Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity, nor have looked, even thou, on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither shouldest thou have laid [hands] on their substance in the day of their calamity;
Obadiah's charge against Edom moves from feeling to action. Edom did not just watch Jerusalem fall. He walked in through her gates and took what was left. Older translations read the verse as a rebuke for what Edom had already done — "you should not have entered" — and each of its three clauses ends on the same phrase: the day of his brother's ruin.
The three clauses trace a descent from standing by, to joining in, to profiting from the disaster.
When Jerusalem was in trouble and the Philistines and Arabs plundered the city (2 Chron. 21:16-17), they stood on the other side and revolted (2 Chron. 21:8-10). And more than that, they joined in plundering the city. So it was afterwards when the Babylonians came against Jerusalem — Edom rejoiced; they spoke proudly. Perhaps what verses 12-14 describe happened again and again. They reached out their hands to seize the property of God's people.
One phrase lands three times in this verse, and it points forward to a day that has not yet come.
He repeats the words "in the day of their calamity" like a refrain. … "For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations." This is the link that ties the future to the past, and the proof of it. The day of the LORD, in its full and proper sense, has never yet arrived. In a partial sense it has come on Egypt, and on Babylon, and on other great powers that fell one after another under God's dealings. But in the full sense, the day of the LORD on all the nations has never yet dawned.
The offence is not simply the plunder. It is the moment Edom chose for it.
Nothing shows more malice and wickedness than taking advantage of someone when he is ruined, or when sorrow drains his spirit under God's discipline. Only a completely depraved heart could use another's fall to trample him further into the dust.
The gate Edom entered belonged to relatives. Israel's law had given the Edomite a standing no other outsider enjoyed.
Remember that Edom, or Esau, was Jacob's brother. Because of this, the Israelite had to treat the Edomite with special regard. The Edomite also had certain privileges connected with "the assembly of the LORD" that no other nation had. "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother … Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the LORD" (Deut. 23:7-8).
Even when God Himself is correcting His people, those who add to the blow answer for it.
God's case against the nations is this: in the day when He was angry with His people, they made the affliction worse. We read this in Zech. 1:15. How much more, then, can we expect to find Him angry with Edom, Jacob's brother, for looking on him in the day of his calamity!
The same pattern shows up at the trial of Jesus, in a ruler of Edomite descent.
Edom stood in the gates of Jerusalem on the day of Judah's affliction, to look on their calamity with triumph. In the same way, the Gospel makes a point of telling us that Herod the Edomite, on the day of Christ's affliction, "was himself in Jerusalem at that time." He was there on the scene, to add bitterness to the already full cup of the holy Sufferer.
The comparison reaches its worst point in what each man did next.
Worst of all, Edom "handed over his survivors." And the Gospel writer tells us of Jesus that Herod "sent Him back to Pilate." There you read the malice of the Edomite!
Commentators expect the same scene before the Lord appears.
All this will happen once more, when another great prophecy comes true and hostile nations surround Jerusalem again (Zech. 14:1-5). … Another siege of Jerusalem is coming, before the glorious appearing of the King of Israel, our Lord. … Among those nations Edom will be there once more.
The attitude condemned in Edom is one God weighs in anyone.
How selfish and low it is to rejoice in the fall of an enemy! It may please the crafty enemy, and the flesh too. But do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles. If you do, the LORD will surely see it and be displeased, and He will turn His anger away from him. And towards whom? Let your conscience answer.
- Day of calamity — one phrase rules the verse. The timing, not just the theft, is the crime.
- Day against a brother — the gate Edom entered was his brother's. Israel's law said not to abhor an Edomite, because he was family.
- Day of plunder — Edom moved from standing aside to joining in. He made himself one with Jerusalem's enemies.
- Day of Christ — Herod the Edomite was in Jerusalem on the day of Christ's affliction, and sent Him back to Pilate.
- Day of the LORD — that day on the nations has never yet dawned. It will find Edom, and every heart that is glad at a neighbour's fall.
and thou shouldest not have stood on the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape, nor have delivered up those remaining of him in the day of distress.
Edom's crime against Judah reaches its lowest point in this verse. Its men waited where the escape roads met, caught the people fleeing the ruined city, and handed them to the enemy — so why does God single out this act, and what does it say about turning on your own family?
Edom did not simply look on. The prophet describes a people who moved from watching, to plundering, to blocking the roads out of the ruined city.
They stretched out their hands for the possession of God's people. They placed themselves at the crossroads to cut off the fugitives and delighted to deliver up into the hands of their enemies the remnant which was left.
Those handed over were given to the invading power that had just taken Jerusalem:
They had rejoiced over the downfall of the people of Judah. They had seized their goods. They had stood at the crossroads to cut off anyone escaping. They had even handed over to the cruel Babylonians those who had got away.
The charge rests on family. Israel's law gave the Edomite a standing no other foreign nation had.
Remember that Edom, or Esau, was Jacob's brother. For that reason the Israelite had to treat the Edomite with special regard. The Edomite also had privileges connected with "the assembly of the LORD" that no other Gentile was given. "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother… Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the LORD" (Deut. 23:7-8).
Commentators single out the timing of the cruelty — it fell on people already crushed.
Nothing shows more malice and wickedness than taking advantage of a man when he is ruined, when sorrow drains his spirit, and when God is disciplining him. Only a completely corrupt heart could use another's fall to trample him further while he lies in the dust.
God had judged His own people. That gave no one else the right to pile on, and Edom's place as brother made the offence worse.
God's charge against the nations is this: on the day when He was angry with His people, they made the trouble worse. We read this in Zechariah 1:15. How much more, then, should we expect Him to be angry with Edom, Jacob's brother, for looking on him in the day of his disaster!
