Christian Churches of God

No. 212B

 

 

Descendants of Abraham

Part II:

Lot, Moab, Ammon and Esau

 

(Edition 1.1 20070220-20070220-20070416)

 

The blessings conferred on Abraham also extended to the children of Lot and the sons of Isaac. They will be united under Messiah for the millennial system.

 

 

Christian Churches of God

PO Box 369,  WODEN  ACT 2606,  AUSTRALIA

 

Email: secretary@ccg.org

 

(Copyright ã  2007 Wade Cox)

 

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http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org

 

 


 

 

Lot, Moab, Ammon and Esau


 

LOT

 

Lot, from the Hebrew word pronounced lote, (SHD 3875: a veil or covering), was the son of Haran, grandson of Terah, and nephew of Abraham (Gen. 11:27,31-32).

 

Lot was born in Ur of the Chaldees, and after the death of his father there, his grandfather (Terah) took Abraham, Sarai and Lot to Haran. At the age of 205 Terah died there in Haran (Gen. 11:27-32). Sarai’s childlessness and Haran’s death may be the reason Lot continued with Abraham instead of staying with Nahor. Perhaps there was no formal adoption but Lot was a likely candidate to become Abraham’s heir.

 

So when God commanded Abraham to leave Haran we find Lot accompanies Abraham on his journeys from Mesopotamia to Canaan, through Canaan to Egypt, and back again to Beth-el (Gen. 12; 13:1-3).

 

By this time both Abraham and Lot had accumulated great wealth. Abraham was obviously the head of the family and Lot the subordinate but Abraham had allowed Lot to have his own flocks and herds and tents (Gen. 13:5). No doubt because Abraham was blessed Lot was also blessed. But because “their substance was great” they could no longer dwell together. There were quarrels between the herdsmen on both sides because the land’s resources were obviously not enough for all the herds and cattle. Also the Canaanites and Perizzites dwelt there in the land (Gen. 13:6-7).

 

Inheritance of Lot

So Abraham offered Lot the choice of the land and Lot chose what he thought was the better part, which was all the plain of the Jordan near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, since the land there was well watered. So Abraham dwelled in the land of Canaan and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom  (Gen. 13:10-12).

 

Some years after this separation, Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked the kings of Sodom and the neighbouring cities. Lot was among the many captives taken and he lost all of his possessions. When Abraham heard about this he armed his 318 trained servants, and pursued the retreating victorious kings as far as Dan. He recovered all the spoils they had taken and brought back Lot with the other captives. Abraham was offered a reward by the King of Sodom, but refused to take anything.

 

We next hear of Lot in Genesis 19 when God sent angels to rescue Lot and his family before the cities of the plain were destroyed. The wickedness of the people there had called down God’s wrath but Abraham had pleaded for Lot’s safety and protection.

 

We note that Lot was sitting at the gate when the angels arrived at Sodom. So, Lot had seemingly become a member of Sodom’s ruling council, as the city gate was where legal matters were discussed and prosecuted. Bullinger says in his notes to Genesis 19:1 that the gate was the seat of judgment, showing that Lot was a real citizen.

 

It is also interesting to note that while Lot is often portrayed in a bad light from the events of the OT text, he was indeed a righteous man as we see from 2Peter 2:4-9 (esp. vv. 6-9).

 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomor'rah to ashes he [God] condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked 8 (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment (RSV used throughout)

 

Continuing with Lot, we see a number of events ensued during that night before the destruction of Sodom, but at dawn the angels took Lot, his wife and two of his daughters and led them safely out of the city. They were told to flee into the mountains and warned not to look back at the doomed city. Lot entreated the angels, who consented that he might retire to Zoar, which was one of the five doomed cities. However, Lot's wife, disregarding the warning of the angels, looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt (v. 24).

 

Sodom was destroyed and Lot and his family were saved from the destruction by the Angel of Yahovah (see the paper The Angel of YHVH (No. 24)).

 

Lot left Zoar and retired with his two daughters to a cave in an adjacent mountain. Lot's daughters incorrectly believed they were the only females to have survived the devastation. They assumed it was their responsibility to bear children and enable the continuation of the human race. On two subsequent nights they got their father drunk enough to have sexual intercourse with them. By him each became pregnant.

 

Sons of Lot

The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; the younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi (Gen. 19:30-38).

Genesis 19:37 The first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

 

Moab (SHD 4124, from the father). He was the patriarch of the nation known as Moab. Moab also a territory, means beautiful land.

 

Ammon (SHD 5983) from (SHD 5971): tribal, i.e. inbred; or Ben-Ammi (Heb.) Son of Ammi = “god of Am” – Bullinger. He became the patriarch of the nation of Ammon.

 

Moab was to take part in the lineage of Messiah through Ruth (a Moabitess), wife of Boaz, the mother of Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David (see Ruth 4:16-22).

 

Inheritance altered by Israel and Gilead

Ammon had no authority to possess Gilead or take it from Israel.

 

Yet both nations would be extended salvation under Messiah in the Last Days.

 

MOAB

 

The Land

Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan. It extends along the eastern shore of the Salt Sea (called the Dead Sea). The land of Moab was occupied by the tribe of Moab in ancient times which is demonstrated by numerous archeological findings. Their capital was Dibon, located next to the modern Jordanian town of Dhiban.

 

History: from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

We know scarcely anything of the history of the Moabites after the account of their origin in Genesis 19 until the time of the exodus. It would seem, however, that they had suffered from the invasions of the Amorites, who, under their king Sihon, had subdued the northern part of Moab as far as the Arnon (Num. 21:21-31). Here the Israelites found them as they approached the Promised Land. They did not at first disturb the Moabites in the South, but passed around on the eastern border (Deut. 2:8,9) and came into conflict with the Amorites in the North (Num. 21:21-26), defeating them and occupying the territory (Num. 21:31-32). But when Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, saw what a powerful people was settling on his border, he made alliance with the Midianites against them and called in the aid of Balaam [see the paper The Doctrine of Balaam and Balaam’s Prophecy (No. 208)] but as he could not induce Balaam to curse them he refrained from attacking the Israelites (Num. 22; 24). The Israelites, however, suffered disaster when the Lord’s anger burned against them because of their sins (Num. 25). Some time before the establishment of the kingdom in Israel the Midianites overran Moab, as would appear from the passage in Genesis 36:35, but the conquest was not permanent, for Moab recovered its lost territory and became strong enough to encroach upon Israel across the Jordan. Eglon of Moab oppressed Israel with the aid of Ammon and Amalek (Jdg. 3:13-14), but Eglon was assassinated by Ehud, and the Moabite yoke was cast off after 18 years. Saul smote Moab, but did not subdue it (1Sam.l 14:47), for we find David putting his father and mother under the protection of the king of Moab when persecuted by Saul (1Sam. 22:3,4). But this friendship between David and Moab did not continue. When David became king he made war upon Moab and completely subjugated it (2Sam. 8:2). On the division of the kingdom between Rehoboam and Jeroboam the latter probably obtained possession of Moab (1Kgs. 12:20), but it revolted and Omri had to reconquer it (M S), and it was tributary to Ahab (2Kgs. 1:1). It revolted again in the reign of Ahaziah (2Kgs. 1:1; 3:5), and Moab and Ammon made war on Jehoshaphat and Mt. Seir and destroyed the latter, but they afterward fell out among themselves and destroyed each other (2Chr. 20). Jehoshaphat and Jehoram together made an expedition into Moab and defeated the Moabites with great slaughter (2Kgs. 3). But Mesha, king of Moab, was not subdued (2Kgs. 3:27), and afterward completely freed his land from the dominion of Israel (M S). This was probably at the time when Israel and Judah were at war with Hazael of Damascus (2Kgs. 8:28,29). Bands of Moabites ventured to raid the land of Israel when weakened by the conflict with Hazael (2Kgs. 13:20), but Moab was probably subdued again by Jeroboam II (2Kgs. 14:25), which may be the disaster to Moab recounted in Isaiah 15.

 

At a later date Moab was overrun by the Nabathean Arabs who ruled in Petra and extended their authority on the east side of Jordan even as far as Damascus (Josephus, Ant. J., XIII, xv, 1,2). The Moabites lost their identity as a nation and were afterward confounded with the Arabs, as we see in the statement of Josephus (XIII, xiii, 5), where he says that Alexander (Janneus) overcame the Arabians, such as the Moabites and the Gileadites.

http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T6108

 

The Bible tells us the land of Moab is located east of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, and south of the Arnon (Num. 21:10-15). Today, Moab is within the Kingdom of Jordan. See the territorial map at Appendix A.

 

Inheritance of Moab

Deuteronomy 2:8-9  So we went on, away from our brethren the sons of Esau who live in Se'ir, away from the Arabah road from Elath and E'zion-ge'ber. "And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And the LORD said to me, `Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot for a possession.'

