I had never before realized that this one-chapter book of Obadiah's was actually addressed to the people of Edom. The Edomites were the descendents of Esau, the brother of Jacob. If you know your Bible history, you know Esau had some good reasons to be ticked off at Jacob. (To read the back story, start in Genesis 25)
Now, hundreds of years later, God sends Obadiah to the people of Edom and cautions them with words like
"Do not gloat over your brother's day." (verse 12)
and
"Do not gloat over their calamity" (verse 13)
Do you ever see a tragedy on the news and instantly begin judging? I know I have.
I'm not attempting to exploit any particular incident, but how many times have we seen a school shooting, a worker who went "postal" or a famine in a developing nation and asked questions like...
Where were his parents?
Why didn't anyone see the signs of his mental illness?
Why did his mom have guns in the house if he was so dangerous?
Why don't they just stop having babies and move where there is food?
Be honest. We've all heard comments like these, and more. We may have even verbalized them ourselves. I know we have at least allowed them to flit through our minds.
But here's what Obadiah is teaching me...
isn't that just a form of gloating?
When I hear of a couple getting divorced, don't I instantly jump to the conclusion or whose fault it was? Don't we watch the news and place judgment upon those that have not yet been convicted in a court of law?
I could ask many, many more questions like these and one (or more!) will jump out at you because we have all done this.
God said through Obadiah..."Don't!"
Even if that person is my enemy.
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Thus the title of this post. Obadiah is a very small book...only 21 verses to be exact. But in my lifetime, I will never fully be able to plumb the depths of this message, the same message Jesus vocalized a few hundred years later...also with only a few words:
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven." (see Matthew 5:43-45)
Consistency in the Old Testament with the message of Jesus in the New, that is one thing I'm seeing as I wade through these Minor Prophets. If God took so much effort to express Enemy-Love within his written Word, don't you think that means He is asking the same of us today?
Enemy Love.
Not a new concept, but one I need to engage with everyday.
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