One writer sets Edom's past crime beside the attack on Jerusalem still to come.
Jerusalem will be attacked again by these nations. Edom plays a sorrowful part on this occasion, and its judgment matches its sin. The nation is entirely cut off. When the rest of the world rejoices, the desolation of Edom will be complete. Edom had planned to take advantage of the attack of the nations upon Jerusalem and to seize the land. It joined the attack by lying in wait — as was natural to a people whose habits were those of the Arab tribes — to cut off the retreat of those trying to escape. The men of Edom did not know that the day of Jehovah was upon all the nations. They did not know that this conduct would only bring down a special curse on their own heads.
One writer traces the same pattern into the Gospels, where Herod, an Edomite, stands near Christ in His suffering.
Edom stood in the gates of Jerusalem in the day of Judah's affliction, to look on their disaster with triumph. In the same way, Scripture makes a point of telling us about Herod the Edomite, in the day of Christ's affliction, that he "was himself in Jerusalem at that time." He was on the scene, to add bitterness to the already full cup of the holy Sufferer. Worst of all, Edom handed over "his survivors." And the Gospel writer tells us that Herod "sent Him back to Pilate." There you read the malice of the Edomite!
This is not only ancient history. The same spirit is easy to slip into whenever God's people fail.
Let us take the lesson to heart, for we can easily fall into the same spirit as the Edomite. Jeremiah saw the failures and sins of God's people, but he wept over them. Daniel and other godly men confessed those sins as their own. The spirit of the Edomite is different: bitter hatred against people who, whatever their failures, are still the people of God. That spirit especially displeases Him.
- Crossroads. Edom's worst act was not attacking, but waiting where the survivors ran, then handing them over.
- Brother. The law told Israel not to hate an Edomite because he was a brother; Edom repaid that standing with betrayal.
- Kicking. The cruelty is at its worst because it fell on people already ruined and already under God's discipline.
- Cut off. God's charge against the nations is that they added to the trouble when He was angry with His people. For Edom that ends in total desolation.
- Mirror. The same spirit can live in anyone today. The other road is Jeremiah's, who wept over the failure, and Daniel's, who confessed it as his own.
For the day of Jehovah is near upon all the nations as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee thy recompence shall return upon thine own head.
After listing Edom's cruelty against his brother, the prophet looks past one small nation to all the nations. Two questions follow: when is this day, and what rule of repayment does it announce?
This line ties Edom's past crime to a judgment still ahead. One writer says that day has never yet come in full, and gives his reason.
"For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations." This, as we easily see, is the strong link — and the proof — that ties the future to the past. The day of the LORD in its full and proper sense has never yet arrived. In a partial sense it has come on Egypt. It has come on Babylon. It has come on other great powers that fell one after another under God's dealings. But in the full sense the day of the LORD on all the nations has never yet dawned. The proof is that in that day this earth is to be one united whole, all tribes and languages... joining in His praise, when all idols are gone completely and forever.
That day does not end in ruin. Judgment clears the ground for something the world has never yet seen.
When it comes it will mean judgment for all nations, including Edom, Moab and others named in the Scriptures. That day will be followed at once by an age of blessing and glory such as the earth and the human race had never known before. It will bring divine retribution. "As you have done, it shall be done to you." The nations of the earth will have to drink the cup of His fury and wrath.
The verse widens from Edom to every nation. One writer says the charge against them all is personal.
Not only Edom, but all the nations are guilty of hatred toward Christ. All have set themselves against Him — either in person, while He was here on earth, or as He was represented by Israel. So all the nations come into view for judgment. They are judged not so much for their sins as for the way they have acted towards Christ — Christ in His Jewish brothers. The whole great world system is to come under judgment, with its pride, its alliances, and its hatred of Christ.
"Your deeds shall return on your own head" is not extra punishment added to the crime; it is the crime handed back. Edom's own scheme shaped its punishment, and Edom never saw it coming.
Edom planned to use the attack of the nations on Jerusalem to take the land for itself. It joined them in the attack and lay in wait... to cut off the escape of those who fled, seizing their goods where it could, and handing them over to their enemies. The men of Edom did not know that the day of the LORD was upon all the nations, and that this behaviour would only bring a special curse down on their own heads.
God's choice of instrument fits the crime. The people Edom preyed on become the hand that repays.
In a future day, however, Edom will appear again. This nation, marked by an unjudged hatred of its brother for the blessings God gave him, will flee from the coming king of the north... But God Himself will punish them afterwards. God will punish them through His own people Israel, at the start of the thousand-year reign, when the Lord Jesus has already appeared as Messiah.
One writer turns this lesson on the reader, not just on ancient nations. He sets two responses to the failures of God's people side by side.
Let us take the lesson of it to heart, for we can easily fall into the same spirit as the Edomite. Jeremiah saw the failures and sins of God's people, but he wept over them. Daniel and other godly men confessed those sins as their own. But the spirit of the Edomite is bitter hatred against people who, however they have failed, are still the people of God. That spirit is especially displeasing to Him.
- Near — the day of the LORD has come in part on Egypt, Babylon and other fallen powers. It has never yet dawned in full on all the nations.
- Wide — the charge starts with one brother's cruelty. It ends by covering the whole world system, judged for how it treated Christ.
- Exact — the sentence is the deed handed back. Edom's own plan against Jerusalem became the curse on Edom's head.
- Fitting — God repays Edom through Israel, the very nation Edom preyed on, after Christ has appeared as Messiah.
- Personal — the same spirit is possible now. We can gloat over the failures of God's people instead of weeping over them, as Jeremiah did.