Ezekiel 25:12

Seir had been coupled with Moab; but Edom's relentless hatred must have a distinct place too… Should not Edom have grieved for his brother? Instead he seized their ruin at the hands of the foreign stranger as a way to avenge himself for his old grudge. But God was not mocked then any more than now.

Ezekiel 25 to 32 detail God's threatened judgments on the various nations around Israel. The reason is their past conduct towards His people and their present spirit of hatred to them. They would rejoice at the destruction of Jerusalem and the setting aside of God's earthly sanctuary. He would let them know that though His earthly people had failed, He still was God. If judgment fell on His own people because of their sin, His hand would also be on those who hated the objects of His love.

Edom, the typical enemy of Israel… shows us the world of the old man — the natural fallen man. He is the most real enemy we have as Christians. He is no less our enemy for being related to us all by nature, just as Edom was the unbrotherly brother of Israel. The passage describes his hostility as revenge. He had a quarrel from the beginning: the first loss of his birthright-blessing. He has forgotten that he sold it for a bowl of stew. Nothing here explains the cause of his hostility. It is in fact built into his nature.

By the judgment that should fall on them, these nations should know that, although Jerusalem had not been a faithful witness, Jehovah alone is God… There is another remarkable feature here, found in other prophecies about Edom as well. It gives a wider meaning to the one we are considering. It declares that the judgment falling on Edom in the end will come by the hand of Israel.

Edom is the only one of all the nations reappearing at the time of the end for judgment that will have no "remnant" preserved. God will judge the Edomites without mercy because of the way they behaved toward His people. They were the most wicked, and the most eager to destroy Israel.

Let us take the moral of it to heart, for we may easily fall into the same spirit as the Edomite. Jeremiah saw the failures and sins of God's people, but he wept over them. Daniel and other godly men confessed those sins as their own. But the spirit of the Edomite is bitter hatred against those who are still the people of God, however they may have failed. This spirit is particularly displeasing to Him.

It is not for believers to seek to avenge themselves. God cannot trust His people to take vengeance. The word is: "Never avenge yourselves… for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'"