How is Esau searched! his hidden things sought out!
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
All the men of thy confederacy have pushed thee to the border; the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, they have prevailed against thee; [they that eat] thy bread have laid a snare under thee. There is no understanding in him.
Edom trusted three things: its allies, its friends at the table, and its own famous cleverness. This verse says all three fail at once, and the men who march Edom to its border are the very ones it counted on.
The verses just before this describe a plundering so complete that nothing is left. Who did it made it worse.
What made it especially bitter was that those they counted as friends and supporters helped it on. "All your allies have driven you to your border." Those words plainly show that the people they had fully trusted turn out to be their enemies at last, able to injure them all the more because they were so familiar with their persons and their habits. The words "your bread" mean those who eat Esau's bread, and they "have set a trap beneath you." So plainly, "you have no understanding."
The verse moves from allies to table companions. It ends with Edom losing what it prized most. One commentator traces the whole chain:
The nations Edom made an alliance with, and welcomed to its table, would turn against Edom and prove treacherous, even though they had eaten its bread. Edom's friends among the nations — the ones it had stirred up against Israel — would abandon it completely. And the Lord would destroy the wise out of Edom and understanding out of Mount Esau. Even the wise men will not be able to help them. Their wisdom and understanding will do them no good.
The alliance that failed Edom was not innocent. Edom built it to profit from Judah's fall, so its own ruin is retribution.
They prided themselves on their special wisdom and prudence, but it failed them in the hour of their need. When the tide turned against Judah, they tried to use Judah's enemies for their own profit. They also wanted to feed their undying hatred of the fallen. So they made friends with the Babylonians — with Nebuchadnezzar and his officers, who marched against Judea. But this is the retribution God will award them.
The same writer looks further ahead. He shows from Scripture that "when the final scene comes at the end of the age, Edom is one of the objects of divine judgment on earth." What happened under Nebuchadnezzar was "a remarkable preview of what will be acted out again."
The betrayal looks like politics. One writer traces it to God.
God was going to bring proud Edom low. Edom lifted itself up like the eagle and made its home among the stars. Even so, God Himself would bring that boastful nation down. He would destroy its wise men. He would smash to pieces the alliance Edom hoped would keep it important and lasting on the earth.
Edom sold its services to outsiders against its own family. It got the usual wage for such work.
They were, it seems, what hired foreigners usually are — despised by the people who used them and paid them. A man who betrays his own family sells himself to strangers for a hateful task. Then they throw him off once he has served their purpose and seems of no further use. Something like this appears to have been Edom's experience.
The same pattern reaches beyond Edom. Writing about Samson, one commentator warns God's people about alliances with the world:
Whatever their ignorance may be, if the children of God make any alliance with the world, they take up a way of life that is against their true character. They will certainly meet with disappointment. They do not keep themselves apart for God... They lose their wisdom. The world tricks them. Their relationship with the world becomes worse than before, and the world despises them and goes its own way.
- Border — Edom's own allies march it out to the border. The people it trusted most turn into enemies, and they hurt Edom more because they knew it so well.
- Bread — hospitality becomes the trap. The people who ate with Edom prove false, and God takes away Edom's famous wisdom at the very moment it is needed.
- Betrayal earned — Edom built the alliance to profit from Judah's fall. Foreigners throw away those who sell themselves against their own family, once they are no longer useful.
- Breaker — behind the political collapse stands God. He brings the proud nation down, destroys its wise men, and shatters the alliance Edom hoped would last.
- Believers' warning — the same principle goes wider. An alliance with the world costs you your wisdom, makes the trouble worse, and ends with the world despising you and moving on.
Shall I not in that day, saith Jehovah, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
Edom's real defence was not just its strongholds but its reputation for clever advice. In this verse the Lord promises to take that advantage away, and He takes it first.
Edom's cleverness had a long record of success in politics. It ran out at the worst possible moment.
They had prided themselves on their special wisdom and prudence; but it failed them in the hour of their need. When the tide turned against Judah, they tried to turn the enemies of Judah to their own account, as well as to gratify their undying hatred of the fallen. They made friends with the Babylonians, with Nebuchadnezzar and his captains who came up against Judea.
The same skill that won Edom allies could not save it.
Edom never saw the bigger picture. Each support it leaned on gives way in turn, and God has a purpose in the order.
