The Sin of Edom

I have some sympathy for Esau. He found himself wrestling with his brother Jacob while still in the womb. Sold his birthright to him for some soup and conspired to murder him later on.

His descendants, the Edomites, attempted to thwart the Israelites’ journey across the wilderness. When Israel was under attack by the Babylonian army, the Edomites again fumbled the ball by not only aiding and abetting the enemy but also looting their kin in Judah.

At the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC), God used Babylon to execute judgment. Edom wasn’t really part of the action but decided to get involved. Their sins are highlighted during Judah’s calamity in Obadiah.

They looked the other way when Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites in Jerusalem, were under attack.

On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth… foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. (Obadiah 1:11)

They applauded Jerusalem’s fall.

But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice… in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. (Obadiah 1:12)

They exploited Judah by making a cash grab.

Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth. (Obadiah 1:13)

They aided and abetted the enemy.

Do not stand at the crossroads
to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress. (Obadiah 1:14)

There is a progressive moral decline here that’s worth noticing.

It started with indifference. Looking the other way when their brother was suffering and when it was in their power to help ease the suffering.

They cheered on the suffering

They took the opportunity to engage in some late-night neighbourhood looting.

And finally, they even helped Babylon by cutting off those fleeing the war, so they fell into the hands of the Babylonians.

Indifference, Malice, Exploitation and finally, Complicity.

As a result, like Cain in the murder of his brother, God pronounces judgment on Edom.

Edom became a symbol of wickedness in scripture and an object lesson in what not to do.

In the account of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:31–32), it was not the robbery that was condemned, but the passerby who looked the other way.

Jesus also condemned the same failure in those who had no compassion for the weakest among them (Matthew 25:41–45).

James put it this way,

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:17)

Matthew 5:44 and Romans 12:20 teach us that mercy toward enemies is commanded, even when their suffering results from God’s judgment, as was the case for Judah during the Babylonian conquest.

Edom was in a position to aid the poor, wounded, and fleeing, which they could have done without resisting God’s judgment or enabling injustice.

Instead, they took advantage of the empty homes, robbed their brothers blind and then assisted in handing their brothers over to the Babylonian army, just as Joseph’s brothers had handed him over to Egypt.

The point here is that judgment is God’s prerogative, but mercy is our obligation.

In the gospel, Jesus is the faithful brother who does what Edom failed to do by showing mercy, even to those who were His enemies. He did not rejoice in our downfall but sought to remedy it.

The broader point being made here is that, in every conflict or injustice, standing by and doing nothing when it is within your power to show mercy is complicity.

Having learnt to harden your heart against your brother, you now find yourself actively doing harm to him and even celebrating his suffering.

The fact that he might have deserved the judgment is no justification for withholding the mercy.

From there, the decline continues. A little further down the road, and now you’re willing to call the cops because someone said something you didn’t like.

Before long, you’re phoning the Nazis because you found some Jews in your basement.

Edom teaches us that indifference, exploitation, and malice toward those in distress is sin — whether toward family, neighbour, or even an enemy under God’s judgment.

To look the other way when your brother is under attack is to be counted among the attackers.