June 3, 2008

• The Book of Isaiah Chapter 1 V.1 Part 4.8

  The Book of Isaiah

  Chapter 1 V.1 Part 4.8

   

   

  Now, this “slaughter of Edom that caused Amaziah so much pride was carried out in this manner:

   

  2Ch 25:7  But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD [is] not with Israel, [to wit, with] all the children of Ephraim.

  2Ch 25:8  But if thou wilt go, do [it], be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.

  2Ch 25:9  And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.

  2Ch 25:10  Then Amaziah separated them, [to wit], the army that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger.

  2Ch 25:11  And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand.

  2Ch 25:12  And [other] ten thousand [left] alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.

  2Ch 25:13  But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Bethhoron, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil.

   

  Now, the following information I found in two places. The first is Jeremiah.

   

  Jer 49:7  Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; [Is] wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?

  Jer 49:8  Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time [that] I will visit him.

  Jer 49:9  If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave [some] gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough.

  Jer 49:10  But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he [is] not.

  Jer 49:11  Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve [them] alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

  Jer 49:12  For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment [was] not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and [art] thou he [that] shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink [of it].

  Jer 49:13  For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes.

  Jer 49:14  I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, [saying], Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

  Jer 49:15  For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, [and] despised among men.

  Jer 49:16  Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, [and] the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.

  Jer 49:17  Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

  Jer 49:18  As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour [cities] thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

  Jer 49:19  Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who [is] a chosen [man, that] I may appoint over her? for who [is] like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who [is] that shepherd that will stand before me?

  Jer 49:20  Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them.

  Jer 49:21  The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.

  Jer 49:22  Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

   

  The thing is, I wonder when this prophesy was given? The reason I’m thinking about this, is that it reminds me of Satan, who is in a rage per Revelations 12, because he knows his time is short.

   

  Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

  Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

  Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

  Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

  Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

  Rev 12:12  Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

   

  It makes me wonder if the Edomites were aware of this prophesy as well, and also developed more bitterness and attempted in essence to ‘rage against the machine’ in futility. I mean, think about it. If you were from a nation that God pronounced doom upon, and you knew it was because of the people you consider to be your worst enemy…the same people…your brother even, that stole the spotlight from you in every way…most people would be seriously resentful, if not downright hateful, spiteful, and problematic to say the least.

   

  To put it another way, if you worked on a job with your sibling, and it was a job you really wanted to excel in, but your sibling kept getting the praise, and the rewards, despite being one of the worst and even laziest workers in the place; one who repeatedly violated the rules and requirements; one who constantly turned against the bosses, and even worked on the side for the competition; it might make you pretty mad.

   

  And that sibling rivalry…that resentment of “Why does he get to have that?” or “Why does he get to get away with that?” and even worse, “Why was my raise given to him?” and “He stole my promotion!” Well, I think it might be easy to understand this situation a bit better within the scope of this scenario, particularly if the person complaining and being resentful was not a believer, because we all know that real believers don’t have these issues…or do they?

   

  • 2:23 pm
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