"Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed for ever. On that day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble. You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor look down on them in their calamity in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth in the day of their disaster. You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble."
Obadiah verses 10-14
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IN the verses before us we have the special sin and condemnation on Edom. No doubt the Edomites were godless and sinful in all their ways, but the special sin which is recorded that caused the destruction of the Lord upon them, was their attitude and action against Israel. This sin is specially emphasised because the Edomites were descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, and so their sinful action against Judah was an evil action against their brother, that is a sin against family. However there is a more general application recorded here which is the sin of looking down on others and acting in judgement and suffering toward others because of their sin and sinfulness, when there is no right of sinful people, of which all of us are, to look down and judge others, however their actions or their suffering because of their sin.

This animosity of the Edomites against Israel was an historical fact. We may remember how Jacob feared meeting Esau when he left the service of Laban and this was because of the way Jacob cheated Esau out of his birth-right. We can see this hate of the Edomites persisting in history when we read in Numbers 20: 14ff how the Edomites would not allow the Israelites to pass through their territory, even though Israel asked for this privilege humbly, with the assurance that in doing so Israel would not do any harm to the Edomites or their land. Here, in Obadiah, we have recorded this animosity against Israel in a very vicious way.

The verses in Obadiah which we are now considering describe in a very vivid way the hate and vicious action Edom acted towards Israel, when Israel was suffering the judgement of God by the hand of the nations.

THE VILENESS OF THE ACTIONS OF EDOM.

Let us observe, first of all, the actual sin of the Edomites as it is described in our verses. As we read through the verses we see first of all that the Edomites stood aloof from the Israelites when the enemy came upon Israel and carried off their wealth and enter their gates and cast lots for Jerusalem. In other words Edom had no compassion for its brother Israel. They were happy about Israel's misfortune. They stood back and offered no help.

In the next place we read in verse 11 that Edom is described as being like the enemies of Israel. In other words they supported the action of the enemies of Israel, and felt the same way towards Israel as the enemies who were destroying Israel felt. Then we read in verse 12 that Edom looked down on their brother, Israel. The people of Edom despised the people of Israel when Israel was suffering. On top of this we are told in verse 13 that the people of Edom rejoiced in the sufferings of Israel. This destruction of Israel by their enemies gave joy to the people of Edom, and from this we see how much they disliked Israel, and were glad to have their desire against Israel made real by the action of this enemy of Israel.

Then in verse 13 we are told that the Edomites seized the wealth of Israel. They seized the opportunity of Israel's disaster to make themselves rich. They followed the enemy into the city of Jerusalem to plunder the wealth of Israel. When we read verse 14 we see how great was the malice of the people of Edom against their brother Israel. They waited at the crossroad outside Jerusalem to catch the people of Israel as they fled for their safety from their enemies. The Edomites cut these fugitives down and handed them over to their enemies.

THE WRONG OF EDOM'S ACTION.

As we read these verses we see repeated several times the words "You should not ...". This occurs in verse 12 and verse 13 and verse 14. This phrase is the preface of the details against Edom's action. Through the prophet Obadiah God was telling the people of Edom that their thinking, attitude and action against Israel was wrong. Why was this? After all Israel was suffering God's judgement. They were plainly sinful people who deserved God's judgement, and should not Edom look down on them and despise them and treat them as sinners being rejected and applaud their suffering. The answer is that they should not have acted in this way.

The reason is fairly easy to comprehend. It is one thing to recognise the sin of Edom, and to approve the chastisement of the Lord as right; but quite another to look down on the sinner, and add to the sinner's suffering. The fact is that judgement is in the hand of God alone, and Edom should have left such judgement to God. They had no right to act as accusers and add to the suffering of Israel, even though they would be right in recognising Israel's wrong and sin. They had no right because they were sinners also, and deserved God's wrath. They may not have committed the particular sin of Israel, but they had committed sins deserving of God's judgement, and this left them without excuse for looking down on Israel, and exacerbating their affliction.

APPLICATION.

The question which these verses raise for us is as to whether there is truths in this record which we need to hear and heed. The lessons for us are with regard to wrong and sin we may observe in the lives of other believers. The point of this accusation against the people of Edom was that they were acting against family. Israel descended from their father Isaac, just as the Edomites had descended from their same ancestor. Jacob and Esau were brothers, just as every believer in Jesus are family, brothers and sisters; and this is still true even when a believer may sin grievously in the eyes of other believers.

