Ezekiel 35:1-9: in context

God directs Ezekiel to prophesy against Mount Seir, the land of Edom. The charge against Edom is specific: because you have had a perpetual hostility, and have given over the children of Israel to the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of their final punishment. Edom had nursed a long, enduring hatred against Israel, its kindred people; and when Israel fell under judgment, Edom did not pity them but handed them over to the sword, exploiting their kinsmen's downfall. For this long-held enmity and this cruelty in the day of calamity, judgment comes.

Two sins are named against Edom, and both search us. The first is a perpetual hostility, a hatred nursed and kept alive over long years, an enmity that would not let go. Edom had cherished its grudge against Israel for generations, refusing to release it, keeping the old hostility burning. The second is what that enmity did in Israel's day of calamity: rather than showing pity to a kinsman in trouble, Edom took advantage of the downfall, handing Israel over, exploiting their disaster. A long-nursed grudge, and cruelty toward another in their time of trouble, are the sins for which Edom is judged. This is a sober warning about grudges we hold. We can nurse an enmity for years, keeping alive an old hostility, refusing to release a grievance, letting it become a perpetual hostility in our hearts. And such nursed enmity has a way of showing itself at the worst moment: when the one we resent falls into trouble, we feel not pity but satisfaction, and may even take advantage of their downfall, as Edom exploited Israel's calamity. God's judgment on Edom warns us against both: against the long-held grudge that will not let go, and against the cruelty that gloats over or exploits another in their time of trouble. You should not have looked down on your brother in the day of his disaster, God says to Edom through Obadiah. To hold enmity is corrosive; to act on it against someone already down is worse; and God sees it. This calls us to release the grudges we nurse and to show mercy, not cruelty, when those we have resented fall into trouble. Rather than a perpetual hostility kept burning in the heart, we are called to let old enmities go; and rather than exploiting or gloating over another's calamity, we are called to pity even those who have wronged us in their day of trouble. Edom was judged for the nursed grudge and the cruelty in the day of calamity; and we are warned to hold neither, but to release our enmities and show mercy where our resentment might have gloated.

Do I nurse an old enmity, keeping a grudge alive over years and refusing to release it, and does that resentment show itself when the one I resent falls into trouble, feeling satisfaction or even taking advantage rather than pity, and can I heed God's judgment on Edom's perpetual hostility by releasing the grudges I hold and showing mercy, not cruelty, to those who have wronged me in their day of calamity?