It might seem that Ezekiel's prophecies about the peoples neighbouring Israel ended in chapter 32. Why, then, does the prophet return to Edom's fate in chapter 35? Or perhaps the question should be put differently: why is this prophecy not in the middle part of the book, but...
It might seem that Ezekiel's prophecies about the peoples neighbouring Israel ended in chapter 32. Why, then, does the prophet return to Edom's fate in chapter 35? Or perhaps the question should be put differently: why is this prophecy not in the middle part of the book, but placed precisely here, when the New Covenant is being discussed? The answer is fairly clear if we consider how the prophets usually speak about the coming of the Messiah and the New Covenant, and then look at the following chapter, chapter 36.
When speaking of the fulfilment of God's purpose, all the prophets illustrate it in one way or another with symbols, mostly using apocalyptic images. Among them are Isaiah's famous "the lion will lie down with the lamb", Joel's "blood and fire and columns of smoke", and many others. For the prophets, what matters is the meaning expressed by their images. Ezekiel's prophecy about Edom's destruction, placed in chapter 35, is of the same kind. The Edomites, a people related to Israel, had inflicted untold suffering on the chosen people. They greedily raided the settlements of Judah devastated by the Assyrians and especially the Babylonians, leaving true "scorched earth" behind them. The cruelty of the Edomites became a kind of reverse symbol of the chosen people's suffering.
The prophecy of Edom's destruction therefore continues the words of chapter 34: in the new "covenant of peace", God will grant His people deliverance and safety, and their wounds and suffering will be healed. It also continues the promise to heal the sick and bind up the injured sheep. For Ezekiel, Edom is essentially a symbol of death, which God will ultimately defeat in the New Covenant. It is also, of course, a symbol of injustice, treachery, and cruelty, which will likewise have no place on the earth transformed by Christ's Resurrection. The universal scope of this promise is underlined when, at the beginning of chapter 36, the Lord extends it to all oppressors.
35 A prophecy against Edom for their hatred to Israel, Eze 35:1-13.
Their ruin shall be perpetual, Eze 35:14-15.
35:2 Mount Seir - The Edomites, who inhabited it.
35:5 Their iniquity - When their iniquity was punished on them, which brought them to final ruin.
35:6 And blood - Thy guilt, and my just revenge of innocent blood.Hast not hated - Thou hast loved, rather than hated, blood - shed; therefore vengeance for it follows thee.
35:7 That passeth out - All travellers that go to or from Edom.
35:9 Return - To their former glory.
35:10 Though - Though God was with Israel.
35:11 Judged - Punished thee.
35:14 The whole earth - The inhabitants of all the countries round about thee. Rejoiceth - Is in peace and plenty.