Gloating At The Enemy

Obadiah 1:1-14 

English Standard Version (ESV) at end of this devotional...

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Yet hidden away in its brief record is a vital question that affects us all: How should we respond when we see an enemy experience  misfortune?

The prophet Obadiah ministered during the time that the city of Jerusalem was under fierce attack by the armies of Babylon. The neighbors of Jerusalem, the Edomites, were actually cheering on the enemy armies to destroy and kill (Ps. 137:7-9). Ironically, these hurtful jeers were spoken by blood relatives of the Jews. They were descendants of Jacob, and the Edomites were descendants of Esau.

Obadiah condemned the Edomites for gloating: “You should not have gazed on the day of your brother in the day of his captivity; nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction” (Obadiah 1:12).

If someone has repeatedly been hurtful to us, it is easy to give in to vindictive pleasure when they experience misfortune. But Scripture admonishes us, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles” (Pr. 24:17). Instead, we are to maintain an attitude of compassion and forgiveness, and trust God to bring justice in His time.— by Dennis Fisher

For Further Thought How to handle people-problems (Romans 12): 

Be patient (Rom 12:12), 

bless persecutors (Rom 12:14), 

be humble (Rom 12:16), 

don’t take revenge (Rom 12:19), 

defeat evil with good (Rom 12:21).

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

Obadiah 1:1-14 ESV

1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom— We have heard a report from the Lord, And an envoy has been sent among the nations saying, “Arise and let us go against her for battle”—

2 “Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You are greatly despised. 

3 “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, You who live in the clefts of the rock, In the loftiness of your dwelling place, Who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to earth?’ 

4 “Though you build high like the eagle, Though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.

5 “If thieves came to you, If robbers by night— O how you will be ruined!— Would they not steal only until they had enough? If grape gatherers came to you, Would they not leave some gleanings? 

6 “O how Esau will be ransacked, And his hidden treasures searched out! 

7 “All the amen allied with you Will send you forth to the border, And the men at peace with you Will deceive you and overpower you. They who eat your bread Will set an ambush for you. (There is no understanding in him.) 

8 “Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord, “Destroy wise men from Edom And understanding from the mountain of Esau?

9 “Then your mighty men will be dismayed, O Teman, So that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter. 

10 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, You will be covered with shame, And you will be cut off forever. 

11 “On the day that you stood loof, On the day that strangers carried off his wealth, And foreigners entered his gate And cast lots for Jerusalem— You too were as one of them.

12 “Do not gloat over your brother’s day, The day of his misfortune. And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah In the day of their destruction; Yes, do not boast In the day of their distress. 

13 “Do not enter the gate of My people In the day of their disaster. Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity In the day of their disaster. And do not loot their wealth In the day of their disaster. 

14 “Do not astand at the fork of the road To cut down their fugitives; And do not imprison their survivors In the day of their distress.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.