The men of Edom did not know that the day of Jehovah was upon all the nations, and that their conduct would only bring a special curse down on their own heads. Their judgment is described like this: God takes away their wisdom, their pride deceives them, their strength fails them, in order that they may be entirely cut off.
Edom's allies and its advisers fail at the same moment:
Their friends among the nations, whom they had stirred up against Israel, would forsake them completely, and the Lord would destroy the wise out of Edom and understanding out of Mount Esau. Even the wise men will not be able to help them. Teman is mentioned because it was known for its wise men; Eliphaz, who spoke so well to Job, was a Temanite (Job 4:1). And Jeremiah, in his testimony against Edom, wrote, "Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?" (Jeremiah 49:7).
Teman's reputation was real. But writers distinguish between two kinds of understanding, and locate Edom's firmly on one side of the line.
Teman's wisdom depends on something too — it has to. But it is Edomite, not Israelite, so it is the dependence of the natural man. He has no faith in God to keep him steady, and no fixed points to reason from. He is born into a world where he must take most of his thinking from other people. So he inherits the thoughts of men — men who are fallible, often deceived, sinful, and able to deceive. Yet men pride themselves upon this godless wisdom, which so often assumes the name of science.
Edom stands for more than one nation:
The judgment passes on to Edom, the typical enemy of Israel. Edom presents to us the world of the old man, as we may say — the natural fallen man. He is the most real enemy we have as Christians, and no less so because he is related to us all by nature, just as Edom was the unbrotherly brother of Israel. Yet he has acquired a wisdom of his own, the wisdom gathered from experience. As the proverb says, necessity is the mother of invention; and fallen man has sought out many inventions.
The phrase points past any single defeat. Kelly reads the whole prophecy as looking to the last days.
Their pride had deceived them; their strongholds would not shelter them: Jehovah will bring them down. Their boasted wisdom is useless, and so is their might... The prophet looks on to the triumphs of the last days. Then saviours will come up to Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau, and the kingdom will be Jehovah's in a form and fullness never yet known on the earth.
Wisdom and might fall together. Neither the clever man nor the strong man can hold the mountain.
Human pride does not surrender to argument. So God does not leave the matter to argument.
Power will certainly put down those whom grace has not subdued. If neither the witness of Scripture nor the witness of nature has its right effect on this pride of human wisdom, God Himself must step in. Nothing is left but for Him to come in with necessary judgment.
- Pride — Edom trusted its name for clever advice. That confidence is exactly what this verse takes aim at.
- Stripped — Wisdom goes first. Then pride deceives them, then strength fails, so that nothing is left to save them.
- Godless — Teman's wisdom was real skill without faith. It was borrowed from men who get things wrong, and it still takes the name of science.
- Typical — Edom pictures the natural fallen man, our closest enemy. So this judgment is a mirror, not ancient history.
- Final — What grace has not subdued, power will. The prophecy looks on to the day when the mount of Esau is judged and the kingdom belongs to the Lord.
And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one may be cut off from the mount of Esau by slaughter.
Edom leaned on clever advisers and brave soldiers. This verse takes the soldiers' courage away, and it raises two questions: why name Teman, and why is the judgment total?
Teman was a district inside Edom, and God names it here. One commentator points to its history:
Even the wise men will not be able to help them; their wisdom and understanding will not be enough. Teman is mentioned because it was known for its wise men; Eliphaz, who spoke so well to Job, was a Temanite (Job 4:1). And the prophet Jeremiah in his testimony against Edom wrote, "Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?" (Jeremiah 49:7). But now their wise and valiant ones would be cut off by slaughter.
The name goes back to a person:
Son of Eliphaz, a son of Esau, and a chief of Edom; also his descendants and the district where they lived.
Edom had its own plan when the nations attacked Jerusalem. One commentator sets that plan beside the judgment it brought:
Edom meant to use the attack of the nations on Jerusalem to seize the land for itself. It joined them in the attack by lying in wait, to cut off the escape of those who fled. The men of Edom did not know that the day of the LORD was upon all the nations. They did not see that this conduct would only bring a special curse down on their own heads. The prophecy describes their judgment like this: God takes away their wisdom, their pride deceives them, and their strength fails them. All of it happens so that they may be completely cut off.
