Ezekiel 35 is a short oracle of judgment against Mount Seir, the mountain country of Edom, which had rejoiced over the fall of Israel. These questions are for small groups, Sunday classes, and personal study who want to work through the chapter verse by verse, with leader notes you can use without preparing a separate summary.
Ezekiel 35 at a Glance
God tells Ezekiel to turn his face toward Mount Seir and speak against it. The first half of the chapter (verses 3 to 9) announces desolation on Edom because of its long hostility toward Israel and its role in the violence at Israel’s time of calamity. The second half (verses 10 to 15) answers Edom’s boast that the two nations and their lands would now belong to it, and it closes with the repeated refrain that the nations will know the LORD.
The chapter is a single prophetic unit, so you can read it straight through in one sitting. Notice how the judgment is framed as God’s response to Edom’s own words and attitudes, not only to its actions.
Observation Questions
Use these first. Ask the group to point to the text before offering any interpretation. Let quieter members answer first, and keep the discussion anchored in what the words literally say.
Ezekiel 35:4
I will lay your cities waste, and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
(WEB)
This verse states the purpose behind the judgment: that Edom will know the LORD. Reading it aloud lets the group hear the purpose clause before they discuss the punishment.
Ezekiel 35:5-6
5 “‘“Because you have had a perpetual hostility, and have given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end; 6 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord the LORD, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood will pursue you. Since you have not hated blood, therefore blood will pursue you.
(WEB)
These verses name Edom’s perpetual hostility and its treatment of Israel in calamity, and they connect that hostility to the coming judgment. Reading them together helps the group see the reasoning in the text.
Ezekiel 35:10
“‘“Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries will be mine, and we will possess it;’ whereas the LORD was there…
(WEB)
Edom’s boast that it will possess the two nations is stated here in its own words. Hearing the claim spoken aloud makes the contrast with the LORD’s presence easier to grasp.
Ezekiel 35:11
Therefore, as I live,” says the Lord the LORD, “I will do according to your anger, and according to your envy which you have shown out of your hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.
(WEB)
This verse reveals that God will respond to Edom’s anger and envy and make himself known in judgment. It is a useful verse for discussing how God sees the heart as well as action.
Ezekiel 35:15
As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I do to you. You will be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, even all of it. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”
(WEB)
The closing verse of the chapter returns to Edom’s rejoicing and the mirror of judgment. Ending the reading here gives the group a clear image to carry into the closing prayer.
Memory Verse for Ezekiel 35
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who have read a hard chapter about judgment and hostility. We confess that we, too, have felt glad at the trouble of others and have let bitterness settle into our hearts. Search us and show us where we have harbored hatred or spoken against our neighbors. Help us to take seriously the words we speak and the attitudes we hold, knowing that you hear them all. Teach us to trust your presence and your promises when others mock them. Make us people who want you to be known, and let your faithfulness be seen in the way we love and forgive. Amen.
