By Caro March 1, 2024
No one needs to teach us the law of retaliation (an eye for an eye). Our flesh is only satisfied when our aggressor becomes a victim. But this avenue only produces more retaliation. God has another path for us.
Obadiah is a tiny book among the minor prophets of the Old Testament. There is only one chapter, but what we learn from it is a life lesson that takes us out of the natural. This chapter is the word of God against one of the enemies of his children. Because God’s children had done wrong and had wallowed in sin, they were in a time of doldrums and defeat. The people of Edom, who did not really like those of Judah, rejoiced in their misfortunes. And God did not appreciate this attitude and promised to defend His children.
That is not a new story. The big brother pushed his sister out of anger, and she fell and hurt herself. Later, the brother comes back from school in tears because another student pushed him, and he was injured. The sister looks at her brother without compassion, her heart filled with bitterness, and she says to herself: “Good for you!” We don’t need to teach our children to act this way it’s very natural! We often even maintain the same attitude towards work colleagues who make us suffer. “He got fired: good for him!” And let’s not even talk about our “ex”… we can’t wait for him to “reap what he sows”, we think.
This attitude does not help us to be like Jesus! If we continue in this direction, we will become bitter and even withhold our generosity towards people who have nothing to do with our previous situation. Jesus asks us to show the other day when we are treated unfairly (Luke 6:29). But how to do that?
The secret is in Obadiah. We must let the Lord defend us. Instead of taking revenge on ourselves, we must let Him bring justice to us. We may feel like we are losing at the time, but God will never leave His people in shame. We are successful in forgiving our old relationships when we place hurts in God’s hands and let Him deal with those who have hurt us. Several other passages in the Bible offer the same advice. “My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: “I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them,” says the Lord ” (Romans 12:19 NCV).
Only when we place our vengeance in the hands of God is when we receive our crown of glory. When the oppressed nation becomes the ruling nation, instead of being in “repression” mode against its former enemy, that nation becomes an instrument in God’s hands to extend His Kingdom (Obadiah 1:21). It is when we give vengeance to God that we are then able to see our “ex” or any other former relationships with God’s eyes. That allows us to forgive them and even serve them with humility. “But you should do this: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head. Do not let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good” (Romans 12:20-21 NCV).
When someone hurts us, we must let God defend us and refuse the idea of revenge. By taking this position, we will be able to sincerely love even our enemies and keep our mission of making the grace of Jesus known to our generation.