The Edomites were close relatives to the Israelites, for their founders were the brothers Jacob and Esau. But the Edomites quickly descended into idolatry, whereas the descendants of Jacob continued to serve the Lord---albeit not all of them, since idolatry crept into the nation over time, but at no time did every descendant of Jacob serve idols. The Edomites opposed the Israelites on their way to the land of Canaan, refusing to allow them to take a shortcut through their land and assembling in battle array against them. They continued to refuse to be friends with Israel and, even though the Lord strictly charged the Israelites never to attack or attempt to take any land from the Edomites, the Edomites did not show them the same courtesy. They took every opportunity to do Israel ill instead of to do Israel good.
So in our text today the Lord announces His intention to allow the nation of Edom to fall but He is also using the word "Edom" to symbolize all nations, tribes, and peoples who have hated the descendants of Jacob. Most mainstream scholars hold to this view and also to the view that the destructions mentioned in this chapter are primarily looking ahead to the end times and to the Lord's final judgment of those who hate Him and who hate His people.
"Edom's streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again." (Isaiah 34:9-10) The Lord did not rain down fire and brimstone upon Edom as He did upon Sodom and Gomorrah but He uses similar imagery when speaking of Edom's utter destruction. Like so many other ancient kingdoms, its once-amazing structures have fallen into dust and ruins. It went through a period of decline and then was largely destroyed by the Babylonians and by various Arabic tribes. Edom never rose again, in contrast to the nation of Israel which is a sovereign nation in the world today and whose people are still a distinct people in the world today.
The Lord's words against literal Edom paint a picture of devastation, of being uninhabited, of being unable to rebuild. "The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation. Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes will vanish away." (Isaiah 34:11-12) The residences of kings and nobles and high officials will be deserted and will become the habitation of wild creatures.
The untended lawns and fields will overtake the luxurious palaces and the offices of the government. "Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls. Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also lie down and find for themselves places of rest." (Isaiah 34:13-14)
Those citizens who once lived lives of idolatry and wickedness are no longer there. The lavish parties are no longer being held. No music is being played. No one is going about their business. No one is tending to matters of government. No one is tending to matters of everyday life. The human occupants are gone and the animal occupants have found shelter in the palaces of the nobles. The pagan temples and idols of false gods are lying in the dust, as helpless to protect themselves as they were to protect those who brought them offerings. A similar fate will befall those who, in the last days, seek to make war with the Lord and with the Lord's people. As we continue on with our study of Chapter 34 we will talk about how these verses apply not only to the literal kingdom of Edom but to the kingdoms of the world that oppose the Lord and that hate the people who serve Him.
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