 

Moses buried in the land of Moab

Deuteronomy 34:5-6  So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-pe'or; but no man knows the place of his burial to this day.

 

Alliance within Moab

When Israel lapsed into idolatry then God used the idolatrous nations around them to punish them, even though they were worshipping the gods of these nations. Thus, because they allowed themselves to be corrupted by these false gods, Israel was allowed to be ruled under their laws and unjust systems.

Judges 3:12-14  And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amal'ekites, and went and defeated Israel; and they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

 

When Israel repented and turned to God they were restored and given rest. It was always the same. When they were idolatrous they were ruled by others; when they were faithful they ruled over them or were free of their systems.

Judges 3:28-30 And he said to them, "Follow after me; for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." So they went down after him, and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and allowed not a man to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about ten thousand of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

 

Often the idolatry was brought in by the rulers of Israel themselves.

1Kings 11:1-2 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women: the daughter of Pharaoh, and Moabite, Ammonite, E'domite, Sido'nian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods"; Solomon clung to these in love.

The restrictions on marriage were because of idolatry and not for racist consideration.

 

David subdued Moab

When Israel was given rest under David the surrounding nations were subjugated. This action points towards the restoration under Messiah, as all nations there will be brought into the inheritance of Messiah.

1Chronicles 18:2 And he defeated Moab, and the Mo'abites became servants to David and brought tribute.

 

Moab women intermarry with Israel

Ezra 9:1-2 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Per'izzites, the Jeb'usites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons; so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost."

 

This intermarriage was due to idolatry and that was the faithlessness spoken of by God.

 

Extension of the Messianic Kingdom of the sons of the Patriarchs

The extension of the kingdom under Messiah as the Kingdom of David is already given in prophecy.

Psalm 60:7-9 Gilead is mine; Manas'seh is mine; E'phraim is my helmet; Judah is my scepter. 8 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph." 9 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

The person implied here in the question “who” it is that will lead them to Moab was Judah, as fulfilled in part under the Macabbees and John Hyrcanus but all of which pointed towards Messiah.

 

Edom and Ishmael will all be dealt with in the Last Days.

Psalm 83:1-8  A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
O God, do not keep silence; do not hold thy peace or be still, O God! 2 For lo, thy enemies are in tumult; those who hate thee have raised their heads. 3 They lay crafty plans against thy people; they consult together against thy protected ones. 4 They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!" 5 Yea, they conspire with one accord; against thee they make a covenant – 6  the tents of Edom and the Ish'maelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal and Ammon and Am'alek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assyria also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. [Selah]

This alliance in the Last Days is a union aimed at the destruction of Israel and it will not succeed but rather bring about the unification of the children of Abraham and the destruction of those who oppose the people of God.

 

Repeat of the sentiments of Psalm 60:8

Psalm 108:8-10  Gilead is mine; Manas'seh is mine; E'phraim is my helmet; Judah my scepter. 9 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph." 10 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

They will be joined to Israel as allied nations under Messiah. The nation of Jordan will become a part of Israel in its entirety by 2027.

 

The Second Exodus

Edom, Moab and Ammon will obey Judah. 

 

Isaiah 11:10-16 In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant which is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. 12 He will raise an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The jealousy of E'phraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; E'phraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass E'phraim. 14 But they shall swoop down upon the shoulder of the Philistines in the west, and together they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them. 15 And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; and will wave his hand over the River with his scorching wind, and smite it into seven channels that men may cross dryshod. 16 And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant which is left of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.

The entire people of Israel will be returned to the Holy Land. And the surrounding nations will assist them and be in alliance with them.

 

Prophecy against Moab: They say they are circumcised but are not

The punishment for claiming to be of the circumcision of the sons of Abraham, but in fact not being true to the Faith and circumcised in heart, provides punishment in the Last Days and over time. This punishment extended also to the Jews, that is, to those who say they are Jews but are not but are of the synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9; 3:9). They will be made to prostrate themselves in adoration before the true Church of God.

 

Jeremiah 9:25-26 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised but yet uncircumcised -- 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert that cut the corners of their hair; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."

Judah does not escape this punishment and will be cleansed of these mystics and traditions.

 

The Burden of Moab

Moab had been subdued by Saul (1Sam. 14:47) and David (2Sam. 8:2); and paid tribute to Ahab (2Kgs. 1:1; 3:4,5); Jehoshaphat gained victories (2Chr. 20:1-30; 2Kgs. 3:4-27). Tiglath-pileser carried away tribes east of Jordan and received tribute from Moab as well as from Ahaz (2Kgs. 16:10).

(see Bullinger’s notes on Isa. 15:1)

 

Isaiah 15:1-9  An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar is laid waste in a night Moab is undone; because Kir is laid waste in a night Moab is undone. 2 The daughter of Dibon has gone up to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Med'eba Moab wails. On every head is baldness, every beard is shorn; 3 in the streets they gird on sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares every one wails and melts in tears. 4 Heshbon and Ele-a'leh cry out, their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles. 5 My heart cries out for Moab; his fugitives flee to Zo'ar, to Eg'lath-shelish'iyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horona'im they raise a cry of destruction; 6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the new growth fails, the verdure is no more. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows. 8 For a cry has gone round the land of Moab; the wailing reaches to Egla'im, the wailing reaches to Beer-e'lim. 9 For the waters of Dibon are full of blood; yet I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.

 

Prophecy – reference to Petra

This text refers to the conversion of Moab and the people of what is now Jordan. They are taken from a land under siege but they are protected and set aside for the Messiah. Israel is to be a refuge to the outcasts of Moab. They escape out of the hands of the King of the North in the occupation but they are all persecuted for the Faith.

Isaiah 16:1-14 They have sent lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 Like fluttering birds, like scattered nestlings, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 "Give counsel, grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; hide the outcasts, betray not the fugitive; 4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a refuge to them from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples under foot has vanished from the land, 5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness." 6  We have heard of the pride of Moab, how proud he was; of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence -- his boasts are false. 7 Therefore let Moab wail, let every one wail for Moab. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin-cakes of Kir-har'eseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea. 9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Ele-a'leh; for upon your fruit and your harvest the battle shout has fallen. 10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field; and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no shouts are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; the vintage shout is hushed. 11 Therefore my soul moans like a lyre for Moab, and my heart for Kir-he'res. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself upon the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word which the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD says, "In three years, like the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who survive will be very few and feeble."

 

Judgment on Moab

Isaiah 25:10-12  For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit. 11 And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim; but the LORD will lay low his pride together with the skill of his hands. 12 And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, even to the dust.

 

Moab and Ammon given to the people from the East – Ishmaelites/Arabs

The sequence was to reduce Moab and Ammon and then bring them into subjugation to the Eastern tribes until the times of the end.

Ezekiel 25:8-11  "Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations, 9 therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jesh'imoth, Ba'al-me'on, and Kiriatha'im. 10 I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, that it may be remembered no more among the nations, 11 and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

 

No promises of Moab’s survival

In that subjugation their identity as nations would be blurred.

Amos 2:1-3 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom. 2 So I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ker'ioth, and Moab shall die amid uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet; 3  I will cut off the ruler from its midst, and will slay all its princes with him," says the LORD.

 

Prophecy – Last Days

Zephaniah 2:1-3, 8-11 Come together and hold assembly, O shameless nation, 2 before you are driven away like the drifting chaff, before there comes upon you the fierce anger of the LORD, before there comes upon you the day of the wrath of the LORD. 3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the LORD.

God warns them and then states what He will do with them.

 

Against Moab and Ammon

8 "I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory. 9 Therefore, as I live," says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomor'rah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste for ever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them." 10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they scoffed and boasted against the people of the LORD of hosts. 11 The LORD will be terrible against them; yea, he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.

 

This subjugation before Messiah in the Last Days is complete.

 

Divine Judgment of the Last Days

Jeremiah 25:15-29 Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword which I am sending among them." 17 So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and princes, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, all his people, 20 and all the foreign folk among them; all the kings of the land of Uz and all the kings of the land of the Philistines (Ash'kelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea; 23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24 all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the mixed tribes that dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media; 26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of Babylon shall drink. 27 "Then you shall say to them, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I am sending among you.' 28 "And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, `Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink! 29 For behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, says the LORD of hosts.'

This prophecy covers from Egypt to Arabia and the end of the Persian Empire. The entire Kings of the North are to be summoned against Jerusalem. This was first done when Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians. However, it does not refer to that as we see here. Babylon was conquered but here it is still the dominant factor. We are speaking of a religious and administrative system in the Last Days being brought into subjection and destroyed, as foretold in Daniel Chapter 2.

