Ezekiel 35:11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
Don’t Let Anger Grow
Ezekiel 35 is the story of how two boys and their families grew, and how their anger grew into national conflict. The brothers were Jacob, who beget Israel, and Esau, who begat Edom. The conflict began with deceit, carelessness, and the theft of a birthright and blessing, and grew with these two men. Long after the memory of the events that began this conflict dimmed in the collective memory of their descendants, the fresh hatred that was still there defined their relationship.
God is responding to Edom’s hatred in Ezekiel 35 when the Edomites had taken advantage of the calamity of the Israelites. Verse 11 says, “Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.” The Edomites were characterized by anger, envy, and hatred. God’s response was that He was going to make Himself known among the people of Israel when He had judged the people of Edom.
There are two lessons we can take from God’s response. Any excess you allow will crowd the joy right out of your life. The Bible describes Edom’s hatred as perpetual even when God’s judgment of wayward Israel had ended. As a result Edom’s destruction would be never ending. The Edomites had allowed anger, envy, and hatred to so expand that it crowded joy right out of their life. It had expanded in time. What had happened centuries before was passed from generation to generation down to these very people. It had also expanded in scope. What had begun as the conflict between two brothers became the conflict of two nations. We must always remember that what we allow today may be the excess of our children tomorrow.
The second lesson we can take from this is the warning that we should destroy anger before it destroys us. The Edomites were very proud. They had fortified cities, and boasted against God when they gloated against His people. This pride gave life to fresh anger, envy, and hatred every day. It was the very hatred that eventually destroyed not the object of their anger, but the Edomites themselves. Don’t let envy and anger crowd the joy of life. Seek God’s help to destroy anger before it destroys you.