Edom had a name for shrewd dealing. One commentator weighs what that shrewdness was worth:
They had prided themselves on their special wisdom and prudence, but it failed them in the hour of their need. When the tide turned against Judah, they tried to use Judah's enemies for their own gain, and to feed their endless hatred of the fallen. They made friends with the Babylonians, with Nebuchadnezzar and his captains who came up against Judea. But this is the retribution God will give them.
Edom did fall in Nebuchadnezzar's day. Kelly does not stop there:
Yet what happened then was not the end… Scripture shows that when the final scene comes at the end of the age, Edom is one of the objects of divine judgment on earth. So that race must appear again in their land in the latter day. What took place under Nebuchadnezzar is a remarkable foreshadowing. The same thing will happen again at the beginning of the millennium — or rather during the short crisis that comes just before it.
Why does Edom's judgment end in total loss? One commentator points to Edom's record with Israel:
Every other nation that reappears at the time of the end for judgment keeps a "remnant". Edom is the only one that will have none. God will judge the Edomites without mercy because of the way they behaved toward His people. They were the most wicked of all, and the most eager to destroy Israel. Had they not once refused to let Israel pass through their territory on the way into Canaan (Numbers 20:21)? Israel's afflicted remnant in Babylon asks the Lord to remember the sons of Edom for the day of Jerusalem — the people who said to strip the city bare, down to its foundation (Psalm 137:7). … So this terrible word of the Lord will come true at the time of the end: He hated Esau (Malachi 1:3).
One commentator draws verse 9 together with the end of the book:
The destruction shall be complete: every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter, and no one will be left of the house of Esau (Obadiah 9, 18). Israel shall possess their land, for God's ways are retributive.
- Reputation. Teman was famous for wise men. Job's friend Eliphaz came from there. Naming it points straight at what Edom trusted.
- Stripping. God takes away their wisdom, lets their pride deceive them, and makes their strength fail. Each loss serves one purpose: to cut them off.
- Retribution. Their alliance with Babylon against Judah is what their cleverness bought them. It failed them in the hour of need.
- Reach. The judgment reaches past Nebuchadnezzar's day. That blow foreshadows a final reckoning with Edom at the end of the age.
- Result. Every other nation keeps a remnant. Edom keeps none: no one of the house of Esau remains.
Because of violence against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
Obadiah's message turns here from Edom's ruin to the reason for it: what Edom did to Jacob. The sting is in the words "your brother," and they raise the question the book answers: why is this one nation cut off for good?
Edom descended from Esau, Jacob's brother. Israel's law turned that family tie into a claim on their kindness, which makes Edom's conduct worse.
You remember that Esau planned to murder his brother. The most grievous thing in God's sight seems to have been the relentless hatred that Esau's descendants carried toward Jacob's descendants, the people of God. Yet we can see God's yearning heart over these descendants of Esau. In Deuteronomy 23:7 He says, "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother." Despite all the waywardness and sin of Esau and his descendants, the Lord still wanted Israel to remember the family claim Edom had on them. But Edom despised and rejected even this grace.
The charge is not vague. Obadiah points to the day Jerusalem fell and lists what Edom did while it happened.
Obadiah mentions yet another example of Edom's hatred against his own brother. He points to the day Jerusalem fell, when the Babylonians carried the children of Judah off into bondage... Then comes a terrible exposure of the Edomites' conduct. They had rejoiced over the downfall of the children of Judah. They had laid hands on their goods. They had stood at the crossroads to cut off any who fled. They had even handed over to the cruel Babylonians those who had escaped.
Edom struck at the worst possible moment. That timing is what makes the sin so black.
Nothing shows more malice and wickedness than to take advantage of a man when he is ruined, or when sorrow and God's chastening are wearing down his spirit. Only a fully depraved heart could use another's fall as a chance to trample him while he lies in the dust. This is exactly what Edom did then.
The sentence has two halves: shame, and being cut off. Obadiah later says how complete that cutting off is.
Here Obadiah brings forward another trait that marked Edom... a bitter hatred against the people of God. God names the "violence done to your brother Jacob" as the special reason why Edom will be covered with shame and cut off for ever. God will spare a remnant from Egypt, Assyria and other nations to enjoy the blessing of Christ's supremacy, but "there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau" (v. 18).