 

Order of Captivity: Babylon and then through the nations

Jeremiah 27:1-11  In the beginning of the reign of Zedeki'ah the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD. 2 Thus the LORD said to me: "Make yourself thongs and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedeki'ah king of Judah. 4 Give them this charge for their masters: `Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5 "It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnez'zar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. 8 "`"But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the LORD, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, `You shall not serve the king of Babylon.' 10 For it is a lie which they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But any nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to till it and dwell there, says the LORD."'"

 

Compare Daniel Chapter 2

God decreed that this system would rule until the end of days and be replaced by the Messiah. From the head of gold, which was Babylon, we saw a sequence of kingdoms degenerating in the purity of their systems through Medes and Persians to Greco-Macedonian, to Hellenised systems, to the Romans, and to the Holy Roman or Trinitarian Empire ruling from Europe, which is finally smashed by the stone uncut by human hands which falls from Heaven and strikes this empire of the feet of iron and clay, which is the last empire of the Last Days.

 

From then Messiah reigns and hands the Kingdom back to God and God becomes all in all.

 

Message about Moab

God revealed through Jeremiah a number if things that would happen concerning Moab.

 

Jeremiah 48:1-47 Concerning Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste! Kiriatha'im is put to shame, it is taken; the fortress is put to shame and broken down;  2 the renown of Moab is no more. In Heshbon they planned evil against her: `Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!' You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence; the sword shall pursue you. 3 "Hark! a cry from Horona'im, `Desolation and great destruction!' 4 Moab is destroyed; a cry is heard as far as Zo'ar. 5 For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; for at the descent of Horona'im they have heard the cry of destruction. 6  Flee! Save yourselves! Be like a wild ass in the desert! 7 For, because you trusted in your strongholds and your treasures, you also shall be taken; and Chemosh shall go forth into exile, with his priests and his princes. 8 The destroyer shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape; the valley shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD has spoken. 9 "Give wings to Moab, for she would fly away; her cities shall become a desolation, with no inhabitant in them. 10 "Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness; and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed. 11 "Moab has been at ease from his youth and has settled on his lees; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor has he gone into exile; so his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.

 

The real reason that God dealt with Moab was idolatry and the horrors of Chemosh. But their corruption in adopting Hadithic Islam has not helped them either. They are still corrupt.

 

12 "Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I shall send to him tilters who will tilt him, and empty his vessels, and break his jars in pieces. 13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. 14 "How do you say, `We are heroes and mighty men of war'? 15 The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up, and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 16 The calamity of Moab is near at hand and his affliction hastens apace. 17 Bemoan him, all you who are round about him, and all who know his name; say, `How the mighty scepter is broken, the glorious staff.' 18 "Come down from your glory, and sit on the parched ground, O inhabitant of Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you; he has destroyed your strongholds. 19 Stand by the way and watch, O inhabitant of Aro'er! Ask him who flees and her who escapes; say, `What has happened?' 20 Moab is put to shame, for it is broken; wail and cry! Tell it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste. 21 "Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Meph'a-ath, 22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblatha'im, 23 and Kiriatha'im, and Beth-ga'mul, and Beth-me'on, 24 and Ker'i-oth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the LORD. 26 "Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the LORD; so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head? 28 "Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab! Be like the dove that nests in the sides of the mouth of a gorge. 29 We have heard of the pride of Moab -- he is very proud -- of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance, and the haughtiness of his heart. 30 I know his insolence, says the LORD; his boasts are false, his deeds are false. 31 Therefore I wail for Moab; I cry out for all Moab; for the men of Kir-he'res I mourn. 32 More than for Jazer I weep for you, O vine of Sibmah! Your branches passed over the sea, reached as far as Jazer; upon your summer fruits and your vintage the destroyer has fallen. 33 Gladness and joy have been taken away from the fruitful land of Moab; I have made the wine cease from the wine presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy; the shouting is not the shout of joy. 34 "Heshbon and Ele-a'leh cry out; as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zo'ar to Horona'im and Eg'lath-shelish'iyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, says the LORD, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and burns incense to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-he'res; therefore the riches they gained have perished. 37 "For every head is shaved and every beard cut off; upon all the hands are gashes, and on the loins is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation; for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, says the LORD. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are round about him." 40 For thus says the LORD: "Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle, and spread his wings against Moab; 41 the cities shall be taken and the strongholds seized. The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her pangs; 42 Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people, because he magnified himself against the LORD. 43 Terror, pit, and snare are before you, O inhabitant of Moab! says the LORD. 44 He who flees from the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For I will bring these things upon Moab in the year of their punishment, says the LORD. 45 "In the shadow of Heshbon fugitives stop without strength; for a fire has gone forth from Heshbon, a flame from the house of Sihon; it has destroyed the forehead of Moab, the crown of the sons of tumult. 46 Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh is undone; for your sons have been taken captive, and your daughters into captivity. 47 Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in the latter days, says the LORD." Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

So we see that in order to rid the lands and the sons of Lot and Edom from idolatry they had to be sent into captivity. They were given into the hands of the tribes of the East to rid themselves of Chemosh and of Milcom in Ammon, yet God makes a promise of Restoration in the Last Days. They will be delivered from Hadithic Islam as they were delivered from Chemosh.

 

Restoration of Moab

Jordan is to be restored in the latter days. This will be the end result for Moab, Ammon and Edom.

Daniel 11:40-45 "At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him; but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train. 44 But tidings from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go forth with great fury to exterminate and utterly destroy many. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

 

AMMON

 

Territory

From their original territory, the Ammonites are supposed to have been expelled by Sihon, king of the Amorites. Sihon was said to have been found by the Israelites, after their deliverance from Egypt, in possession of Gilead, that is, the whole country on the left bank of the Jordan, to the north of the Arnon. By this invasion, the Ammonites were driven out of Gilead across the upper waters of the Jabbok, where it flows from south to north, which continued to be their western boundary. On the south, it probably adjoined the land of Moab; on the north, it may have met that of the king of Geshur; and on the east it may have melted away into the desert peopled by Kedarites and other nomadic tribes.

[For Kedar see also the paper Descendants of Abraham Part III: Ishmael (No. 212C)]

 

The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, i.e. the metropolis of the Ammonites, called Rabbathammana by the later Greeks. Ptolemy Philadelphus changed its name to Philadelphia, and made it a large and strong city with an acropolis, situated on both sides of a branch of the Jabbok, today known as Nahr `Amman, the river of Ammon -- whence the designation "city of waters" The city of Amman, Jordan is located on roughly the same site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammon

 

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states:

We know from the records of Egypt, especially Tell el-Amarna Letters, the approximate date of the Amorite invasion (14th and 13th centuries, BC). They were pressed on the north by the Hittites who forced them upon the tribes of the south, and some of them settled east of the Jordan. Thus, Israel helped Ammonites by destroying their old enemies, and this makes their conduct at a later period the more reprehensible. In the days of Jephthah they oppressed the Israelites east of the Jordan, claiming that the latter had deprived them of their territory when they came from Egypt, whereas it was the possessions of the Amorites they took (Jdg. 11:1-28). They were defeated, but their hostility did not cease, and their conduct toward the Israelites was particularly shameful, as in the days of Saul (1Sam. 11) and of David (2Sam. 10). This may account for the cruel treatment meted out to them in the war that followed (2Sam. 12:26-31).

 

They seem to have been completely subdued by David and their capital was taken, and we find a better spirit manifested afterward, for Nahash of Rabbah showed kindness to him when a fugitive (2Sam. 17:27-29). Their country came into the possession of Jeroboam, on the division of the kingdom, and when the Syrians of Damascus deprived the kingdom of Israel of their possessions east of the Jordan, the Ammonites became subjects of Benhadad. Their hostility to both kingdoms, Judah and Israel, was often manifested. In the days of Jehoshaphat they joined with the Moabites in an attack upon him, but met with disaster (2 Chronicles 20). They paid tribute to Jotham (2 Chronicles 27:5).

 

Their cruelty is denounced by the prophet Amos 1:13, and their destruction by Jeremiah 49:1-6; Ezekiel 21:28-32; Zechariah 2:8,9. Their murder of Gedaliah (2Kgs. 25:22-26; Jeremiah 40:14) was a dastardly act. Tobiah the Ammonites united with Sanballat to oppose Ne (Neh. 4), and their opposition to the Jews did not cease with the establishment of the latter in Judea.

http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T475

 

David defeats the Ammonites

2Samuel 10:1-19 After this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. 2 And David said, "I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me." So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the Ammonites. 3 But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?" 4 So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off half the beard of each, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. 5 When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, "Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return." 6 When the Ammonites saw that they had become odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-re'hob, and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of Ma'acah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men. 7 And when David heard of it, he sent Jo'ab and all the host of the mighty men. 8 And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate; and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Ma'acah, were by themselves in the open country. 9 When Jo'ab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the picked men of Israel, and arrayed them against the Syrians; 10 the rest of his men he put in the charge of Abi'shai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. 11 And he said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12 Be of good courage, and let us play the man for our people, and for the cities of our God; and may the LORD do what seems good to him." 13 So Jo'ab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians; and they fled before him. 14 And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abi'shai, and entered the city. Then Jo'ab returned from fighting against the Ammonites, and came to Jerusalem. 15 But when the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together. 16 And Hadade'zer sent, and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the Euphra'tes; and they came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadade'zer at their head. 17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians arrayed themselves against David, and fought with him. 18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians the men of seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and wounded Shobach the commander of their army, so that he died there. 19 And when all the kings who were servants of Hadade'zer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel, and became subject to them. So the Syrians feared to help the Ammonites any more.

