It is bad enough when someone has one or two injunctions against us, but when the accuser is God and there is a list, we are in serious trouble. This is the case with Edom, and Obadiah has written to disclose it. So far we have learned of the prideful, greedy, insatiable, and presumptive attitude within Edom. We have discovered their dependency upon their unreliable confederates, and lately they have been indited for only looking upon Judah as they were being conquered, but cheered on their oppressors and plundered their belongings. Edom should not have entered into Judah's gates nor simply gazed upon their affliction nor looted them in the day of their calamity. Obadiah has been thorough with his accusations against Edom, and today he adds two more. In verse fourteen he wrote:
Neither should you have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither should you have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
If the above reasons that Edom is being judged is not enough, Obadiah say Edom “should not have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape”. In other words, when the people of Judah began to flee their conquerors, Edom stood in the path of escape. They blocked the people of Judah. They held them up, and the bottom line is that the people of Edom helped Jacob's or Israel's enemies. Vicarious participation was not enough. Edom was now involved in the subjugation.
Next Obadiah wrote, “neither should you have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.” These words imply that not only was Edom impeding Israel's escape, but they were also involved in their capture. They gathered together some who remained in the cities and delivered them up to their captors. The accusing words are emphatic, “neither should you”, and because they did, the judgment of God is upon them.
How are we toward our enemies? Would we like Edom not only be happy that they suffer, but also participate in actions that could cause their afflictions? Is revenge our driving motive against them? When we look deeply into ourselves we sometimes find the natural inclination to respond after our fleshly nature rather than the way God encourages us to be. Paul the apostle gave us the spirit of God in the book of Romans in chapter twelve and verses nineteen through twenty-one where he wrote:
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink: for in so doing you shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Our enemy satan would love to destroy us by our keeping a grudge. He'd like nothing better than to break our fellowship with God by giving us an opportunity like Edom to help our enemies fall into affliction. Revenge may be a natural tendency, but as children of God, we must leave all the vengeance to Him. This takes a work of the Spirit of God in and through our willing hearts and minds to receive the ability to restrain.
So who is it that is bugging us today? Have we turned them over to the vengeance of God, or are we looking for an opportunity to watch or help them fall? Lest we be like those within Edom, let us turn all our enemies over to God's care.
Next time we will see the beginning of the sentence upon Edom for their behavior, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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