Divine Vengeance Through Israel
- Michael E.B. Maher
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Deuteronomy 2:2-5 "And the Lord spoke to me, saying: (3) 'You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward. (4) And command the people, saying, "You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. (5) Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
This brings us to the final point that needs to be discussed regarding the Palestinian issue. We have seen thus far that the events playing out in Israel and the occupied territories today are a fulfilment of prophecies delivered thousands of years ago. There is another aspect that needs to be discussed however, which is the land issue. To understand this issue we need to go back in time to when God gave Jacob and Esau each their own land. Most Christians know about the land given to Jacob, but what about the land given to Esau? In the above-quoted passage of scripture God reveals the territory He gave to Esau and his descendants. On a modern map the territory in question encompasses southern Israel (the Negev) and south western Jordan. Scripture tells us that the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29), and so as far as God is concerned, that land belongs to Esau and his descendants even today. Initially Esau’s descendants (the Edomites) lived in that geographic location for approximately 1,300 years, i.e. from approximately 1906 BC until 587 BC.
Ezekiel 36:5 therefore thus says the Lord God: "Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country." '
In the year 587 BC things changed, for historical records reveal that in that year, after the conquest and exile of Judah by the Babylonians, the Edomites migrated from their own territory to Judea and settled in the region of Hebron. The region of Hebron was vacant at the time because the Babylonians had forcefully expelled the Jews[1]. The above-quoted passage of scripture confirms that truth to us, for in this passage the Lord declares that Edom gave His land to themselves as a possession. Notice that God refers to the land of Israel as His land. And so we see that as far as God is concerned, the Palestinians living in the occupied territories today are in fact trespassing on His land.
Sadly, the Palestinians do not believe the scriptures and they view themselves as the rightful owners of the land, having lived there for approximately 2,600 years. Nevertheless, the scripture that applied to Esau also applies to Jacob; i.e. the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29), and so as far as God is concerned, He has given that land to Israel and they are its rightful owners. Therefore the Palestinians find themselves in the difficult position of fighting against God on this issue—a fight they will ultimately lose.
Ezekiel 25:12-14 'Thus says the Lord God: "Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them," (13) therefore thus says the Lord God: "I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; Dedan shall fall by the sword. (14) I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance," says the Lord God.
The prophet Ezekiel delivered the above-quoted prophecy against Edom in approximately the year 587 BC, which was the same year when Edom migrated to Judea and settled in the region of Hebron. In this prophecy God declared that at some point in the future, He would lay His vengeance on Edom in response to the vengeance Edom had taken out on Judah when they took possession of their land. It is important to note in this passage that God declared that He would lay His vengeance on Edom specifically by the hand of His people Israel.
And so we are witnessing that prophecy being fulfilled today; for ever since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians, it is self evident that the Lord has been using Israel as His instrument of vengeance on Edom’s descendants, i.e. the Palestinian people. And so the question is asked, why is Israel behaving in such a genocidal manner toward the Palestinians at this moment in time? The answer seems to be that the time has come for both Israel and the Palestinians to finally reclaim their God given territories. This will not be a peaceful process however, because firstly, God’s vengeance is involved and secondly, neither side will willingly give up the territories they currently control. Because this prophetic event will only be fulfilled in the future, we will discuss its outcome in a later section. Nevertheless, it is quite evident that the tenth horn on the beast is finally starting to emerge.
Michael E.B. Maher
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