and undesirable place, under God's curse because of the people's unfaithfulness to their covenant overlord. The Sovereign LORD promises finally in verse 15: "No longer will I make you hear the taunts of the nations, and no longer will you suffer the scorn of the peoples or cause your nation to fall." So what do we make of this prophecy against Edom? How do we understand Edom as a theological entity? What I mean is how is Edom important to our understanding Scripture as a whole and particularly this prophecy of Ezekiel? To contemporary readers, Edom is nothing more than a geographical place, not a theological entity. It may be recognized merely as one of Israel's neighboring states, and the diligent student may even be interested enough to look it up on the map printed in the back of a Bible to ascertain its precise location. But this approach misses the theological overtones that the term Edom had for the ancient reader. Edom was not merely another bothersome neighbor to Israel, engaged in occasional border skirmishes over disputed territory; Edom was the archetype of the nonelect, the very paragon of a nation raging against the Lord and against his anointed - -the very arch-enemies of Israel, the elect people of God [Repeat]. This war was elect, covenantal people versus the non-elect, non-covenantal people: Jacob and Esau. This relationship of antagonism between Israel and Edom was long-standing. It extended all the way back to the founders of the two nations, Jacob and Esau, who struggled with one another in the womb. Gen. 25:22-24 says: 22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is thus, why do I live?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. It was revealed to their mother Rebekah, that this struggle was not a simple brotherly squabble, such as is known to all those who have more than one son, but was rather the consequence of a profound theological difference. The Lord said to her: "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated,; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." In other words, the Lord had chosen the line of promise to descend through the younger son Jacob, so that the path of blessing for the older son, Esau, would lie in submitting to God's choice. Unfortunately, Esau was not willing to follow that path. Although he counted his birthright and the promise that went with it such a light thing, humanly speaking, that he was willing to trade it for a bowl of stew as Gen. 25:29-24 teaches us. Yet when Jacob craftily tricked him out of his father's blessing, Esau's thoughts turned to murder in Gen. 27. Of course, Jacob himself was far from blameless in all of this; he was seeking to attain the promise by strategy rather than by faith at the time. But from before the outset of his life, Esau appears as a man passed over by God, uninterested in the things of God and antagonistic toward the chosen line. This remained Edom's subsequent posture and dealings with Israel throughout Redemptive-History. For example, when the Israelites were coming out of Egypt in the Exodus, they asked simply for right of passage through Edomite territory, offering to pay whatever they consumed. The Edomites, however, refused and sent out a large army to turn them back, as we learn in Numbers 20. Later on, in the time of David, the tables were turned, and Edom was conquered by Israel in 2 Samuel 8. They remained subject to Israel until the time of King Jehoram, at which point they rebelled and reestablished their independence in 2 Kings 8. Given that history, it is perhaps understandable that they rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem and cheered on the Babylonian destroyers. Psalm 137:7 says: 7 Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, "Rase it, rase it! Down to its foundations!" But to oppose God's chosen people and to rejoice at their fall is to incur God's wrath, a wrath that in due time will be poured out on Edom as an example to all who oppose God. Thus, when Isaiah depicts the coming world-shaking judgment on all nations, his language moves from cosmic destruction to the devastation of Edom. In Isaiah 34:2-10: 2 For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host, he has doomed them, has given them over for slaughter. Edom will be consigned to the eternally unquenchable lake of fire, whose smoke ascends forever and ever as verses 9 and 10 teach us, a judgment that is preparatory to God's ultimate acts of cosmic salvation described in Isaiah chapter 63. Likewise, in the prophecy of Obadiah, the ultimate proof of God's love for Israel is the destruction of Edom. None of these prophecies and particularly this extreme language can be understood outside the representative role of Edom as a type of the nonelect, who perpetually range themselves against the Lord and his people, and who will ultimately face the consequences. This ongoing conflict provides the background for Paul's use of the example of Jacob and Esau in Romans 9. Paul appeals to the two brothers as an example of sovereign election: "God chose Jacob over Esau before the twins had done anything good or bad," as Rom. 9:11 teaches us. Jacob is the archetype of the one chosen by God for blessing in spite of who he was; Esau is the archetype of the nonelect, passed over by God, who then proceeds to live out his life in enmity toward God and his people. The fruit of election is salvation by grace for the elect; the fruit of reprobation is a life of enmity against God that leads to final judgment. Both of these outcomes are, however, the result of the antecedent decision of God to have mercy on those on whom he will have mercy and to harden those whom he will harden, as the Apostle Paul declares in Rom. 9:18. Yet, even with this understanding, even though Edom as a nation is implacably opposed to God and his people, the Lord's electing mercy is still experienced by individuals such as ourselves who are from that nation. For Deuteronomy 23:7-8 declares: "Do not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother…the third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD." In other words, even the "hated" Edomite may be engrafted into the family tree of Israel, and the one who was "not my people" by grace may yet become "my people" says the LORD. The electing grace of God knows no limits. In contrast to the destruction to be poured out on Edom and thus on all that Edom represents, the land of Israel in Ezekiel's prophecy is promised unparalleled fertility. Now, let's consider briefly the importance of Israel's covenantal land. Should we see a fulfillment of this "unparalleled fertility" in the present agricultural development of the desert areas of Palestine as some have interpreted this passage? No. To do so is to miss the significance of the