(cf. also 1Chr.19:1-19)

 

The Bible set the sequence of conquest from David but that was to point forwards to the times of the end in the Last Days and to the coming of the Messiah.

 

Prophecy – Exclusion from the assembly

The exclusion of Moab and Ammon from the congregation was because of their idolatry. They had to be sent into captivity for centuries to deal with that idolatry. Only at the return of the Messiah will they be truly healed and free of their idolatry, which is what Islam has become through the corruption by the Hadith.

 

Deuteronomy 23:3-6 "No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none belonging to them shall enter the assembly of the LORD for ever; 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Be'or from Pethor of Mesopota'mia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless the LORD your God would not hearken to Balaam; but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days for ever.

 

Gods of the sons of Lot

Lot’s sons went after strange gods they developed in the land.

 

The god of Ammon was Milcom, as we saw the God of Moab was Chemosh. They were a horrific version of the Baal sacrifices where children were sacrificed and then immolated in order to appease the gods of the grain, oil and wine. The ancient gods of the Middle East were carried in with the tribes to Europe. In names such as Malcom, James/Shamus/Saun (for Shams the sun god/goddess). It was for this reason that a Moabite man could not enter the congregation of the Lord God of Israel. The Phoenicians were also followers of this form of god of the sacrifices and they joined with the sons of Esau in this practice (cf. 1Kgs. 11:7).

 

Milcom and Chemosh are to be destroyed.

Jeremiah 49:1-6  Concerning the Ammonites. Thus says the LORD: "Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad, and his people settled in its cities? 2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will cause the battle cry to be heard against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it shall become a desolate mound, and its villages shall be burned with fire; then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him, says the LORD. 3 "Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry, O daughters of Rabbah! Gird yourselves with sackcloth, lament, and run to and fro among the hedges! For Milcom shall go into exile, with his priests and his princes. 4 Why do you boast of your valleys, O faithless daughter, who trusted in her treasures, saying, `Who will come against me?' 5 Behold, I will bring terror upon you, says the Lord GOD of hosts, from all who are round about you, and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him, with none to gather the fugitives. 6: But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, says the LORD."

 

Inheritance of Ammon

Deuteronomy 2:16-22 "So when all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, 17 the LORD said to me, 18 `This day you are to pass over the boundary of Moab at Ar; 19 and when you approach the frontier of the sons of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.' 20 (That also is known as a land of Reph'aim; Reph'aim formerly lived there, but the Ammonites call them Zamzum'mim, 21 a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they dispossessed them, and settled in their stead; 22 as he did for the sons of Esau, who live in Se'ir, when he destroyed the Horites before them, and they dispossessed them, and settled in their stead even to this day.

 

Israel forbidden to disturb the inheritance of Lot

In spite of the punishment of the sons of Lot, Israel was expressly forbidden to disturb their inheritance.

Deuteronomy 2:19, 37 and when you approach the frontier of the sons of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.'

 

Thus they are to become part of Israel under Messiah but they are to retain their lands as part of that final alliance. That was the blessing of God to Abraham; and Lot was both his nephew and his adopted son. Abraham honoured Lot’s choice of lands.

37 Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the LORD our God forbade us.

 

Restoration and Reconciliation

As with Moab, Ammon is also to be restored. Rabbah and Ammon are to be reconciled.

Ezekiel 21:20, 28-32 mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah and to Jerusalem the fortified. 28 "And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter, it is polished to glitter and to flash like lightning -- 29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you -- to be laid on the necks of the unhallowed wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment. 30 Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, skilful to destroy.
32 You shall be fuel for the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be no more remembered; for I the LORD have spoken."

 

Ezekiel 25:1-11 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 "Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because you said, `Aha!' over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when it went into exile; 4 therefore I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk.

These are the Arabs, of Ishmael and Amalek and others, as we see above. Remember Amalek is also a descendant of Abraham. Together with Edom and the Midianites they made up the Shepherd Kings of the Hyksos in Egypt.

5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and the cities of the Ammonites a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 6 For thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within you against the land of Israel, 7 therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as spoil to the nations; and I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 8 "Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations, 9 therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jesh'imoth, Ba'al-me'on, and Kiriatha'im. 10 I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, that it may be remembered no more among the nations, 11 and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

 

Moab was no longer to be named, and it was given with Ammon to the Arab nation and was joined with Ammon. The remembrance is only of Ammon, the younger, in the name of Amman, which is the capital of Jordan; but Moab carries no remembrance. It is under the Kingdom of Jordan, which will be placed under Messiah as King in the near future.

 

This royal family extended from Damascus to Iraq after WWII and was replaced by the republic there under the Baath party and Saddam Hussein.

 

Ammon and Moab and the Amorites

Prophecy says that Ammon and Moab and the main part of the Amorites shall escape out of the hand of the King of the North.

Daniel 11:41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites.

 

Amos 1:13-15 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they have ripped up women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border. 14 So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour her strongholds, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind; 15 and their king shall go into exile, he and his princes together," says the LORD.

Their king in the Last Days will be the Messiah who comes.

 

Restoration of the Last Days

Zephaniah 2:8-11 "I have heard the taunts of Moab and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory. 9 Therefore, as I live," says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomor'rah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste for ever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them." 10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they scoffed and boasted against the people of the LORD of hosts. 11 The LORD will be terrible against them; yea, he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.
 

ESAU/EDOM

 

From The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

The boundaries of Edom may be traced with some approach to accuracy. On the East of the `Arabah the northern border ran from the Dead Sea, and was marked by Wady el-Kurachi, or Wady el-Chasa. On the East it marched with the desert. The southern border ran by Elath and Ezion-geber (Deut. 2:8). On the West of the `Arabah the north boundary of Edom is determined by the south border of Israel, as indicated in Numbers 34:3 f: a line running from the Salt Sea southward of the Ascent of Akrabbim to Zin and Kadesh-barnea. This last, we are told, lay in the "uttermost" of the border of Edom (Num. 20:16). The line may be generally indicated by the course of Wady el-Fiqrah. How much of the uplands West of the `Arabah southward to the Gulf of `Aqaba was included in Edom it is impossible to say.

 

History

We first hear of war between Israel and Edom under Saul (1Sam. 14:47). David prosecuted the war with terrific energy, slaying 18,000 Edomites (so read instead of "Syrians") in the Valley of Salt (2Sam. 8:13); Joab remaining for six months in the country, which was garrisoned by Israelites, "until he had cut off every male in Edom" (1Kgs. 11:15). Hadad of the blood royal of Edom escaped to Egypt, and later became a source of trouble to Solomon (1Kgs. 11:14,25). Under Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, Edom revolted. Jehoram defeated them at Zair, but was unable to quell the rebellion (2Kgs. 8:20). Amaziah invaded the country, slew 10,000 in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela which he named Joktheel (2Kgs. 14:7). Uzziah restored the Edomite port of Elath (2Kgs. 14:22). They gave what help they could to Nebuchadnezzar, and exulted in the destruction of Jerusalem, stirring the bitterest indignation in the hearts of the Jews (Lam. 4:21; Ezek. 25:12; 35:3; Obad. 1:10). The Edomites pressed into the now empty lands in the South of Judah. In 300 BC Mt. Seir with its capital Petra fell into the hands of the Nabateans.

 

Idumaea and the Idumeans

West of the `Arabah the country they occupied came to be known by the Greek name Idumaea, and the people as Idumeans. Hebron, their chief city, was taken by Judas Maccabees in 165 BC (1 Macc 4:29,61; 5:65). In 126 BC the country was subdued by John Hyrcanus, who compelled the people to become Jews and to submit to circumcision. Antipater, governor of Idumaea, was made procurator of Judea, Samaria and Galilee by Julius Caesar. He paved the way to the throne for his son Herod the Great. With the fall of Judah under the Romans, Idumaea disappears from history.

http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T2891

 

Esau first-born of Isaac and Rebekah

Esau was the eldest son of Isaac and Rebekah, and the twin brother of Jacob.

