“As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
My Notes
What Does Ezekiel 35:15 Mean?
"As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD." Edom's judgment follows the principle of exact retribution: you rejoiced at Israel's desolation? You'll receive desolation. The same emotion you directed at Israel's ruin (rejoicing) and the same condition you celebrated (desolation) will be redirected at you. The punishment mirrors the crime with precision: what you wished on others, God applies to you.
The closing phrase — "they shall know that I am the LORD" — reveals the purpose: the judgment educates the watching world about who God is. Edom's downfall isn't just punishment. It's revelation. The nations learn God's character through how he treats those who gloated over his people.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What have you celebrated happening to someone else that you wouldn't want applied to yourself?
- 2.How does the mirror-precise nature of God's retribution (exact same treatment) challenge how you respond to others' downfall?
- 3.Where has 'rejoicing at someone's desolation' put you in the path of the same desolation?
- 4.What does 'they shall know that I am the LORD' teach about the educational purpose of divine judgment?
Devotional
You rejoiced at their desolation. So I'll give you the same. Mount Seir celebrated when Israel fell. And God says: the celebration was your sentence. What you wished on my people, I'm applying to you. Exactly.
The retribution is mirror-precise. You rejoiced? You'll have nothing to rejoice about. Their inheritance was desolate? Your inheritance will be desolate. The emotion you felt (joy at their ruin) and the condition you celebrated (desolation of their land) are now your experience. God takes exactly what you directed at his people and redirects it at you. No escalation. No reduction. Exact same treatment.
This is the justice of Proverbs 26:27: "Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein." The pit you dug for others is the pit you fall into. The desolation you celebrated is the desolation you inhabit. The inheritance you gloated over losing becomes the inheritance you lose.
And all Idumea. Even all of it. The judgment is comprehensive. Not: a portion of Edom will be desolate. All of it. The same totalality that Edom celebrated about Israel's desolation is applied totally to Edom's. The scope matches. The completeness matches. Everything matches — because the judgment is designed to mirror the crime.
They shall know that I am the LORD. The education of the nations through judgment. When Edom falls the same way Israel fell — and for the specific sin of rejoicing at Israel's fall — the watching world receives a lesson: the God of Israel doesn't tolerate gloating over his people's suffering. The gloaters receive what they celebrated. And the nations learn who God is by watching the boomerang land.
What you celebrate happening to others can happen to you. That's not karma. That's the LORD.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate,.... So Edom rejoiced at the…
So will I do unto thee - Others shall rejoice in thy downfall as thou hast rejoiced at their downfall.
This whole…
Here is, I. A further account of the sin of the Edomites, and their bad conduct towards the people of God. We find the…
The clause "as thou didst … do unto thee" is wanting in LXX.
As Edom had been active in the destruction of Judah, their…
Cross References
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