The charge points to real history: Edom sided with Nebuchadnezzar's invaders. But "for ever" reaches past that.
Yet what happened then was not the end... Scripture shows that when the final scene comes at the end of the age, Edom is one of the objects of God's judgment on earth. So that race must appear again in their land in the last days. What took place under Nebuchadnezzar is a striking foreshadowing of what will happen again...
The sin here is not locked in the past. It is an attitude, and anyone who watches God's people fail can share it.
Let us take the lesson to heart, for we can 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 those who have failed and are still the people of God. This spirit is especially displeasing to Him.
One writer turns from Edom to Christ. What was done to God's people, He felt Himself.
This is quite a different thought from His atoning sufferings. He made atonement for Israel, as well as for us. But we do not get His atoning sufferings in Obadiah. In a very real way He took upon Himself the afflictions and oppressions under which His people groaned. He felt the cruel pain of them in His own spirit. This endears Him to our hearts.
- Brother — kinship measures Edom's crime. God told Israel not to abhor an Edomite, "for he is your brother." Edom threw that grace back.
- Violence — Edom gloated at Jerusalem's fall, looted the city, blocked the escape routes, and handed over survivors.
- Shame — striking a man who is already ruined marks a depraved heart. Shame is the fitting answer.
- Cut off — other nations keep a remnant for blessing; Obadiah says of Esau's house that none will remain.
- For ever — the sentence started under Babylon and reaches to the end of the age. Its warning to us is the Edomite spirit toward God's failing people.
In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away captive his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
Obadiah's charge against Edom turns on a single day. Invaders broke Jerusalem open and looted it. Edom, her brother nation, stood off to the side and watched. The verdict is startling: God does not treat Edom as a bystander, but counts him among the invaders.
One writer sets the day in its history. He then lists what Edom did once the looting started.
Obadiah mentions yet another instance of Edom's hatred toward his brother. He refers to the day Jerusalem was captured, when the Babylonians carried the people of Judah off into slavery… Then comes a terrible exposure of what the Edomites did. 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, and had handed those who got away over to the cruel Babylonians.
Obadiah names two groups — strangers and foreigners. The words mark out people who stood outside the nation: "those who were not of the lineage of Israel," as one reference work puts it (Morrish Bible Dictionary). Edom was not an outsider. That is the whole problem.
Israel's law gave the Edomite a standing no other neighbour had. The reason was the family tie.
Remember that Edom, or Esau, was Jacob's brother. For this reason the Israelite was to treat the Edomite with special regard. The Edomite also had certain privileges tied to "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).
The verse does not accuse Edom of drawing a sword. It accuses him of where he stood — on the other side — and then counts that standing as partnership. One writer draws the same principle from another scene, where some in Israel held back from the fight:
Ephraim had taken the field against the enemy, but the men of Succoth were holding back, and were really on the side of Midian. No one can be neutral in a time when the lines between Christ and the world are drawn. No one can be neutral without being on the side of the enemy.
Edom read the fall of Judah as a chance for profit. Commentators note that this day is not the last word on Edom.
When the tide turned against Judah, they tried to use Judah's enemies for their own profit, and to feed their undying hatred of the fallen. They made friends with the Babylonians, with Nebuchadnezzar and his captains who came up against Judea… when the final scene comes at the end of the age, Edom is one of the targets of God's judgment on earth. So that people must appear again in their land in the last days. What happened under Nebuchadnezzar is a striking preview of what will be acted out again.
Commentators differ on which attack Obadiah has mainly in mind. Some point to an earlier raid on Jerusalem by Philistines and Arabs, and say "what is recorded in verses 12-14 happened repeatedly" (Arno Clemens Gaebelein).
This verse also reaches past history. One writer turns it on how we treat a person God is disciplining.
We deceive ourselves if we think we must be right when we add grief to those God is disciplining. That is often very far from the truth. The Lord said in Zechariah, "I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster." Isaiah 47:6 says the same, and so does Obadiah 10-14.
This instinct can be refused. One writer wrote about a church he had left long before, as trouble came upon it:
I left that church more than forty years ago, because I did not think it was the church of God. I am still sure of that. But I am not going to throw an Edomite stone at it in the day of its trouble — quite the opposite… An Edomite was glad when Jerusalem fell, because he hated the place and its testimony. The prophet could judge the evil, and mourn the falling away, and mourn God's judgment on the people who had failed.