 

The root of the name in Hebrew is derived from the word asuy denoting "completion", made and complete, since Esau was born hairy and very strong, being "completed" and not infantile.

 

Prophecy concerning Edom

Before Esau's birth, the Lord told Rebekah that her older son would serve the younger son.

Genesis 23:21-23  And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 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. 23 And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples, born of you, shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger."

 

Esau departed from the city of Hebron, and left it to his brother and dwelt in Seir, and called the country after his own name, Edom (Gen. 36:16). Adom/Edom in Hebrew means red but the Greeks named it Idumea (Isa. 34:5-6; Ezek. 35:15). It was also known as "the field of Edom" (Gen. 32:3). Because the region was part mountainous, it was also known as "the mountains of Esau" or "the mountain of Seir" (Obad. 1:8,9,19,21). The southern part of Edom was known as Teman.

 

The Temani extended east also as did the other tribes into other nations. They are mentioned in conjunction with Dedan in the south of Edom. The ISBE has this to say about them.

 

TEMAN [ISBE]

 

TEMAN - te'-man (teman, "on the right," i.e. "south"; Thaiman): The name of a district and town in the land of Edom, named after Teman the grandson of Esau, the son of his firstborn, Eliphaz (Gen 36:11; 1 Ch 1:36). A duke Teman is named among the chiefs or clans of Edom (Gen 36:42; 1 Ch 1:53). He does not however appear first, in the place of the firstborn. Husham of the land of the Temanites was one of the ancient kings of Edom (Gen 36:34; 1 Ch 1:45). From Obad 1:9 we gather that Teman was in the land of Esau (Edom). In Am 1:12 it is named along with Bozrah, the capital of Edom. In Ezek 25:13 desolation is denounced upon Edom: "From Teman even unto Dedan shall they fall by the sword." Dedan being in the South, Teman must be sought in the North Eusebius, Onomasticon knows a district in the Gebalene region called Theman, and also a town with the same name, occupied by a Roman garrison, 15 miles from Petra. Unfortunately no indication of direction is given. No trace of the name has yet been found. It may have been on the road from Elath to Bozrah.

The inhabitants of Teman seem to have been famous for their wisdom (Jer 49:7; Obad 1:8 f). Eliphaz the Temanite was chief of the comforters of Job (2:11, etc.). The manner in which the city is mentioned by the prophets, now by itself, and again as standing for Edom, shows how important it must have been in their time.

W. Ewing

 

Whilst Teman was in the North near Petra, it was also in the east and separated from the hills of Paran by the Arabah, thus extending around Edom to Dedan.

 

Isaac’s blessing to Esau

Genesis 27:34-41 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!" 35 But he said, "Your brother came with guile, and he has taken away your blessing." 36 Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37 Isaac answered Esau, "Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?" 38 Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered him: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. 40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose you shall break his yoke from your neck." 41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

 

This prophecy was to be fulfilled when the Edomites were conquered by Judah under John Hyrcanus in the Second Century BCE, and they were absorbed into Judah in Judea as opposed to Judah in Galilee. Herod was an Edomite of the Hasmoneans. The Edomites also mingled with the Phoenicians. We will see more of this later (see also the paper War with Rome and the Fall of the Temple (No. 298)).

 

Genesis 36: The Family of Esau

Esau married three wives: Adah, Oholibamah and Basemath. These woman were also known by a second name: Adah/Bashemath, Oholibamah/Judith and Basemath/Mahalath.

 

Esau’s sons

 These are the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholiba'mah the daughter of Anah the son of Zib'eon the Hivite, 3 and Bas'emath, Ish'mael's daughter, the sister of Neba'ioth. 4 And Adah bore to Esau, El'iphaz; Bas'emath bore Reu'el; 5 and Oholiba'mah bore Je'ush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle, all his beasts, and all his property which he had acquired in the land of Canaan; and he went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; the land of their sojournings could not support them because of their cattle. 8 So Esau dwelt in the hill country of Se'ir; Esau is Edom. 9 These are the descendants of Esau the father of the E'domites in the hill country of Se'ir.

 

Seir is another name for Edom. It appears Esau’s clan must have driven away the original Horite inhabitants of Seir (Gen. 14:6; Deut. 2:12).

 

Esau had five sons from his three wives.

Adah

(1) Eliphaz: firstborn son (SHD 646) means god of gold.

 

Bashemath (Ishmael’s daughter)

(1) Reuel (SHD 7467) means friend of God

 

Oholibamah

(1) Jeush/Jehush (SHD) 3266) means hasty

(2) Jalam/Jaalam (SHD 3281) occult

(3) Korah (SHD) 7141 means ice (as if bald i.e. smooth)

 

Esau’s grandsons

11 The sons of El'iphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of El'iphaz, Esau's son; she bore Am'alek to El'iphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. 13 These are the sons of Reu'el: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Bas'emath, Esau's wife. 14 These are the sons of Oholiba'mah the daughter of Anah the son of Zib'eon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Je'ush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of El'iphaz the first-born of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Am'alek; these are the chiefs of El'iphaz in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reu'el, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reu'el in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Bas'emath, Esau's wife. 18 These are the sons of Oholiba'mah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Je'ush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholiba'mah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

 

Sons of Eliphaz – Esau’s grandsons and chiefs

Teman (SHD 8487, from 8486) meaning from the south (being on the right-hand side of a person facing east)

Omar (SHD 201): talkative

Zepho (SHD 6825): observant

Gatam (SHD 1609): uncertain derivation

Kenaz  (SHD 7073): to hunt, hunter

Amalek (SHD 6002): descendant of Esau (from Eliphaz's concubine Timna)

 

Sons of Reuel – Esau’s grandsons and chiefs

Nahath (SHD 5184): quiet(ness)

Zerah (SHD 2226): a rising of light

Shammah (SHD 8040): ruin, astonishment dislocate(ion), waste

Mizzah (SHD 4199): to faint with fear

 

No grandsons from Oholibamah are listed but her sons Jeush, Jalan, Korah are also listed as chiefs. Their sub-tribes are thus of lesser significance in terms of prophecy.

 

Sons of Seir the Horite

20 These are the sons of Se'ir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zib'eon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Se'ir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman; and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Man'ahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zib'eon: A'iah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the asses of Zib'eon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholiba'mah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Za'avan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

 

The Dukes of the Horites were listed.

29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zib'eon, Anah, 30: Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, according to their clans in the land of Se'ir.

 

Seir is a name for the mountain and its aboriginal occupants. These are also termed Horites from his grandson Hori who was the son of Lotan son of Seir. Lotan’s sister was Timna. It might be assumed that she was the Timna who was a concubine of Eliphaz and she was the mother of Amalek but this has enormous repercussions for Esau.

 

The Horites were alleged by Bullinger to be a branch of the Nephilim (cf. his note to Gen. 36:20 and his Appendices 23 and 25 in The Companion Bible). What is certain is that they dwelt in the land of Edom and were the original inhabitants. Timnah was also the name of a Duke of Edom (cf. Gen. 36:40 and 1Chr. 1:51) and a city in Judah (Gen. 28:12-14) and also a city in Dan (Josh. 15:10; Jdg. 14:1-5; 2Chr. 28:18). The name may be thus of Canaanite derivation.

 

Listed as living among the Canaanites are also the Rephaim and the Anakim who were sons of Rapha and of Anak of the Nephilim, and who had to be destroyed (see the paper The Nephilim (No. 134)). From the account in Deuteronomy 2 in verse 9 the Moabites were given the lands of Ar for a possession.  Deuteronomy 2:10 and 11 says that the Emim (or Terrible Ones, cf. Gen. 14:5) were as great and tall as the Anakim and accounted among the giants, but the Moabites called them Emim. Deuteronomy 2:12 says that the Horim also dwelt in Mt. Seir before Esau took it over and destroyed them and lived in their land. The Horim are in effect the same as the Horites and are thus Nephilim.

 

The Ammonites called the Nephilim in their area Zamzumim and in the same way they destroyed them.

 

If Timna, concubine of Eliphaz, is the sister of Lotan then she is a Horite and if indeed the Horites were Nephilim then the Amalekites are part Nephilim and the later irruptions resulted in the orders for the exterminations of some Canaanite tribes due to contamination with the Rephaim, Anakim, Emim and Zamzumim and Horim all of whom have no resurrection. 

 

That is why they were allowed to be destroyed by order of the king of Persia as we see in Esther (see the Commentary on Esther (No. 63)) and why God ordered the destruction of Agag and the Amalekites and why Saul was rebuked and Agag was killed by Samuel. YDNA easily identifies the lineages of humans today and they are all from one lineage and the mtDNA is from one female, and thus the Nephilim have been exterminated (see the paper Genetic Origin of the Nations (No. 265)).

