A Time Of Trouble

This is the vision about Edom that Obadiah had. Here is what he said. We've heard a message from the Lord and King. A messenger was sent to the nations. The Lord told him to say, "Get up! Let us go and make war against Edom."

The Lord says to Edom, "I will make you weak among the nations. They will look down on you. You live in the safety of the rocks. You make your home high up in the mountains. But your proud heart has tricked you. So you say to yourself, 'No one can bring me down to the ground.' You have built your home as high as an eagle does. You have made your nest among the stars. But I will bring you down from there," announces the Lord. "Edom, suppose robbers came to you at night. They would steal only as much as they wanted. Suppose grape pickers came to harvest your vines. They would still leave a few grapes. But you are facing horrible trouble! People of Esau, everything will be taken away from you. Your hidden treasures will be stolen. All those who are helping you will force you to leave your country. Your friends will trick you and overpower you.
Those who eat bread with you will set a trap for you. But you will not see it." The Lord announces, "At that time I will destroy the wise men of Edom. I will wipe out the men of understanding in the mountains of Esau. People of Teman, your soldiers will be terrified. Everyone in Esau's mountains will be cut down with swords. You did harmful things to your brothers, the people of Jacob. So you will be covered with shame. You will be destroyed forever. Strangers entered the gates of Jerusalem. They cast lots to see what each one would get. They carried off its wealth. When that happened, you just stood there and did nothing. You were like one of them. That was a time of trouble for your brothers. So you should not have looked down on them. The people of Judah were destroyed. So you should not have been happy about it. You should not have laughed at them so much when they were in trouble. You should not have marched through the gates of my people's city when they were having so much trouble. You should not have looked down on them. You should not have stolen their wealth. You waited where the roads cross. You wanted to cut down those who were running away. You should not have done that. You handed over to their enemies those who were still left alive. You should not have done that. They were in trouble.

Obadiah 1:1-14

How much would you help your enemies?

If someone has repeatedly been hurtful to us, it is easy to give in to vindictive pleasures when they experience misfortune. However, we are to maintain an attitude of compassion and forgiveness and trust God to bring justice in His time.

Love for God can be measured by the love we show for our worst enemy.

Our Daily Bread – April 10, 2010