Amo 1:11 | KingComments | STEP | Edom is another name for Esau ( ), Jacob’s twin brother. With Edom it is not so much about certain deeds. It is more about his attitude and mind toward God’s people. These are put forward and he is indicted for them. Edom has always been hostile towards the people of God. Thus, Edom met the people of Israel on his journey to the promised land with the sword ( ). He has an insatiable, irreconcilable, and deadly hatred against Israel. Every feeling of “compassion” toward Israel, even the ordinary human, has been “stifled” by Edom. He does not want to give it any space. Compassion is unknown to him. He is not only selfish, but also full of hatred against what is of God. He is armored against everything he thinks is weak. In his judgment he is rock hard. He makes short work of anything that threatens him. His whole attitude radiates a tearing anger. Destroying is the only thing he can think of. There is no coming to repentance. He cherishes his fury and thus maintains it forever. For Job in his misery, God is Someone of Whom he says: “His anger has torn me” ( ). Job experiences God as Someone Who hates Him, Whose anger rages destructively against him. That is not God, but that is how Job experiences Him. Edom is like that. He cherishes “his anger” as if it were something dear to him. He does not want to lose it. Edom is a picture of the flesh, the own ‘I’. Man without God lives in the flesh and hates everything that belongs to God. It will not always be expressed in the same brutal way as with Edom towards Israel. But the mind set on the flesh is always hostile toward God ( ). Edom is man without God. But the flesh is also present in the believer. And in him the flesh thinks of nothing but hostility against God. Only he is told not to devise the things of the flesh. This is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit ( ). Man is inseparably connected with the flesh. There is, as it were, a blood tie, such as between Jacob and Esau or Israel and Edom. This goes beyond a covenant relationship, such as between Tyre and Israel. For the Christian who has new life, God in Christ has “condemned sin in the flesh” ( ). He may already see this in faith and live accordingly. In the future God will judge Edom because of his irreconcilability. The prophet Obadiah devotes a great deal of prophecy to how and why this judgment will take place ( ; ). Because of the crimes committed and the criminal attitude, the cities of Teman and Bozrah are exterminated. Teman is one of the largest cities of Edom; Bozrah is a strong fortress city in the north of Edom. These cities represent the whole country of Edom. If we have a picture of the sinful flesh in Edom, we can see these cities as a picture of the way the flesh expresses itself. Teman is a city that in the Bible is connected with wisdom ( ; ). We can see Teman as the wisdom of the flesh, a wisdom of the natural man, who thinks he can control everything. But God will “send fire upon Teman” which means for us: He will “destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside” ( ). As has been said, Bozrah is a fortified city, a stronghold that is difficult to conquer. According to some scholars, it is the capital of Edom. Connected to Teman, the wisdom, we can see in Bozrah strongholds of our own thoughts and reflections that raise up against God. But the fire that God send upon Teman has the consequence that it also “consumes the citadels of Bozrah”. Through the wisdom of God in Christ, the wisdom of the world and the pride of the heart is judged. Those who have acknowledged this can say with Paul: “For the weapons of our warfare are ... divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. [We are] destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and [we are] taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” ( ).

‏ Amos 1:11

Judgment on Edom

Edom is another name for Esau (Gen 36:1), Jacob’s twin brother. With Edom it is not so much about certain deeds. It is more about his attitude and mind toward God’s people. These are put forward and he is indicted for them.

Edom has always been hostile towards the people of God. Thus, Edom met the people of Israel on his journey to the promised land with the sword (Num 20:18-21). He has an insatiable, irreconcilable, and deadly hatred against Israel. Every feeling of “compassion” toward Israel, even the ordinary human, has been “stifled” by Edom. He does not want to give it any space. Compassion is unknown to him.

He is not only selfish, but also full of hatred against what is of God. He is armored against everything he thinks is weak. In his judgment he is rock hard. He makes short work of anything that threatens him. His whole attitude radiates a tearing anger. Destroying is the only thing he can think of. There is no coming to repentance. He cherishes his fury and thus maintains it forever.

For Job in his misery, God is Someone of Whom he says: “His anger has torn me” (Job 16:9). Job experiences God as Someone Who hates Him, Whose anger rages destructively against him. That is not God, but that is how Job experiences Him. Edom is like that. He cherishes “his anger” as if it were something dear to him. He does not want to lose it.

Edom is a picture of the flesh, the own ‘I’. Man without God lives in the flesh and hates everything that belongs to God. It will not always be expressed in the same brutal way as with Edom towards Israel. But the mind set on the flesh is always hostile toward God (Rom 8:7). Edom is man without God.

But the flesh is also present in the believer. And in him the flesh thinks of nothing but hostility against God. Only he is told not to devise the things of the flesh. This is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:13). Man is inseparably connected with the flesh. There is, as it were, a blood tie, such as between Jacob and Esau or Israel and Edom. This goes beyond a covenant relationship, such as between Tyre and Israel. For the Christian who has new life, God in Christ has “condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom 8:3). He may already see this in faith and live accordingly.

In the future God will judge Edom because of his irreconcilability. The prophet Obadiah devotes a great deal of prophecy to how and why this judgment will take place (Oba 1:1-20; Eze 25:11-14). Because of the crimes committed and the criminal attitude, the cities of Teman and Bozrah are exterminated. Teman is one of the largest cities of Edom; Bozrah is a strong fortress city in the north of Edom. These cities represent the whole country of Edom.

If we have a picture of the sinful flesh in Edom, we can see these cities as a picture of the way the flesh expresses itself. Teman is a city that in the Bible is connected with wisdom (Jer 49:7; Oba 1:8-9). We can see Teman as the wisdom of the flesh, a wisdom of the natural man, who thinks he can control everything. But God will “send fire upon Teman” which means for us: He will “destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside” (1Cor 1:19).

As has been said, Bozrah is a fortified city, a stronghold that is difficult to conquer. According to some scholars, it is the capital of Edom. Connected to Teman, the wisdom, we can see in Bozrah strongholds of our own thoughts and reflections that raise up against God. But the fire that God send upon Teman has the consequence that it also “consumes the citadels of Bozrah”. Through the wisdom of God in Christ, the wisdom of the world and the pride of the heart is judged. Those who have acknowledged this can say with Paul: “For the weapons of our warfare are ... divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. [We are] destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and [we are] taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2Cor 10:4-5).