 

The Kings of Edom

Bullinger notes that verse 31 (below) refers to Genesis 17:6; 35:11 and Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela the son of Be'or reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Din'habah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Te'manites reigned in his stead. 35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Mid'ian in the country of Moab, reigned in his stead, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masre'kah reigned in his stead. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Reho'both on the Euphra'tes reigned in his stead. 38 Shaul died, and Ba'al-ha'nan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. 39 Ba'al-ha'nan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehet'abel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Me'zahab.

(cf. also 1Chr. 1:43-50)

 

Chiefs descended from Esau

40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholiba'mah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Mag'diel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places

 

1Chronicles 1:51-54 And Hadad died. The chiefs of Edom were: chiefs Timna, Al'iah, Jetheth, 52 Oholiba'mah, Elah, Pinon, 53 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 54 Mag'di-el, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom.

From the Song of Moses

When Israel was taken from Egypt they had become a great multitude and the sons of Lot and Esau saw them as a great threat. Amalek had become a powerful force and they lay in the path of Israel to their Promised Land. These people will be part of the conflict against Israel all the way to the end of the Last Days and the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the Millennium.

Exodus 15:15-17 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; the leaders of Moab, trembling seizes them; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. 16 Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of thy arm, they are as still as a stone, till thy people, O LORD, pass by, till the people pass by whom thou hast purchased. 17 Thou wilt bring them in, and plant them on thy own mountain, the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thy abode, the sanctuary, LORD, which thy hands have established.

 

Land of Edom

Moses was told to bypass Edom, Moab and Ammon because of their blood relationship to Israel. The Israelites were to take over the lands that were in the hands of the Amorites. The Lord had given the descendants of Esau and Lot (Moabites and Ammonites) their lands just as He was giving the Israelites theirs.

Deuteronomy 2:4-12 And command the people, You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren the sons of Esau, who live in Se'ir; and they will be afraid of you. So take good heed; 5 do not contend with them; for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Se'ir to Esau as a possession. 6 You shall purchase food from them for money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water of them for money, that you may drink. 7 For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands; he knows your going through this great wilderness; these forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.' 8 So we went on, away from our brethren the sons of Esau who live in Se'ir, away from the Arabah road from Elath and E'zion-ge'ber. "And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And the LORD said to me, `Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot for a possession.' 10 (The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; 11 like the Anakim they are also known as Reph'aim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 The Horites also lived in Se'ir formerly, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them, and destroyed them from before them, and settled in their stead; as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the LORD gave to them.)

 

Children of the third generation could be received into the congregation of Israel

Deuteronomy 23:7-8 "You shall not abhor an E'domite, for he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 The children of the third generation that are born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

 

In the days of Saul, Edom was made subject to Israel (1Sam. 14:47), and David established garrisons there (2Sam. 8:14). But later, in the days of Joram, the son of Ahab, the Edomites became independent of Israel (2Kgs. 8:16-22).  

 

They remained independent until the subjugation of John Hyrcanus when they joined with Israel in part in Judea.

Psalm 83 is a statement made by David of the enemies of Israel in his day.

0: A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
O God, do not keep silence; do not hold thy peace or be still, O God! 2 For lo, thy enemies are in tumult; those who hate thee have raised their heads. 3 They lay crafty plans against thy people; they consult together against thy protected ones. 4 They say, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!" 5 Yea, they conspire with one accord; against thee they make a covenant -- 6 the tents of Edom and the Ish'maelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal and Ammon and Am'alek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Assyria also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. [Selah] 9 Do to them as thou didst to Mid'ian, as to Sis'era and Jabin at the river Kishon, 10 who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmun'na, 12 who said, "Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God." 13 O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. 14 As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, 15 so do thou pursue them with thy tempest and terrify them with thy hurricane! 16 Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name, O LORD. 17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; let them perish in disgrace. 18 Let them know that thou alone, whose name is the LORD, art the Most High over all the earth.

We can notice that the same combination is against Israel today and it is thus prophecy.

 

Obadiah concerning Edom

The entire book of Obadiah records an extended prophecy against Edom.

 

An envoy was sent to the nations calling them to battle against Edom. Edom’s hostile activities against Israel had spanned centuries and God’s wrath was upon them. Edom was to be destroyed and Israel would be delivered.

This is what the sovereign Lord says about Edom.

2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations, you shall be utterly despised. 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, whose dwelling is high, who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to the ground?" 4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, thence I will bring you down, says the LORD. 5 If thieves came to you, if plunderers by night -- how you have been destroyed! -- would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? 6 How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out! 7 All your allies have deceived you, they have driven you to the border; your confederates have prevailed against you; your trusted friends have set a trap under you -- there is no understanding of it. 8 Will I not on that day, says the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau? 9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter. 10 For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off for ever. 11 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. 12 But you should not have gloated over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; you should not have boasted in the day of distress. 13 You should not have entered the gate of my people in the day of his calamity; you should not have gloated over his disaster in the day of his calamity; you should not have looted his goods in the day of his calamity. 14 You should not have stood at the parting of the ways to cut off his fugitives; you should not have delivered up his survivors in the day of distress. 15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you, your deeds shall return on your own head. 16 For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, all the nations round about shall drink; they shall drink, and stagger, and shall be as though they had not been. 17 But in Mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions. 18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor to the house of Esau; for the LORD has spoken. 19 Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau, and those of the Shephe'lah the land of the Philistines; they shall possess the land of E'phraim and the land of Sama'ria and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. 20 The exiles in Halah who are of the people of Israel shall possess Phoenicia as far as Zar'ephath; and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sephar'ad shall possess the cities of the Negeb. 21 Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

Note that at the end of this verse it says that Saviours will go up to Mt. Zion to rule Mt. Esau. This text refers to the Messiah and the Church of the First Resurrection. They will take their place for the millennial rule and the judgment of the nations.  

 

Jacob loved, Esau hated

Paul explains God’s love for Jacob and hatred for Esau on the basis of election (Rom. 9:10-13). Likewise Leah was “hated” in that Jacob loved Rachel more (Gen. 29:31-33). Also believers are to hate their mother and father, etc. (Lk. 14:26) in the sense that they must love God more than anyone or anything else.

Malachi 1:1-5  The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Mal'achi. 2 "I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How hast thou loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" says the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but I have hated Esau; I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert." 4 If Edom says, "We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins," the LORD of hosts says, "They may build, but I will tear down, till they are called the wicked country, the people with whom the LORD is angry for ever." 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, "Great is the LORD, beyond the border of Israel!"

This tearing down was to continue to this day and Edom is still a waste under Jordan. These days will end and the area will become part of the land that passes to Israel with Jordan as part of the greater nation under Messiah.

 

Edom refuses the Israelites passage through their country

Moses’ attempt to pass through the territory of Edom in a peaceful manner was met with hostility.

Numbers 20:18-21 But Edom said to him, "You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you." 19 And the people of Israel said to him, "We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of your water, I and my cattle, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more." 20 But he said, "You shall not pass through." And Edom came out against them with many men, and with a strong force. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.

 

David makes conquest of Edom

1Chronicles 18:11-13 these also King David dedicated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold which he had carried off from all the nations, from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Am'alek. 12 And Abi'shai, the son of Zeru'iah, slew eighteen thousand E'domites in the Valley of Salt. 13 And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the E'domites became David's servants. And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.

Their destiny was to become part of Israel under the Messiah.

 

The Lord raised up Hadad the Edomite against Solomon

They were subdued by David but used by God against Solomon when he sinned.

 

1Kings 11:14-16: And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the E'domite; he was of the royal house in Edom. 15 For when David was in Edom, and Jo'ab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he slew every male in Edom 16 (for Jo'ab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom);

 

Battle songs concerning conquest of Edom

Psalm 60:8-9 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph." 9 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

To cast one’s shoe means to take possession as an estate (cf. also Psa. 108:9-10).

 

The Lord delivered the army of Edom into the hands of Jehoshaphat

2Chronicles 19:20-23 And the Levites, of the Ko'hathites and the Kor'ahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Teko'a; and as they went out, Jehosh'aphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy array, as they went before the army, and say, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures for ever." 22 And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Se'ir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Se'ir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Se'ir, they all helped to destroy one another.

 

The Edomites thus became confederates of Jehoshaphat (2Kgs. 3:8-9, 26-27).

8 Then he said, "By which way shall we march?" Jeho'ram answered, "By the way of the wilderness of Edom." 9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the beasts which followed them.

26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom; but they could not. 27 Then he took his eldest son who was to reign in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there came great wrath upon Israel; and they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.

Reading this we see that the sacrifice to Chemosh of the son of the king of Moab was followed by great wrath coming upon Israel. We are not told how the wrath came about but God detests the sacrifice to an idol of the Moabites. However, it seems to have rallied the Moabite troops.