overtones of the Garden of Eden in the promise to the land of Israel in Ezekiel 36:1-15. It is not merely fruitfulness that is being promised to the mountains of Israel but specifically a return to the Eden-like conditions of blessing that accompany the presence of the Lord in the midst of his people. What is promised is nothing short of complete fulfillment of the blessings promised to the patriarch Abraham, of a land and its people blessed by the immediate presence of God! The multiplication of people prophesied by Ezekiel in 36:10-12 finds a partial fulfillment in the adding of multitudes to the kingdom of God through the carrying out of the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. Ezekiel had prophesied: "…and I will multiply the number of people upon you…I will increase the number of men and animals upon you, and they will be fruitful and multiply…" Because of the Person and Work of Christ, the true and faithful Israelite and Jacob's son, God will make all things new! For all those elect, who hear Christ's words to "come"- - they shall be saved. The Great Commission is the New Testament equivalent of the creation mandate given to humanity in Eden to be fruitful and multiply. Its ultimate fulfillment, however, still lies in the future, where the Eden-like fruitfulness of the earth will be fully restored in the new heavens and the new earth, where God's presence will be in the midst of his people forever! People of God, remember God's people have never lacked for enemies. Throughout history, there have always been those only too eager to oppose and hurt God's chosen ones. At times, it may seem as if the oppressors of the church have the upper hand and are about to crush her utterly. How can believers know for sure during those hard times that such an outcome can never happen? The answer is the assurance of God's election and promise. God has determined from all eternity to save a people for himself, and that purpose must stand in spite of all that the forces of evil one can throw against it. Remember, the gates of hell will never prevail against Christ's church! [Repeat]. Our assurance as the people of God cannot rest on our own merits and strength or on our heredity; God did not choose Jacob because he was better or more holy than Esau, or Israel because she was better than Edom. He chose them simply because of his own good pleasure and purpose. Nor did he choose the nation of Israel because he foresaw that they would be strong enough to withstand the fiery furnace of trials. Rather, in Israel's case they were in the fiery furnace of Exile precisely because of their own long history of sin. Not all the descendants of Israel are part of the true Israel as Paul teaches in Romans 9:6. Even some who by descent are from the elect people will prove themselves to be non-elect individuals by their unrepentant sin. As Jesus teaches in John 15:6, some of the vine branches will refuse to abide in God's vine, to their own eternal destruction. But in spite of Israel's sin and rebellion against God, the honor of his name required God to act to preserve for himself a people. Astonishingly enough, the way in which he has chosen to do so is by engrafting the Gentiles into a new nonethnic identity, the true Israel of God as Paul teaches in Romans 11:17 and Galatians 6:16. We, as the people of God church, were engrafted into the vine not because we chose him but because he chose us to bear lasting fruit for him as Jesus teaches in John 15:16. All is of grace, even our fruitfulness, so that no one can boast in the presence of God [Repeat]. We must remember as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will experience persecution and trials from those who hate God and his Anointed One. Those who oppose God and arrogantly attempt to injure his people face the certainty of judgment. Your hope is that God as the Divine Warrior, will act to protect his own people, and even where he temporarily withholds his protecting hand and allows painful experiences to befall us, that is not God's ultimate word to us. Jesus' ultimate word to those who are his people is found in this declaration: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance." By contrast, his ultimate word to those who oppose him is: "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." There is, literally, no future in fighting God. This is true not simply for the irreligious Edomite, but for the most sincerely religious individuals who range themselves against God's people. Edom's problem was not that they lacked sincerity in their religious beliefs in their gods, but rather that their sincerely held beliefs were misguided. In the experience of the outpouring of God's wrath on them, they would come at last to acknowledge the painful truth of the reality and power of Israel's God, the LORD. We can be thankful, however, that just as "not all who are descended from Israel are Israel" (in other words, not all of the elect nation are elect individuals), so also not all who are descended from Edom are Edom (in other words, not all those who wickedly oppose God are headed for eternal torment). [Repeat]. This is good news. Otherwise, we would all be lost. But alongside God's sternness exists his mercy as the Apostle Paul teaches in Rom. 11:22. God's present patience with unbelievers serves his purposes in election, for some of those who are at present blasphemers against God and persecutors of the church will ultimately be found among the elect, trophies of redeeming grace, which can extend even to darkest Edom. The Apostle Paul himself was evidence of this powerful work of God as he says in 1 Tim. 1:13: "Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man (like Edom), I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief." Psalm 125 should give us all hope as the elect people who have trusted in Christ alone. It says, " Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore." Properly understood, this electing grace of God should cause us as Christians to be lost in wonder, love, and praise that we have been chosen by God to become part of his people. We have been chosen not because of anything in us or because of what we can do for him, but simply because of his mercy to us in Christ Jesus. Church: We who were once not his people, have by grace been incorporated into the community of God's saints. As former Edomites who have been engrafted into the Israel of God, we of all people should therefore sing in response Charles Wesley's great hymn with renewed amazement: "And can it be, that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood? Let's Pray and then sing this hymn together with renewed hearts in light of the mercy and grace of our God toward us! CRB |
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