- Brother. Relationship measures Edom's crime. He was Jacob's brother, and the law gave him special standing for that reason.
- Stood. The charge is not an attack. Edom stood on the other side while strangers walked through his brother's gates.
- Counted. God closes the gap Edom thought he had kept: watching from a distance made him one of the raiders.
- Repeated. The conduct did not stop at one invasion, and commentators see in it a preview of Edom's part at the end of the age.
- Tested. The verse now tests us — whether we cast a stone at those under God's discipline, or judge the evil and mourn it instead.
But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day of his disaster; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; nor have opened wide thy mouth in the day of distress.
Enemies were plundering Jerusalem. Edom — the nation descended from Jacob's own brother — stood watching and enjoyed the sight. This verse is God's charge against that watching. It names three things Edom should never have done to a brother on his worst day.
The whole force of the rebuke rests on family. Edom and Israel came from two brothers.
This short prophetic book has only one subject: the nation of Edom. Their hatred for Israel will in the end lead to their total destruction. Edom is the name of Esau's descendants… Esau was Jacob's twin brother. Before the twins were even born, God said that the older son Esau would serve the younger son Jacob. Esau came to hate Jacob because he despised his birthright.
That relationship carried legal weight in Israel. God's law gave Edomites a place no other outsider had.
Remember that Edom, or Esau, was Jacob's brother. For this reason an Israelite had to treat an Edomite with special regard. The Edomite also had certain privileges connected with "the assembly of the LORD" that other Gentiles did not get. "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).
Looking, rejoicing and boasting sound like small sins next to killing and looting. One writer weighs them differently, and notes that God is not yet passing final sentence here.
This is not yet the stern, unchangeable sentence of judgment against Edom. There is still a shift of tone in Obadiah. The LORD is slow to anger and full of compassion. So this prophecy still speaks with hurt affection… Nothing shows more malice and wickedness than to take advantage of a man when he is ruined, or when sorrow and God's chastening are wearing his spirit away. Only a completely depraved heart would use another's fall to trample him further while he is in the dust.
Which disaster does the verse look back on? One writer spreads the charge across more than one invasion, because Edom acted the same way each time.
When Jerusalem was in trouble and the Philistines and Arabs plundered the city, Edom stood on the other side and revolted. More than that, they joined in the plundering. It was the same later when the Babylonians came against Jerusalem. Edom rejoiced and spoke proudly. What we read in verses 12-14 may have happened more than once.
The phrase "the day of their calamity" keeps coming back in verses 12-14. That repetition ties Edom's past to what is still ahead.
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 strong link, and the proof, that the past and the future are connected. 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 same hatred appears again in the Gospels. One writer reads Obadiah next to Luke 23.
Compare Obadiah with Luke 23, and we have no trouble seeing Christ in the account of His people's sufferings at the hands of the Edomites. Herod was the cruel prince of Edomite blood. His hatred flamed up against the One who had come in grace to His people as their Deliverer. From the hour of His birth the Edomite had sought to kill Him. And when the last scenes came, soon reaching their climax at Calvary, the Edomite was there to add fresh pain to the sufferings of that Holy One.
The same warning reaches into ordinary life. We can think we are right to press hard on someone God is already disciplining.
We deceive ourselves if we think we must be right when we grieve those whom God is disciplining. This is often very far from being the case. The Lord said in Zechariah, "I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster." Isaiah 47:6 says the same, and so does Obadiah 10-14. More often, perhaps, we are in God's mind and act as living vessels of the Spirit when we comfort such people.
- Brother. Edom's guilt starts with family — the law itself told Israel to treat an Edomite as a brother.
- Look. The sin starts with the eye. Watching a brother's ruin with pleasure marks a completely depraved heart.
- Gloat. Cheering and proud talk on someone's worst day is what God remembers. He repeats the charge: "the day of their calamity".
- Repeat. Edom acted this way in invasion after invasion. The same hatred rose again in Herod against Christ Himself.
- Reckon. The refrain ends in "the day of the LORD is near". That judgment on all the nations, one writer holds, has never yet fully come.
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.