Then Jacob sent messengers on ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir in Edom. He instructed them: “Tell my master Esau this, ‘A message from your servant Jacob: I’ve been staying with Laban and couldn’t get away until now. I’ve acquired cattle and donkeys and sheep; also men and women servants. I’m telling you all this, my master, hoping for your approval.’”
Isaiah 21:11The MessageA Message concerning Edom: A voice calls to me from the Seir mountains in Edom, “Night watchman! How long till daybreak? How long will this night last?” The night watchman calls back, “Morning’s coming, But for now it’s still night. If you ask me again, I’ll give the same answer.” * * * See the chapter |
24 Cross References
God, remember those Edomites, and remember the ruin of Jerusalem, That day they yelled out, “Wreck it, smash it to bits!” And you, Babylonians—ravagers! A reward to whoever gets back at you for all you’ve done to us; Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies and smashes their heads on the rocks!
The Master told me, “Go, post a lookout. Have him report whatever he spots. When he sees horses and wagons in battle formation, lines of donkeys and columns of camels, Tell him to keep his ear to the ground, note every whisper, every rumor.” Just then, the lookout shouted, “I’m at my post, Master, Sticking to my post day after day and all through the night! I watched them come, the horses and wagons in battle formation. I heard them call out the war news in headlines: ‘Babylon fallen! Fallen! And all its precious god-idols smashed to pieces on the ground.’”
“God, the Master, says: Because Edom reacted against the people of Judah in spiteful revenge and was so criminally vengeful against them, therefore I, God, the Master, will oppose Edom and kill the lot of them, people and animals both. I’ll waste it—corpses stretched from Teman to Dedan. I’ll use my people Israel to bring my vengeance down on Edom. My wrath will fuel their action. And they’ll realize it’s my vengeance. Decree of God the Master.” * * *
“You, son of man, are the watchman. I’ve made you a watchman for Israel. The minute you hear a message from me, warn them. If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked man, wicked woman, you’re on the fast track to death!’ and you don’t speak up and warn the wicked to change their ways, the wicked will die unwarned in their sins and I’ll hold you responsible for their bloodshed. But if you warn the wicked to change their ways and they don’t do it, they’ll die in their sins well-warned and at least you will have saved your own life.
God’s Message: “Because of the three great sins of Gaza —make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer. She deported whole towns and then sold the people to Edom. For that, I’m burning down the walls of Gaza, burning up all her forts. I’ll banish the crime king from Ashdod, the vice boss from Ashkelon. I’ll raise my fist against Ekron, and what’s left of the Philistines will die.” God’s Decree.
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