 

Revolt in the days of Joram

Edomites were often in a state of war with the neighbouring Kings of Israel and Judah.


2Kings 8:20-22 In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah, and set up a king of their own. 21 Then Joram passed over to Za'ir with all his chariots, and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders smote the E'domites who had surrounded him; but his army fled home. 22 So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

 

(cf. also 2Chr. 21:8-10; 28:17)

 

Amaziah, king of Judah, invades the territory of Edom

Amaziah defeated Edom and then became so proud he decided to attack Israel. He was defeated by a more worthy opponent.

2Kings 14:7-12  He killed ten thousand E'domites in the Valley of Salt and took Sela by storm, and called it Jok'the-el, which is its name to this day. 8 Then Amazi'ah sent messengers to Jeho'ash the son of Jeho'ahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us look one another in the face." 9 And Jeho'ash king of Israel sent word to Amazi'ah king of Judah, "A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, `Give your daughter to my son for a wife'; and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. 10 You have indeed smitten Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home; for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?" 11 But Amazi'ah would not listen. So Jeho'ash king of Israel went up, and he and Amazi'ah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-she'mesh, which belongs to Judah. 12 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home.

The reason he did not listen was because like all corrupt people they had taken the Edomites and then gone after their gods when they conquered them.

 

Amaziah threw down ten thousand men of Edom, or Seir, at the cliffs of Petra in vengeance but God punished him with the defeat by Israel.

2Chronicles 25:11-12 But Amazi'ah took courage, and led out his people, and went to the Valley of Salt and smote ten thousand men of Se'ir. 12 The men of Judah captured another ten thousand alive, and took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock; and they were all dashed to pieces.

This was not to end hostilities. The harsh treatment of enemies inspires greater hatred as we see today in the Middle East. The women were taken and the gods of Edom, similar to Milcom and Chemosh of the Ammonites and Moabites, entered Judah. Amaziah was taken in a conspiracy against him after he fled from Jerusalem to Lachish. They sent a force there and killed him and brought his body back to Jerusalem and buried it there in the city of Judah (2Chr. 25:25-28).

 

His son Uzziah was made king at 16 years of age and he sought The God (Ha Elohim, The One True God) in the days of Zechariah and God strengthened him against the Philistines of the coast in the cities of Gath, Jabneh (Yebah between Joppa and Ashdod) and also Ashdod. He defeated the Arabians at Gur-Baal and Mehunims (or Maonites of the sons of Ham). The Ammonites became tributary to him and he fortified Jerusalem with towers (2Chr. 26:1-9). Uzziah became arrogant and took incense into the Temple of God to burn it and was resisted by Azariah and eighty of the priests. He went out of the Temple but while the censer was in his hands he was struck with leprosy (2Chr. 26:16-21). He was confined to a separate dwelling and Jotham his son presided over the people and their worship from that time forward.

 

Jotham obeyed God and likewise made the Ammonites tributary to him while he obeyed God. He fortified the countryside with cities and towers or castles in the forests. He reigned sixteen years and died and was replaced by Ahaz his son who did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and made Baalim or images of Baal and worshipped them (2Chr. 28:1-8). Judah was then sent into captivity and defeated first by the Syrians and then by Israel and many hundreds of thousands were taken captive. The prophet Oded commanded Israel to clothe and return the captives of Judah and they did that when the army returned with them, refusing to allow them to be kept.

 

Ahaz had brought Judah very low and made it weak through his idolatry and his sacrificing the children to the gods of the Edomites and of Milcom and Chemosh. They were weakened and the Edomites then invaded.

 

2Chronicles 28:17 For the E'domites had again invaded and defeated Judah, and carried away captives.

After the Edomites plundered Judah in the east, the Philistines also invaded from the coasts and took Beth Shemesh, Ajalon, Gederoth, Shocho, Timna and Gimzo.

 

This was to be a lesson and will repeat itself when Judah is in sin. So too they have lost Gaza and the coastlands and are under pressure and attack from the east.

 

Israel had distressed Judah and removed a portion of the House of God and the King of Judah and gave it to Tiglath-pileser, the King of Assyria, but the Assyrian did not assist Israel.

 

Ahaz, king of Judah, then sacrificed to the gods of Damascus and the Syrians. And Ahaz took the vessels of the Temple and sealed the Temple up and cut the vessels in pieces and erected altars to idols on every street corner in Jerusalem. He provoked God to wrath and he died and was replaced by Hezekiah his son, who brought the land back to the Lord God in his restoration (2Chr. 28:22-27; 29:1-2).

 

When Judah sins it is punished. In the same way the Assyrians took Israel into captivity. Even though they had weakened Judah and given spoil to the Assyrians the Assyrians despised them for it.

 

When Judah is weak and is attacked it is because they sin. Their traditions cause them to transgress the Laws of God and these aspects will be addressed and corrected in the Last Days.

 

The Lord uses Ammon, Moab and Edom to correct Israel and Judah and punishes them when they turn from God. These nations were all to be punished and placed under Israel while it was the vineyard of the Lord and faithful to Him. They are one people dedicated to the Lord God of Abraham and in the end they will be together as one people.  Edom is already joined to Israel in a major way from the subjugation in the Second Century BCE.

 

A Jewish prophet in Babylon denounces Edom

Psalm 137:7 Remember, O LORD, against the E'domites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, "Rase it, rase it! Down to its foundations!"

 

Prophecies concerning Edom

Genesis 25:23 And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples, born of you, shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger."

 

Genesis 27:29,37-40 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one who curses you, and blessed be every one who blesses you!"

37 Isaac answered Esau, "Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?" 38 Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered him: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. 40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose you shall break his yoke from your neck."

 

So the children of Esau were to live by the sword. They have not broken loose from Israel and are in fact part of Israel. Their lands shall form part of Israel also, until they are resettled by Messiah as a part of the confederacy.

 

Numbers 24:18 Edom shall be dispossessed, Se'ir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed, while Israel does valiantly.

 

Isaiah 11:14 But they shall swoop down upon the shoulder of the Philistines in the west, and together they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them.

 

Isaiah 21:11-12 The oracle concerning Dumah. One is calling to me from Se'ir, "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" 12 The watchman says: "Morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; come back again."

 

Dumah is held to be a shortening of Idumea, which is the Kingdom of Edom. Herod was an Idumean. It means silence and the word is used for the silence of the Last Days. The prophecy concerns Revelation 18 when Babylon is fallen and all her idols are broken and cast to the ground. The problem we have is that Dumah is also the name of one of the tribes of Ishmael (see Descendants of Abraham Part III: Ishmael (No. 212C)). Some of this tribe is understood to have taken occupation of part of Mt. Seir when Edom moved northwest to occupy some of the vacant lands of Israel after the captivity of the Babylonians. Isaiah seems to be using this to refer to the composite in the Last Days.

 

We can see from this reference that Edom is interbred with Dumah as well as with Judah.

 

This was the Sixth burden of Isaiah and the Seventh burden follows this text concerning Arabia. This section concerns the sons of Keturah through Midian to Dedan – a son of Midian – who had occupied the area east of Edom and were part of this confederacy.

 

The term “in Arabia” (ba’rab) has the meaning of at the sunset or the evening and carries with it the same significance as does Dumah meaning the silence. This prophecy refers to the fall of Babylon (the religious system) in the Last Days and the burdens placed on these people. The question to the prophet, seemingly by Edom or Dumah, is: “how far gone is the night?” In other words, when is the dawn of the Millennial Day? When is the Shabbat of Messiah? How much longer have we to go? The answer is given: “The morning comes and also the night. If you will return then return. Come!” This is the morning of the millennial dawn and the repentant will see it and the invitation is given.

 

Isaiah chapter 21 deals with the conquests of the Medes and the Persians and the fall of Babylon and its effects on the sons of Abraham through Hagar and Keturah, and of Isaac through Esau. Elam is Persia or modern-day Iran. Media is the area occupied by the Kurds or Kurdistan, which includes Turkey and Iraq and into Georgia and Iran.

 

It sees the fall of Babylon (Isa. 21:9) but this also looks forward in prophecy to the false religions that come undone in this final conflict. The tribes that are involved in this conflict are the sons of Dedan, son of Midian, son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. 25:3; 1Chr. 1:32). They are mentioned in Jeremiah 49:28 and Job 6:13. Tema and Kedar are also mentioned. Tema and Kedar are also sons of Ishmael as is Dumah (Gen. 25:13,15; 1Chr. 1:30).  

