Do you know what that one-word title
means? Websters.com defines it as “enjoyment obtained from the troubles of
others.” But in the way I’ve heard it commonly used, it usually refers to
enjoyment obtained from the trouble of others to whom you’re hostile. To be clear, you might or might not have a
reason to be personally hostile.
Let’s say you have someone you “love to hate” in the public sphere with whom
you disagree politically, or who is embracing a lifestyle you find repugnant,
or maybe you’re just envious of their success. And then you hear about a
terrible tragedy or huge setback in their life; maybe they just got arrested,
or they just announced that they have a life-threatening illness. And you say
to yourself “It couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy! Good riddance!” That’s
Schadenfreude.
And that’s the topic of today’s
passage. As we discussed
a couple of weeks ago, the Edomites, despite being relatives of Israel, had always been unfriendly
to them. Israel had really attempted to befriend them, or at least not have
mutual hostilities. As best as we can determine, this attempt to reach out to
them had never been reciprocated. Their
attitude and actions towards Israel ranged all the way from a “cold war” to
open aggression.
We’re not exactly sure what event to
which Obadiah is referring, and it’s not all that important. What is important
is that Israel (referring to the entire nation, not the northern kingdom) was
being invaded by a foreign power. Edom stood by and cheered them on, and later
joined in the plunder. While their Jewish brothers were dying, they were
standing off to the side and called out “Hit 'em again, harder, harder!”
And then they did worse than that. Any major
invasion or battle is going to produce refugees, people who’re fleeing the
danger. Did the Edomites show any compassion at all? No, quite the contrary.
They killed or captured as many of these poor helpless souls as possible and
sold any survivors back to the invaders.
Now, it’s quite likely that that
this trouble on Israel was her own fault. Time and time again the Lord warned
his people, and after enough futile warnings, he used other nations as his rod
of discipline. He'd hand Israel over to her enemies for a short (or not so
short) time as punishment, and she’d experience multiple casualties, loss of
land, loss of resources, and loss of people to exile.
But that in no way excused Edom’s
actions which were based on horrible attitudes. Along with hatred of brothers, they were also guilty of overweening pride in their (internationally
famous) wisdom and a false sense of security in their own defenses. They were
sure no one could ever touch them.
But they were wrong. Dead wrong. God
was watching all this, and he’s the Lord over all nations. His Day was coming
in which he’d sit in judgment over every country and tribe and person in the
world. And in response to their conduct, Edom would be. . . wiped out
completely. Israel would be punished, but she’d eventually recover: Her remnant
would come back from the brink. But not Edom. A thief would only steal what he
wanted and would probably leave something
behind. But when the God of Israel was done with them, there’d be nothing
left.
So what can I take from this? What
is the Lord trying to tell me today? Maybe I’ve been too prideful in my own
accomplishments, in my own “wisdom.” Maybe I feel secure in my own resources
like Edom did, thinking nothing can touch me. Or maybe I’m harboring an unresolved conflict with my sibling in Christ.
If anything of these apply, I need
to deal with them now. Not next week. Not tomorrow. Today.
How about you?
Father, I see a lot of Edom in me
sometimes. I may not have carried it to the degree they did, but that’s because
of your grace, not because of any goodness in me. Please search me out, from
top to bottom and inside-out. Whatever you see that doesn’t look like you,
please cleanse and remove.
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