10 – Edom committed moral wrong as well as physical brutality against their
relatives … Israel. This goes back to the origin of these two nations. Even though
they were twin brothers, Esau hated Jacob, and this emerged in Edom’s
(Esau’s descendants) hatred toward Israel
(Jacob’s descendants) after the Exodus. Edom
exulted over the destruction of Jerusalem. It’s bad enough to think of these things in relation to an enemy we don’t know, but how much
worse is it when we feel and act this way toward our relatives.
11 – Edom’s
sin is defined and stated in black and white. Edom
hated Israel to the point that they approved of the foreign people coming
in and plundering the land, possessions, and people of Jerusalem. They stood by in approval watching and allowing this to take place. They didn’t come to the aid of their relatives, but rather acted “as on of Israel’s enemies” by standing “aloof.” They are equally guilty before God for this sin of their moral depravity. Sometimes we don’t have to commit the sinful act to be held accountable for the sin itself. (See.
Rom. 1:32). Passive sin was addressed in the O.T. and even stricter in the N.T. (See. Matt. 5:21-32).
12 – Edom’s sin is repeated and amplified. Words like “gloated” and “crowed” and “rejoiced” are all showing Edom’s attitude as their relative was being destroyed
and pillaged. Their covenant loyalty as a brother meant nothing to them.
13 – Here is a similar
repeating of the sin they committed, however, now the actions of the foreign enemies is being attributed to Edom. Their condoning
of the actions of the foreign enemies is now coming back to them as if they committed the deeds themselves. We need to watch what we approve of and what we watch and look at.
14 – Here more severe
actions are associated with Edom. In addition, the type of destruction that is taking place in Judah, as described here and in Zephaniah, corresponds to 586 B.C. and so the most
likely date for this story is established or assumed because of this verse. It
is here, at this time, that prophetic announcement of Edom’s
annihilation reached a climax.
