Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.
(Proverbs 24:17-18)
They were spectators at the event; most had never been competitors. The fans were riled as they cheered, booed and screamed at the opposition. Objects were thrown. Insults were hurled like rocks at the opponents. The game was over and the only thing left to do was to humiliate the losers. And they did.
The moment wasn’t a sporting event, but the fall of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Edom stood by and watched, applauded and gloated as bystanders to the punishment of God. But God was watching too and he wasn’t impressed.
Edom and Israel were “cousins.” Their histories were tied together because they were tied to twin brothers, Jacob and Esau, the sons of Isaac and grandsons to Abraham. God had blessed both nations and placed a protective hedge around each. In the conquest of Canaan, the land of Edom was exempt from Israel occupation. It wasn’t that Israel and Edom was close allies. They weren’t. Edom refused Israel’s request to pass through their lands (Num. 20:14-21). Under David’s reign, Edom was treated with cruelty (1 King. 11:15-16). They had a history of hostility.
So when Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylon Empire,* Edom celebrated. And boy did they celebrate! They danced. They taunted. They threw garbage on the victims. It was a celebration of shame.
Nebuchadnezzar was God’s ordained instrument to punish and bring judgement on Israel. Babylon had every divine right to march on Jerusalem, destroy the city and exile its citizens. But even so, God always caps his punishment. Thus, Edom broke God’s rule for engagement: never celebrate the fall of your enemy. It was then that God threw a flag on their play.
So God sent Obadiah to Edom to proclaim a series of rebukes against them. In one short chapter, they were confronted for four sins. First, since they were prideful, God will humble them just like Israel was humbled (v. 2-3). Secondly, they were complicit in the crimes against Israel. While Edom passively sat by and watched, doing nothing to help their neighbor, Israel being pillaged, God will stand by and allow Edom to suffer the same fate (v. 6-7, 11-12). Apparently, Babylon overreached their divine mandate as an instrument of punishment from God so that Edom’s turning a blind eye on behalf of their cousin and neighbor equated to turning their backs on God (see Luke 10:25-37). Thirdly, as Israel was escaping their enemy, Edom harassed and captured the stragglers and survivors, turning them over to the Babylonians officials. So much for being passive, they made sure Babylon succeeded. God will make sure Edom will have no survivors (v. 14,18). Finally, those who participated in the dispossession of the land will find themselves disposed of their land (v. 13,19). The penalty set Edom back and they never recovered.
We’re competitive people. We like to win. But the rules of engagement mean we play and win with grace. When our enemies fall, we refuse to kick and stomp on them. When our most hated sports rival loses, we celebrate our team without taunting the rival team. When the politician on the other side of the aisle loses, we still treat him/her with dignified respect. When our “frienemy” (i.e. friend + enemy) faces a tough time, we refuse to gloat. The reason is simple. Not only do we abide by the Golden Rule, we also abide by God’s rule of engagement: we never celebrate the fall of our enemy. We certainly don’t want God to throw a flag on the play.
“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified)
* We do not know the exact date for Obadiah, but the fall of Jerusalem makes a compelling case because of the similarities to Jeremiah’s message.