Though you seem to soar like an eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down.
This is the LORD’S declaration. Obadiah 1:4 HCSB
The book of Obadiah is only one chapter long. In this book we learn several things about pride and loving our enemy. It opens with the vision of Obadiah where God promises to destroy the Edomites. He says that He will make Edom insignificant among the nations and deeply despised (vs. 2). He warns them that their evil heart has deceived them (vs. 3).
He warns them that they will be covered with shame and destroyed forever (v.10). Now, obviously God is angry with the Edomites, but why? Well, it’s because of their sin against their brother, Jacob. They stood by while strangers and foreigners took over his wealth and his land. They gloated over his calamity and rejoiced in the destruction of Judah. They violated God’s commands. We spoke the other day about how first and foremost we are to love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. Then the second command is that we love others as we love ourselves. If we obey the first one, the second one comes much easier.
When we allow the devil to fill us with pride, we are headed for destruction. Proverbs 16:18 tells us that pride comes before destruction and an arrogant spirit before a fall. In Matthew 5:38-42, we are told to go the extra mile. We are told to give our brother over and above what he asks of us. In Matthew 5:43-48, we are told to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. If we do this, this prohibits us from gloating when they fall. Proverbs 24:17-18 tells us not to gloat when our enemy falls or rejoice when they stumble or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn His wrath away from them.
In the book of Obadiah, the Edomites were being punished for for not loving their brother Jacob. They were being punished for aloofness meaning that they purposely did not help their brother when He was in attacked. They chose not to get involved. They were punished for gloating over the calamity that befell God’s people and looting their wealth. And finally they were punished for their aggressive behavior towards their brother.
Not loving, not stepping in to help, gloating, looting, and aggressive behavior, does any of this sound familiar? You can’t read this and not think about what has been going on in our country over the last week. There are more protests scheduled in our area. There is absolutely nothing wrong with people protesting when they see an injustice being committed. As I mentioned earlier in the week, the problem is when these protest become violent and people’s property is destroyed and lives are lost.
Chief Edwin Bergeron of Hammond (Louisiana) Police Department was videoed and I understand that it has gone viral. As protestors marched in front of the police department earlier this week, Chief Bergeron stepped out to address them. He assured them that good cops detest bad cops and no good police officer supported what happened to Mr. Floyd. He assured them that they had a right to protest as long as the protest remained peaceful. But then he did something that each and every official dealing with this matter should do. He asked someone to lead them in prayer. A woman who was there to protest stepped out and lead the prayer and they had a peaceful protest with no problems.
When our brother or sister is dealing with problems, we need to follow Chief Bergeron’s lead. First we need to try to see things from their perspective and acknowledge their pain. Encourage them to express that dissatisfaction in a peaceful manner, but most importantly pray with them. In 2 Chronicles 20:3 it says that King Jehoshaphat was afraid and resolved to seek the LORD. No matter what circumstances we face, the first thing we should do is seek the LORD.
If we could simply do as we are told in 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, that if God’s people will humble themselves and seek His face and turn from their evil ways, then He will hear from heaven and heal their land. My friend, our land needs healing in the worst way. If we continue on in pride, we will bring destruction to what was once a great country.
It is time to swallow our pride, humble ourselves before the LORD and seek Him with all our hearts. If we are willing to do this, we can heal our land. If not, we will bring destruction. The choice is yours to make.
Have a great day!