THE STORY OF JESUS: Obadiah 1
“You should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune.” (Obadiah 1:12)
Edom (from Esau, Jacob’s brother) and Israel (from Jacob) fought for years.
Obadiah describes how Edomites took advantage of defeated Israel and her refugees.
This tension makes me think of the present day tensions between Jews and Muslims.
Both claim Abraham (grandfather of Jacob and Esau) as their father.
And yet, as brothers, they fight and harass and oppress each other.
God’s command is that we treat all people with respect, since we’re all family!
All people, all nations, will be judged for how they treated others.
“As you have done, it will be done to you…” (Obadiah 1:15)
Think of how Jesus taught us to “forgive… as we have been forgiven (Matthew 6:12)
Will God treat us as we have treated the weak or needy or guilty around us?
Will God treat the Jews as they treated the Palestinians, or vice versa?
Will God treat me as I treated the homeless, the addicted, the criminals?
If Jesus is our pattern for how to treat tax collectors, prostitutes, foreigners…
Who are the people I am not being a good brother too?
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, I know I am forgiven by grace. But help me to share that grace with others, as You have shared it with me, lest I lose out on the very grace that I have received.