The judgment of Edom was pending, and Obadiah was given the commission by God to foretell their fate. Because they were contrary to Jacob or Israel, now God is contrary to them. We have learned of the pride, greed, and false confidence Edom had in themselves and their confederacies, but none of those are able to withstand God. As we saw in yesterday's lesson, Edom's main sin was their opposition to Jacob or Israel. Today Obadiah shares what Edom did to Jacob to deserve such attention from God. In verse eleven Obadiah wrote:
In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even you were as one of them.
As Jacob or Judah was carried away captive by the Babylonians, Edom simply watched. They “stood on the other side”. Like onlookers who watch a person on the street get attacked without doing anything about it, they watched as the people of Judah were marched out of their city and made to be servants. No one in Edom came to rescue them. No one in Edom cared. In fact, they rather enjoyed what was happening to Jacob, and rather than coming to Jacob's aid, Edom cheered on the attackers.
Obadiah says these were “strangers” and “foreigners” who came against Jacob. People who were contrary and strong came in to rip off Jacob, and Edom didn't care. The only concern Edom had was to “cast lots upon Jerusalem” which means they gambled over who would get certain items from the pillage of Jerusalem during Babylon's conquest. Edom waited on the sidelines while Babylon took the people of Jerusalem away, and then Edom came into Jacob's town and took their belongings. There was one big problem, God saw them do it.
God through Obadiah said, “you were as one of them”. In other words you are just as guilty as the attackers. Whenever there is a bystander who stands and watches another person be beaten and destroyed, especially when the person should be close to them, God's all seeing eye is upon them. They do not get away with it, and although it may seem that violators sometimes get away with infractions, they never do. God is watching, and in the case of Edom, God is pronouncing judgment upon Edom for it.
Like Edom Satan doesn't care about us, and he does everything to steal, kill and destroy us. His entire purpose is to keep us from having a relationship with God. There are times where he uses others in this world to conquer us, pillage us, and make us feel unworthy of God's love. He stands on the sidelines like the people of Edom and desires to plunder our belongings as soon as we fail. He uses our fleshly desires to influence our fall, and if he can, he will take every piece of value we have gained. But we must remember, dear ones, God is watching, and God will not allow the enemy of our soul to destroy us. As with Edom, God's judgment is strong, and no one can resist Him.
If we feel like we have been destroyed by the “Edoms” of this world, and we seem to be without hope, we must take courage that our loving Heavenly Father is overseeing everything we endure. Without a doubt He will take action against not only those who come against us, but also against those who stand on the sidelines to take advantage while we endure our plight. God saw Edom, and God sees those against us too.
Next time we will see more indictments against Edom, 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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