Misdirected Zeal….

Here are two things that characterize true believers: they don’t take advantage of people, and they never gloat or celebrate when calamity falls on people (even if it’s deserved). If you find yourself doing either of these, you need to go before the Lord, humble yourself, and ask Him to restore your heart, made to be right with Him. God never enjoys punishing or disciplining people. And neither should we. We trust God in His sovereignty, and know His purpose for us is to carry out His plan. That always involves love and respect. Disciplining, retribution, and destruction belong to Him, not us. Edom, relatives from Esau (Jacob’s brother), didn’t humble themselves. Instead they took advantage of Israel when they were being exiled into Babylon. They gloated and robbed their own relatives, all the while arrogantly believing nothing could harm them. Obviously God was displeased. And with their misdirected zeal, God punishes them, by doing to them what they had done to Judah. The moral to this study is to examine our own heart, see if there are any offensive ways in it. Then ask God to set us straight. For we are never to take advantage of others, especially when they are down. And we are to never celebrate the calamity of others either.

“Because of the violence you did to your close relatives in Israel, you will be filled with shame and destroyed forever.11 When they were invaded, you stood aloof, refusing to help them. Foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem,but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies. 12 “You should not have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands.You should not have rejoiced when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune.You should not have spoken arrogantly in that terrible time of trouble.13 You should not have plundered the land of Israel when they were suffering such calamity.You should not have gloated over their destruction when they were suffering such calamity.You should not have seized their wealth when they were suffering such calamity.14 You should not have stood at the crossroads, killing those who tried to escape.You should not have captured the survivors and handed them over in their terrible time of trouble. Obadiah 1:10-14