Thus says the Lord! Oracles against the Ammonites, Edom, Damascus, Arabia. Horror, taunt, waste, and curse are terms all applied to Edom, but they could be extended to include the oracles against the rest. It is the ancient feud between Jacob and Esau(Edom). Biblical history is full of the contention between these two. They had been rivals for possession of the land. They had been rivals in trade. More recently Edom, ostensibly an ally of Judah, had thrown in her lot with the Chaldeans when they came up against Jerusalem. Edom’s interest was materialistic, and her culture mercantilistic. Her people were both godless and arrogant. At the center of Israel’s life was the temple and the thought of a sovereign God. At the center of Edom’s life was a market and beasts. Is there a little bit of Edom in all of us?
Thus says the Lord! Oracles against the Ammonites, Edom, Damascus, Arabia. Horror, taunt, waste, and curse are terms all applied to Edom, but they could be extended to include the oracles against the rest. It is the ancient feud between Jacob and Esau(Edom). Biblical history is full of the contention between these two. They had been rivals for possession of the land. They had been rivals in trade. More recently Edom, ostensibly an ally of Judah, had thrown in her lot with the Chaldeans when they came up against Jerusalem. Edom’s interest was materialistic, and her culture mercantilistic. Her people were both godless and arrogant. At the center of Israel’s life was the temple and the thought of a sovereign God. At the center of Edom’s life was a market and beasts. Is there a little bit of Edom in all of us?
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