Because of the violence you did
to your close relatives i...
Because of the violence you did
to your close relatives in Israel,
you will be filled with shame
and destroyed forever.
When they were invaded,
you stood aloof, refusing to help them.
Foreign invaders carried off their wealth
and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem,
but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies.
“You should not have gloated
when they exiled your relatives to distant lands.
You should not have rejoiced
when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune.
You should not have spoken arrogantly
in that terrible time of trouble.
You should not have plundered the land of Israel
when they were suffering such calamity.
You should not have gloated over their destruction
when they were suffering such calamity.
You should not have seized their wealth
when they were suffering such calamity.
You should not have stood at the crossroads,
killing those who tried to escape.
You should not have captured the survivors
and handed them over in their terrible time of trouble. (Obadiah 1:10-14)
Love your neighbor even if he’s your enemy. We’d like to rejoice when bad things happen to our enemies, but God loved us when we were his. He expects us to be like him. Schadenfreude is an uncomfortable German word that has come into English; it is used for the feeling of pleasure we have when something bad happens to someone else, especially if we think they deserved it. But God tells us we shouldn’t rejoice when our enemy stumbles and so he criticized the people of Edom for how they reacted to Israel’s punishment.
The Edomites were descendents of Esau, the hairy brother of Jacob whom he had deceived and from whom he’d stolen the birthright. King Herod, the king of Judea when Jesus was born, was an Edomite. The prophet Obadiah brought a message of judgment against these Edomites for how they had acted when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem: they had rejoiced and taken part, grabbing some of the plunder for themselves. God condemned their attitude and their behavior and promised that they would suffer his wrath as a consequence, in keeping with God’s promise to Abraham: those who blessed him would be blessed and those who cursed would be cursed. Although Esau—and the Edomites—were descended from Abraham, they were not in the line of promise: that had gone to Jacob and his descendents. Jacob may have stolen the birthright, but it was supposed to be his all along, anyhow.
God expects us to love our neighbors, even those neighbors who hate us. When our neighbor is in trouble, we’re supposed to help him, whether he’s a nice guy or not. True love is not dependent upon the worthiness of the one who needs love.
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