When the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the Edomites refused to allow them to pass through their territory on the way to Canaan. The Israelites assured the Edomites that they would be no bother to them: they would transport their own water and eat their own food as they passed through. Basically, they were saying, "We ask nothing of you but to let us take this path which is the shortest way there. We will clean up after ourselves. We will take care of ourselves. You won't even know we were here." But the Edomites came out in battle array against them and the Israelites were forced to go the long way around. Despite their genetic kinship, the Edomites were never friends of Israel. They are another example of an ancient enemy of Israel about which Isaiah received a prophecy of judgment.
"A prophecy against Dumah: Someone calls to me from Seir, 'Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?" (Isaiah 21:11) It is not clear why Isaiah refers to Edom by the name of "Dumah". One of the sons of Ishmael was named Dumah but it is unknown whether he ever lived in Edom or whether a city was ever named after him. Some scholars think Dumah was an alternate name for Edom as the pronunciation is quite similar, but we simply don't know the answer. What we do know is that there is really no doubt this prophecy is intended for Edom because it mentions Seir which was the capital of Edom.
Just as in yesterday's study, when Isaiah foresaw a watchman in a tower on a city wall receiving the news that the capital of Babylon had fallen, he foresees a watchman in a tower on the wall of the city of Seir. Someone calls out to the watchman, "What is left of the night?" Or, in other words, "How long is it until morning?"
This is the answer the person receives: "The watchman replies, 'Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.'" (Isaiah 21:12) Morning---the literal dawn---will come. But figuratively speaking, night is coming for the nation of Edom. It doesn't matter whether the sun rises and shines on the land or not; the fall of Edom will occur.
Edom entered into a period of decline for quite some time before it was conquered by the Nabateans in around 500 BC. Isaiah lived in the 700s BC, so the fall of Edom is still quite a way in the future. Isaiah isn't the only prophet who foresaw Edom's doom; the prophet Obadiah foresaw the decline of Edom, saying in the voice of the Lord, "See, I will make you small among the nations; I will make you utterly despised." (Obadiah 1:10) If you have time, the first chapter of Obadiah provides more details about the fate of Edom, but to summarize that passage the Lord states that He is going to judge Edom because that nation showed no brotherly love toward the descendants of Jacob. "Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever." (Obadiah 1:10)
Not only were the Edomites unfriendly to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt, but they gloated when other nations conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. "On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them." (Obadiah 1:11) The Edomites were pleased to see "him" (Jacob) plundered. The Lord says the Edomites were as bad as those who attacked the descendants of Jacob: "You were like one of them." The first chapter of Obadiah goes on to say that the Edomites made a grave mistake when they gloated over the misfortunes of Jacob, when they swooped in after the descendants of Jacob were conquered and looted things that were left behind, when they cut down fugitives fleeing through their territory after disaster struck, when they captured refugees and handed them over to their enemies. Because of this wickedness against their kinsmen, the Lord said, "Your deeds will return upon your own head."
When Isaiah foresees someone calling to the watchman in the tower, the watchman says a strange thing: "If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again." The wording is not especially clear but I think what he is saying is: "You may ask your question as many times as you like but you will receive the same answer. Dawn is coming but that changes nothing. Night is coming upon the land of Edom, not a lack of light from the sun but a decline and eventually a fall to an enemy---a fall from which we will never rise. No matter how many times you ask me, I will tell you the same thing, because the Lord has already decided this will be the judgment for Edom's sins and He will not change His mind."
Had the people of Edom repented of their sins against Jacob and of the idolatry which they fell into long ago, the Lord would have changed His mind, but they never did and He knew they never would. This is why He could say with certainty that judgment would fall, because He knew they would not repent. The Lord avenges those who are His and He is announcing His intention, through Isaiah and through other prophets, to avenge the wrongs done to His people by the nation of Edom.
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