 

Tema brought bread and water to those fleeing the grievousness of war. This conflict will last one year and in that year all the glory of Kedar will fail. In other words, a section of the sons of Ishmael through Kedar will be devastated by the conflict as will be their land, but they will be helped and restored in the end process of the Millennial Restoration (cf. Isa. 21:14-16). Chapter 22 then goes on to deal with the Valley of the Vision, which is the valley around Jerusalem where Abraham first saw his vision and the prophets have done ever since. The Septuagint and the Arabic version render “Valley of Vision” as “Jerusalem.”

 

After the war in the heavens and the subjugation of the Host the descent on the Earth commences with the Middle East and with Edom.

 

Isaiah 34:5-6 For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have doomed. 6 The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood, it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

 

We know that this action is undertaken by Messiah on his return in the execution of vengeance in judgment. The word red here is ‘adom and is a reference to Edom. Bozrah means vintage (cf. ch. 34:5). Messiah is travelling as bending forward in marching, in endurance and strength (Heb. Koah). This is his return in might and power and not in weakness.

The word used here for winepress is Gath. The garments of the Messiah will all be stained with blood and Messiah says here that, “The day of my vengeance is in my heart and the year of my redeemed is come”. This year sees the coming of the Messiah and the resurrection of the elect. From this year he subjugates the Middle East, and the sons of Lot, Esau and Ishmael will be brought to conversion and subjection in might and power.

 

Isaiah 63:1-4  Who is this that comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, announcing vindication, mighty to save." 2 Why is thy apparel red, and thy garments like his that treads in the wine press? 3 "I have trodden the wine press alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption has come.

 

The tribes are to be attacked in the Last Days

Jeremiah 9:25-26 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised but yet uncircumcised -- 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert that cut the corners of their hair; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."

The unconverted, that is the uncircumcised of heart, will be dealt with.

Jeremiah 25:21-23 Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon; 22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastland across the sea;
23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair;

This refers to the influence of the Babylonian system of sun worship and those also who make tonsures of their hair. Note the system now extends north to Lebanon and they are included in the subjugation, as are those across the sea in the coastlands.

 

God says He will send “the cup of the wrath of His fury” to a number of nations and, in Jeremiah 25 when God is prophesying through Jeremiah what is to happen, He uses the Babylonians as a reference to Nebuchadrezzar. Where the r is used in his name the reference is to the King of the North acting, but not acting as directed by God when using the term Nebuchadnezzar. This text in chapter 25 refers to the cup of the wrath of God and it is to be spilled out on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and its administration. Jerusalem was made an astonishment and a hissing and a curse to the end, and it shall be rebuilt at the return of Messiah. So also shall Egypt be struck. In verse 20 Jeremiah refers to the ‘ereb which is rendered Mingled people in the KJV (cf. 50:37; Ezek. 30:5; Dan. 2:43; Ezra 9:2; Ps. 106:35).

 

In the Inscription of Sennacharib (Bellino’s Cylinder line 13), the Urbi are joined with the Aramaens who are the nomad tribes west of the Euphrates. Sennacharib says that Hezekiah had some Urbi soldiers with him in Jerusalem (cf. Bullinger, Comp. Bible, fn. to v. 20).

 

The land of Uz is mentioned, which is Job’s country near Idumea (cf. Lam. 4:2).

 

The Philistines are mentioned at Azzah or Gaza and Ashkelon, Ekron (now ‘Akir) and Ashdod (now ‘Esdud).

 

Dedan is also on the borders of Idumea.

 

Tema and Buz are the country of Elihu (Job 32:2).

 

Zimri is also mentioned and it is thought that this name refers to Zimran the son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen. 25:2). This region is the entire area from Syria to Lebanon and south to Egypt and east to Saudi Arabia. It will all be brought under subjection to Messiah as part of greater Israel.

 

For a long while it was given to the King of the North (Nebuchadnezzar, with n not r). All were to serve him, but that time is to cease and Isaiah shows that Babylon is to fall and then these nations will be subject to and dealt with by Messiah.

 

In Jeremiah chapter 26 we see that the Lord God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah and the people were told to walk in the ways of the Law of God and to listen to the prophets.

 

After he had spoken what the Lord had commanded him to speak, the priests and the prophets and the people seized him saying, “You will surely die”. The princes were invoked and Jeremiah again said what he was commanded to say. God sent Jeremiah to call the people to repentance, as He will send the Two Witnesses in the Last Days to speak again and call these people to repentance.

 

Jeremiah was not then put to death, as will be the case in the Last Days.

 

This text was written in the reign of Jehoiakin on the fourth year of Zedekiah. The KJV follows some codices and the Syriac in placing the word Zedekiah in the text. The same area is sent into captivity and the prophecy is against the same nations.

 

Jeremiah 27:1-11 In the beginning of the reign of Zedeki'ah the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD. 2 Thus the LORD said to me: "Make yourself thongs and yoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the sons of Ammon, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedeki'ah king of Judah. 4 Give them this charge for their masters: `Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5 "It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnez'zar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave. 8 "`"But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, says the LORD, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, `You shall not serve the king of Babylon.' 10 For it is a lie which they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But any nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to till it and dwell there, says the LORD."'"

 

Jeremiah confirms Isaiah regarding the coming punishment of the sons of Lot and Esau along with Dedan and Teman.

Jeremiah 49:7-22 Concerning Edom. Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished? 8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, O inhabitants of Dedan! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time when I punish him. 9 If grape-gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came by night, would they not destroy only enough for themselves? 10 But I have stripped Esau bare, I have uncovered his hiding places, and he is not able to conceal himself. His children are destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more. 11 Leave your fatherless children, I will keep them alive; and let your widows trust in me." 12 For thus says the LORD: "If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 For I have sworn by myself, says the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse; and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes." 14 I have heard tidings from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Gather yourselves together and come against her, and rise up for battle!" 15 For behold, I will make you small among the nations, despised among men. 16 The horror you inspire has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as the eagle's, I will bring you down from there, says the LORD. 17 "Edom shall become a horror; every one who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 As when Sodom and Gomor'rah and their neighbor cities were overthrown, says the LORD, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her. 19 Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a strong sheepfold, I will suddenly make them run away from her; and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan which the LORD has made against Edom and the purposes which he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle, and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her pangs."

 

The wars of the end

As we have seen, the King of the South shall push at the King of the North. The King of the North shall enter a number of countries and overflow the Middle East and take possession of the Middle East and Israel.

Daniel 11: 40-41 "At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him; but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites.

 

The text shows that the people in charge of the South, i.e. Egypt and the Islamic system, will push at or invade the King of the North and they will be repulsed and in turn invaded. Many of the sons of Kedar will be killed in this war.

 

Lamentations 4:21-22 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, dweller in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup shall pass; you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare. 22 The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished, he will keep you in exile no longer; but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish, he will uncover your sins.

When Israel’s exile is over and she returns then Edom will be subjugated and the people’s sins will be made bare. Remember also that many of Edom are in Judah now.

Ezekiel 25:12-14 "Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance upon them, 13 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and cut off from it man and beast; and I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel; and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath; and they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord GOD.

This subjugation includes the Sidonians and all the princes of the North Country.

Ezekiel 32:29-30 "Edom is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are slain by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the Pit. 30 "The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sido'nians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror which they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.

This action is in the Last Days.

 

Edom had to be dealt with before Israel could find peace

Ezekiel 35:1-15  The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against Mount Se'ir, and prophesy against it, 3 and say to it, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, Mount Se'ir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste. 4 I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the LORD. 5 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; 6 therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you are guilty of blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Se'ir a waste and a desolation; and I will cut off from it all who come and go. 8 And I will fill your mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall. 9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 10 "Because you said, `These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them,' -- although the LORD was there – 11 therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy which you showed because of your hatred against them; and I will make myself known among you, when I judge you. 12 And you shall know that I, the LORD, have heard all the revilings which you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, `They are laid desolate, they are given us to devour.' 13 And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it. 14 Thus says the Lord GOD: For the rejoicing of the whole earth I will make you desolate. 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 Se'ir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

 

Ezekiel 36:5  therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I speak in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might possess it and plunder it.

 

God blesses His people by destroying their enemies

Joel 3:19 "Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

 

Edom was persistently hostile and would be punished

Amos 1:11-12 Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever. 12 So I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah."

 

Note that Bosrah is referred to as being in both Edom and in the inheritance of Lot amongst Moab. The fact is that they are both now part of Jordan and will be combined in the Last Days, before the Millennium. These prophecies are the reason Hadithic Muslims attacks the veracity of the Bible texts.

 

Israel’s future restoration

Amos 9:11-12 "In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; 12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name," says the LORD who does this.

 

Thus the word of God is quite clear that these nations will be dealt with and joined to Israel in the Last Days, and the Law of the Lord God of Israel will be placed among them and they will be part of the inheritance of the Messiah as promised to their father Abraham.

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Appendix A

 

Map from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moab

 

 

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