Obadiah: 11-15 (NIV)
On the 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 gloat over 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 gloat over 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.
“The day of the Lord is near
for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds will return upon your own head.
Psalm 103: verses 10-12 (NIV)
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
It seems that the descendants of Esau, the Edomites, didn’t always get along with the descendants of Jacob, the people of Israel and Judah, even although Esau and Jacob were twin brothers, and the Edomites may even have conspired against the people of Judah at the time they were carried into captivity. Obadiah prophesied that God had seen all that, and in the fulness of time, the Edomites would be treated by others in the way they had treated the people of Judah. Some might say rightly so, but he issues a word of caution that applied to the people of Judah as well as to us today. “You should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune.”
It’s very easy when we see someone who has perhaps treated us, or someone else improperly get treated in a similar vein to think that they have got their just deserts or a dose of their own medicine. But God is really clear that we should never rejoice over anyone else’s misfortune. Justice is His to administer and we have to leave that to Him. We also have to remember that God is a God of mercy and justice. He doesn’t treat us in the manner that our sins deserve, because Jesus took that punishment on Himself. God will never overlook an injustice and He may allow circumstances that will in the end draw us back to Him and set us on the right path.
If that happens to someone who may knowingly and deliberately hurt us, we must be careful never to hold it against them, and if, like the prodigal son, in the powerful parable told by Jesus, they set themselves right with God, and receive His forgiveness, we should never follow the example of the older son in the parable, and continue to hold a grudge. By doing so, the only person we are hurting is ourselves. We have been given so much by God through Christ that we must always be willing to extend a hand of mercy and forgiveness should the opportunity arise. After all, Obadiah also says, “As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds will return upon your own head.”
Dear Lord,
Help me to bring such difficult matters that seem unfair and unjust and leave them with You. Help me never to hold on to something that I may feel justified in doing, and to be willing to show mercy and forgiveness as it has been shown to me. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.