There is something further we are forced to consider when we view the lesson of these verses. The lesson is that we need to be sure that our evaluation of another believer is actually indeed correct, or in need of correction. It is easy to quickly condemn without asking ourself whether we rightly appreciate the thing or action we condemn. It is so easy for us to imagine evil and condemn it without considering whether we truly understand the thing we condemn or truly are right in such condemnation.

The thing which is clear from these verses is that God did not approve, and indeed condemned, the action of Edom against Israel in Israel's calamity. There is no doubt that Israel was suffering for their turning away from God, and their enemy had been permitted to chastise Israel by God, but Edom showed a very sinful disposition and heart in their attitude towards Israel. They were using this opportunity of God's judgement on Israel to satisfy their hate of Israel. This was a despicable action. However justified they may have felt in increasing Israel's suffering, the truth was that their motives were sinful. They wanted to vent their hate against Israel, and cause Israel's suffering to increase. There was nothing righteous and good in their attitude and action against Israel.

The fact is that much judgement against other believer's behaviour which is judged to be wrong or sinful, is action of self righteousness, and setting oneself over and above others, and justifying despising and rejecting in this way. It was the reaction of the Pharisees which we see exemplified in this attitude. The Pharisees thanked God that they were not like others. They came before God feeling they merited God's recognition and acceptance because of their moral and righteous behaviour. In this spirit they were very ready to condemn others and despise them, and reject them altogether. They looked down on those they judged to be sinners. They were even ready to criticise Jesus, and condemn his actions, and accuse him of wrong.

The fact is that the action and attitude observed in these verses before us against Israel, reveal a people who were opposed to God and unreconciled to God. Their action showed a fallen and sinful heart, whatever their outward behaviour revealed, or however they felt their attitude against Israel was justified. The action of Jacob against his brother Esau was vile, deceitful and deserving of rebuke. Jacob cheated his brother out of his birth-right, and this was sin even though God over-ruled it for good and for the fulfilment of his purpose of redemption. Esau had a justifiable grudge against Jacob, but he had no right to hold fast to hate. The way forward for all believers when they observe sin in others is the way of humble recognition of their own sin and unworthiness, and their deserving of judgement, and react in the light of this.

God says judgement is mine. We must humbly leave to God the business of judgement. It is our business to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Though we are meant to turn away from sin, and it is right to recognise sin as sin even if it is seen in other believers, but our attitude must be of leaving the judgement to God. It is right to be careful to preserve God's family from sin, and speak against it, but it must be in a spirit of humble recognition of our own sin and sinfulness.

The fact is that the true believer cannot act the way of the Pharisee, for if we have received the full and gracious forgiveness of God for all our sin, the result can only be that we acknowledge we have been loved much by God, and so to be unforgiving towards others must be impossible. If we appreciate how much we have been forgiven, we can have none other spirit within us of being forgiving to others. If we are not forgiving this casts doubts as to whether we have truly received the forgiveness of God.

This is illustrated in the parable of Jesus where he tells of a servant of a master who owed his lord a stupendously large sum of money, and when he asked for mercy his master forgave him the whole debt. But then this forgiven servant went out and showed no mercy to another servant who owed him a paltry sum of money compared to the debt his master had forgiven him. Jesus said that servant was rebuked by his master, and the forgiven debt was rescinded because he had been unforgiving of his fellow servant.

The same is illustrated in the attitude of Simon the Pharisee who condemned the action of the woman who had been a great sinner, who now showed her love for Jesus by anointing him with precious ointment. Jesus told the Pharisee that she loved much because she had been forgiven a great deal, where as the Pharisee had little love for Jesus because he had not received forgiveness.

There is one last thought and truth which is opened up to us in this record of God's judgement on Edom. Though Israel were being punished by God on account of there waywardness and sin of departing from God, they were still the people of God, and God's chosen people. As Israel's God who had been their Saviour and blessed them through all their journeying to the promised land and afterwards, God looked on Israel as his peculiar treasure, and his people. Because of this anyone or nation which turned against Israel like Edom was doing, came under the special disfavour of God, and thus under his judgement.

Even the enemies of Israel used by God to chastise Israel in due course received God's judgement and destruction for their action against Israel. Even though God used them, they acted according to their own sinful purpose in destroying Israel.