Ezekiel 36:2

 Ezekiel 36:2

Thus saith the LORD God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession.

a. NLT: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Your enemies have taunted you, saying, ‘Aha! Now the ancient heights belong to us!’ [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. NIV: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: The enemy said of you, “Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.” ’ [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

c. YLT: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because the enemy said against you, Aha, and the high places of old for a possession have been to us, [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Amplified Bible Classic: Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy has said over you, Aha! and, The ancient heights have become our possession, [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Septuagint: Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy has said against you, Aha, the old waste places are become a possession for us: 

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: Thus said the LORD HASHEM/Elohim: Because the enemy has said against you, ‘Hurrah! The heights of the world have become a heritage for us! [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ltd.]

1. “Thus saith the LORD God…”

a. Thus [Strong: 3541 koh ko from the prefix k and 1931; properly, like this, i.e. by implication, (of manner) thus (or so); also (of place) here (or hither); or (of time) now:--also, here, + hitherto, like, on the other side, so (and much), such, on that manner, (on) this (manner, side, way, way and that way), + mean while, yonder.]

b. saith [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar' a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

c. [the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

d. God [Strong: 3069 Yhovih yeh-ho-vee' a variation of 3068 (used after 136, and pronounced by Jews as 430, in order to prevent the repetition of the same sound, since they elsewhere pronounce 3068 as 136):--God.]

2. “…Because the enemy hath said against you…”

a. Because [Strong: 3282 ya`an yah'-an from an unused root meaning to pay attention; properly, heed; by implication, purpose (sake or account); used adverbially to indicate the reason or cause:--because (that), forasmuch (+ as), seeing then, + that, + wheras, + why.]

b. the enemy [Strong: 341 'oyeb o-yabe' or (fully) owyeb {o-yabe'}; active participle of 340; hating; an adversary:--enemy, foe.]

c. has said [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar' a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

1). In the previous chapter the enemy said the area would be theirs.

a). Ezekiel 35:10 Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there:

b). Some Bible scholars say the two nations are Israel and Judah, while others say they are Judah and Samaria. The main point of this prophetic word is “the mountains of Israel”, during the times of the divided kingdom, it was Judah and Israel, and Israel’s capital was in Samaria. 

2). This study will focus on “the mountains of Israel”. If you look at the area of the mountains of Israel and the area called the West Bank, they are almost entirely the same area.

a). The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands, Barry Beitzel, 1985 By Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, p33.”On the face of things, therefore, it seems unlikely that this stone mountain, ranging in width from 10-30 miles, should ever have been viewed as a political asset. Yet it is precisely this central spine, below the Jezreel valley, which is dubbed today, “the West Bank”, a phrase that conjures the notion of vital political interest.”

d. against you [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

1). In this verse, “the enemy” historically is Edom – Mount Seir—Esau: See Ezekiel 35:2. (Mount Seir-Esau: Genesis 36:8, 9. Edom occupied the land south and east of the Dead Sea. According to Ezekiel 35:5 Edom had a “perpetual hatred” of Israel. Edom would not allow Israel to pass through their land on their journey from Egypt to Canaan.

a). Numbers 20:14-21 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:

20:15 How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:

20:16 And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:

20:17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.

20:18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.

20:19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet.

20:20 And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.

20:21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.

2). Centuries later Edom joined with Moab and Ammon to war against Judah.

a). 2 Chronicles 20:10, 11 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;

20:10 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.

b). Edom, Moab, and Ammon historically occupied the land east and south of the Dead Sea, the land now is made up of some of the land of modern day Jordan.

3. “…Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession.”

a. Aha [Strong: 1889 heach heh-awkh' from 1887 and 253; aha!:--ah, aha, ha.]

b. even the ancient [Strong: 5769 `owlam o-lawm'or lolam {o-lawm'}; from 5956; properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always:--alway(-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, (n-))ever(-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end).

c. high places [Strong: 1116 bamah bam-maw' from an unused root (meaning to be high); an elevation:--height, high place, wave.]

d. [are ours] in possession [Strong: 4181 mowrashah mo-raw-shaw' feminine of 4180; a possession:--heritage, inheritance, possession.]

1). In all of their false claims to the land of Israel, these enemies have boasted and multiplied

their words against God.

 a). Ezekiel 35:11-13 Therefore, as I live, saith the LORD, I will  even do according to my anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them [the two nations Israel and Judah]; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.

35:12 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.

35:13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.

b). Blasphemies “spoken against the mountains of Israel”, include declaring that the area is not Israel’s and that Israel is occupying the land illegally. The so called “Roadmap to Peace”, started by the United States in cooperation with Russia, the U.N. and the European Union is blasphemy. Until the 1967 Six Day War the nation of Jordan was in control of what is called today the West Bank. This same area is what our text calls “the mountains of Israel.” 

(1) The Palestinian National Charter, Article 15:  The liberation of Palestine, from an Arab viewpoint, is a national (qawmi) duty and it attempts to repel the Zionist and imperialist aggression against the Arab homeland, and aims at the elimination of Zionism in Palestine. Absolute responsibility for this falls upon the Arab nation - peoples and governments - with the Arab people of Palestine in the vanguard. Accordingly, the Arab nation must mobilize all its military, human, moral, and spiritual capabilities to participate actively with the Palestinian people in the liberation of Palestine. It must, particularly in the phase of the armed Palestinian revolution, offer and furnish the Palestinian people with all possible help, and material and human support, and make available to them the means and opportunities that will enable them to continue to carry out their leading role in the armed revolution, until they liberate their homeland. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/plocov.asp#art12 

(2) The Palestinian Charter, Article 22: “Zionism is a political movement organically associated with international imperialism and antagonistic to all action for liberation and to progressive movements in the world. It is racist and fanatic in its nature, aggressive, expansionist, and colonial in its aims, and fascist in its methods. Israel is the instrument of the Zionist movement, and geographical base for world imperialism placed strategically in the midst of the Arab homeland to combat the hopes of the Arab nation for liberation, unity, and progress. Israel is a constant source of threat vis-à-vis peace in the Middle East and the whole world. Since the liberation of Palestine will destroy the Zionist and imperialist presence and will contribute to the establishment of peace in the Middle East, the Palestinian people look for the support of all the progressive and peaceful forces and urge them all, irrespective of their affiliations and beliefs, to offer the Palestinian people all aid and support in their just struggle for the liberation of their homeland. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/plocov.asp#art12 

(3) The following is a United Nations resolution regarding the land of Israel. It is slander.

(i) Resolution 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 The Security Council,
Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the Middle East,
Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security, Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter, 1. Affirms that the fulfilment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:...Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict; [The 6 day war of 1967]...Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force; 2. Affirms further the necessity…For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area;...For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem;…For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of every State in the area, through measures including the establishment of demilitarized zones;

(4) Even our own State Department of the United States under the Administrations of Clinton, Bush and Obama joined in spewing forth malicious talk and slander by declaring the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights as occupied territory. God’s word declares all three of those areas part of Israel. Under the Trump Administration our government acknowledges that the Golan Heights are Israeli territory.