But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity - Obadiah 1: 12 - 13a (ESV)
In verse 12 and the first part of verse 13, God charges Edom with the sin of gloating as a manifestation of this basic problem of pride. Notice how we hear this so frequently in children who haven't yet learned to cover up what they feel with a subtle varnish of politeness: "Yay, yah, yah, good for you. You had it coming!" Have we ever said that in your own heart about somebody? "You had it coming." We were gloating over them. Adults learn to disguise this sometimes, but it comes out once in a while. For example, what do we say when someone doesn’t take our advice and fails and we hear about it? Do we ever say, "Well, I told you so. I knew that would happen. I expected it all along"? That is the sense of gloating, you see.
Now, what causes this? Why do we like to rub salt on another's wounds? What is behind this perverse delight we take in another person's failure or his faults? It is Esau in us. The flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. In our pride and indifference we don't care what happens to someone else, as long as everything is alright with us.
In our most recent COVID context, the whole need for vaccinations and the mask mandates has been a prickly topic. I remember on many occasions as I debated with some people I knew as to why these were required and they would come back with the wildest possible conspiracy theories and try and base it on the Bible. Ultimately, all of them caught COVID - some really bad and then some of them got wiser. I am reminded how at those times I had to check myself to not say in my heart - “I told you so. You had it coming.”
Story goes of a hypochondriac who got it written on his epitaph - “I told you I was sick!” Even death cannot relieve some people of their attitudes.
Gloating over the misfortune of another person has become a default response by some to the sorrow experienced by those who hold opposing views. Gloating is an indicator of the sad condition of the heart of the gloater, not the person who suffered an injury because of what the gloater deemed as the cause of their misfortune. This takes place with regularity in some of our news outlets.
I saw one headline today where a man’s death was offered as proof that his position on a particular subject was, according to the nuance of the headline, the cause of his death. It lacked heart and compassion. The news lead was a form of gloating crafted as a subtle rebuke.
Let us be careful to not align our voice with a spirit that gloats over the misfortune of anyone, even those we deem as the enemy of the good. One of the most profound and memorable texts in all of Scripture begins with the words “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16). That kind of love can never be extended to the world if we allow our voice to join the gloating chorus of “I told you so” when sorrow visits people who according to us might have a faulty worldview or a misguided understanding about an important subject.
For when we gloat over the misfortune of others, we are behaving like Edom did on the day of destruction of their own kin.
But Edom went one step further, and did the unthinkable.
Do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity - Obadiah 1: 13b (ESV)
The latter part of verse 13 makes their crime clear - they looted their own. Now imagine this, you have had a major disagreement with your brother / sister / relative and choose not to keep in talking terms with them. At a later point you see that they are going through tough times and you not only gloat to their face, but you also go into the house and take away their things?
That is exactly what Edom did. They stood by the gates as Israel and Judah were attacked, rejoicing and reveling. Then as the raiders stomped about the home of their own kin, they joined the marauders in raiding and stealing from the home of their kin.
Edom’s sin started with doing nothing, then progressed to pride over Judah’s distress. Soon, they took advantage of their brother Judah’s misfortune and laid hands on their substance.
Gloating is one thing, it is a subtle manifestation of our pride. But looting your own - that is being perverse. It is blatantly and outrightly saying, “I take what I want - God has nothing to do with it!” This verse is directly alluding to verses 5 - 6 which reads, “If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night— how you have been destroyed!— would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings? How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out!”
What is the Lord saying in this verse to Edom? Essentially they are being told that if thieves came to their house, they would only take what they wanted / needed and leave the rest behind. Think about it - a thief in your house will always only take what they deem of value. When they have had their fill, they leave. Similarly the example is given here of grape gatherers. We are all familiar with the concept of not so well to do people gathering the leftovers of produce from our land to meet their needs. This verse tells us even such people who were coming out of blatant disregard to take away or out of need to use what can be found would leave something behind. But it would not be so for Edom!
Instead, because of their gloating on the day of their brothers misfortune and further looting their brothers goods, by the time God was done with them - they wouldn’t even have a semblance of anything left over. It would be as if they never existed! For me it is a chilling thought. This is God seeking vengeance against Edom. God is literally cursing them to say that they would be erased from existence.
And that is exactly what happened with Edom. They were erased from history. The perspective of verses 12, 13, and 14 is a common technique in ancient literature. The author speaks as if shouting back in time, to warn someone. The crimes Edom is being told "do not" do are the very ones they have already done - to serve as a future warning to those who might listen and not follow suit. A frequent feature of God's judgment is a sinner's own crimes coming back to them. Edom looted Jerusalem and helped defeat them. Not long after this prophecy was written, the Edomites were driven from their lands by foreigners. Their nation wallowed in poverty and obscurity until 70 AD, when the Roman Empire virtually annihilated them.
Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress. Obadiah 1: 14 (ESV)
The final progression of Edom’s sin was worst of all – they joined in the attack against vulnerable Judah. You can picture what has happened. As Edom moved in to plunder the city, they encountered stragglers, men and women, or lone women with their children, perhaps whole families who had fled the city to escape the destruction and certain death or captivity. They would naturally try to take refuge in the rugged country south of the Dead Sea – but on their way they met up with these Edomite brothers who had no sympathy for their plight – the Bible says that they turned them over to the Babylonians, gave them up to their enemies for who knows what future. Did they care? Certainly not, for they were the lowest sort of people, thriving on the defeats of others, even their own kinsmen.
Bible expositor John Trapp is known to have said - “Sin proceeds by degrees; neither is any man at his worst at first.”
All in all, Edom treated God’s people terribly when distress and calamity came upon them.
First they perpetrated violence.
Then they did nothing.
Then they rejoiced in their distress and calamity.
Then they took advantage of their vulnerable state.
Then they joined in the violence against God’s people.
Are we doing the same today? From today’s verses, we need to ask ourselves these questions:
Are we the kind of people who don’t help others but we don’t mind finding out the details of some other Christian’s failure? Have you heard of someone who has fallen into some sin, and have we been tempted for curiosity’s sake to see what the trouble is - only to gloat albeit within our heart?
Let us make no mistake - Gloating is a subtle sin, but it is a sin that stems from pride and it is sin nonetheless. In gloating we behave like Edom.
Do we take advantage of brothers / sisters who fall? Do we prey on them with our works and behavior? Do we move in and gather the spoils? What are some ways that believers can take advantage of other believers when they fall?
Have you ever heard anyone say, "Well, I had a contractor bid on some work I would like him to do, and the fellow made a mistake and he has underbid this. But I am going to hold him to It. After all, I've got the contract. He signed it and I am going to hold him to it"? That is taking advantage of another's mistake. We find this spirit coming up so easily when something like that happens. We say, "Oh, that is your hard luck." We try to move in and take advantage of another's distress.
"If we’re thinking right now, Oh, I could never do a thing like that." Well, how many of us are on the lookout for some old coin, or some antique chair, or some widow selling her stuff who doesn't know the value of them? We move in on that and take advantage of it?
Taking advantage of others is a sin that stems from pride. In taking advantage of others, we behave like Edom.
Do we stand in the way of our brothers and sisters who are hurting?
Now figuratively speaking, God’s people can be guilty of this very thing. We serve Satan, our enemy by treating Christians who have sinned or erred with an unbrotherly love. Some Christians spend more time delivering fellow believers into the hands of unbelievers than they do serving God. Our duty is to build up, to edify our brothers and sisters and restore them, not to turn them over to the enemy every time they fall.
All too often it is we, believers in Jesus Christ who behave like the Edomites. We can behave very hurtful, we say things we ought not say, we do things we ought not do, and sometimes, perhaps more often than not, we refuse to get involved when we should. There is a Bible verse that says, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” - Proverbs 18: 24 (ESV)
We have such a friend in Jesus. When we had fallen to sin and death, Jesus didn’t just stand by. He didn’t look on with contempt or with indifference. When we were helpless and hopeless, Jesus didn’t rejoice or boast of His own perfection, though He was. He didn’t move in and exploit us, nor did He turn us over to the enemy – He didn’t do any of these things. Because He loved us, He chose to get involved and do something about it – His love drove Him to the cross, and because He was lifted up, we too can be lifted up.
Let me close today’s reflection with a poem “My Name is Pride” by Beth Moore:
My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
I cheat you of your God-given destiny…because you demand your own way.
I cheat you of contentment…because you “deserve better than this.”
I cheat you of knowledge…because you already know it all.
I cheat you of healing…because you are too full of you to forgive.
I cheat you of holiness…because you refuse to admit when you are wrong.
I cheat you of vision…because you’d rather look in the mirror than out a window.
I cheat you of genuine friendship…because nobody’s going to know the real you.
I cheat you of love…because real romance demands sacrifice.
I cheat you of greatness in heaven…because you refuse to wash another’s feet on earth.
I cheat you of God’s glory…because I convinced you to seek your own.
My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
You like me because you think I’m always looking out for you.
Untrue.
I’m looking to make a fool of you.
God has so much for you, I admit, but don’t worry…
If you stick with me you’ll never know.