My Enemy’s Enemy

One Year Bible: November 17

Ezekiel 35:1-36:38

My Enemy’s Enemy

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”--Ancient Proverb

Have you ever experienced someone picking on one of your siblings or family members?

I remember a time when I was still in elementary school when our family went on vacation to Joplin, Missouri, my parent’s hometown. We were there to visit our grandparents and stay in Howard Johnson’s hotel. It was the very same hotel where hail came down and chipped our windshield, and where a tornado came through and damaged the roof of the place!

Oh, yea! There are lots of memorable memories of that place! Perhaps we should have known better than to stay there again, but then again we always did… I, myself, loved the pool, but that is not a big surprise as I basically love all open, long big pools surrounded by trees and nature.

On this day the pool was surrounded by a little too much nature. There were four other boys in the pool who were hanging out in the pool and they decided it would be fun to bully my brother. They were starting a fight just because they thought it would be entertaining to them.

It was four against one and that is not good odds at all. Until there were two Straters against four boys. I just remember picking up a couple of those bad boys and throwing them out of the pool. The hail and tornados had nothing on me at the OL’ Howard Johnson’s hotel on that day.

No way! Family sticks together!!

God was more than “ready to rumble” for his own in dealing with Edom, who is also known as Mount Seir. The reason for this is because of Edom’s long enmity toward Israel. God was disciplining his own people and this left an open door for the enemy to think that it could come in and take over their land and make a mockery of them. Big mistake!

Remember the hail and tornadoes? God has all of that and more in His arsenal and it is best for the enemies of God to remember that!

The three parts of prophecy against Israel’s enemies end like this, “Then you (they) will know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 35: 4, 9, 15)

Here is what God says about their treatment of His people, “I am your enemy, O Mount Seir, and I will raise my fist against you to destroy you completely. I will demolish your cities and make you desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Your eternal hatred for the people of Israel led you to butcher them when they were helpless when I had already punished them for all their sins.” (35:3-5)

The New Testament helps us understand this general principle even better. “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Rom. 12:19-21)

This passage today is about God’s vengeance and His rightful place to REPAY… it was not Israel or Judah’s place to revenge. It was in God’s hands. It was also in His hands to determine when He would forgive and bring His people home.

Romans 12:21 goes on to tell us how we can deal with our enemies. Trust me when I say that this is the complete opposite of how Edom/Mount Seir dealt with their weakened enemy. “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink; for in so doing this shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

You see, this was NOT Israel or Judah’s finest day. They were weakened by sin and they were in complete disarray. But, they were God’s chosen “Disarray” and He was their “Deliverance”.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend!”

Many of God’s chosen people have not yet accepted the Messiah. Yet, God has not forsaken His people, and all of the words written in the Bible express that His prophecies will be to re-establish the nation of Israel to show a sign of His eternal faithfulness. Many of the prophecies that we are reading now, even in this book, have not yet happened.

So, we dare not make the mistake that Edom made in dealing with God’s own because God has called us to, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122:6)

We are to pray for the many Jewish people who are now coming to the Messiah, to thank God for the faithful remnant that God used to bring His son, and to pray for the return of Christ.

As for us, God’s adopted children in Christ, we are reminded that God has “our back also”. It may seem like evil goes unavenged but that ‘vengeance’ belongs to God and God alone.

One of my absolute favorite songs is called “Things That I’m Afraid of” and there is a line that “STICKS OUT” in the song that reminds me WHO “STICKS UP” for me,

“My fears would surely kill me if I didn’t know the truth.

The things that I’m afraid of are AFRAID OF YOU.” (Josh Wilson)

My Enemy’s Enemy!