Kicking you when you are down

All of us have had times in our lives when we were going through deep waters or trials and to add to our misery, someone, knowing our distress, piled on the stress.

Job had his "friends." and his wife's great counsel, "Curse God and die."

In the minor prophet Obadiah, we see Judah going through a similar crisis. Babylon is in

the process of razing them to the ground and the descendants of Esau, the Edomites are there to kick them while down. They were rejoicing over Judah's misery vs 12, taking what they could, and to add insult to injury, as some Jews were escaping, the Edomites captured them and turned them over to Babylon. vs 14.

But the key to the book and the point for all the people of God is vs 15:

"For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you." We call this poetic justice. Everything Edom did to the Jews was done to them. The nation of Edom do not even exist any longer as God, throughout history removed them from the face of the earth.

God will repay! All nations and men are hostile to God and to His people. Our concern should be to make sure we are serving God as we should (Judah was being punished because of their stiff-necks) and not worry ourselves about revenge (or unfair treatment.) The last part of Obadiah is full of promises for God's people. "But on Mount Zion, there shall be deliverance." The last line says, "And the kingdom shall be the LORD'S"

(Hebrews 12:1-2) Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.