Respect those who suffer

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Respect those who suffer

You should not have rejoiced over the sons of Judah in the day of their destruction, and you should not have opened your mouth wide in the day of distress... As you did, it will be done to you. Obadiah 12 and 15

The atrocities committed against the Jews, since the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70 and their dispersal all over the globe, are cruel and innumerable. Among the most recent, the persecutions against this people of totalitarian regimes, during the Second World War, are particularly revolting. On the one hand, God's plan is being fulfilled for his people, but on the other hand, nothing diminishes the responsibility of the persecutors. They despised God's solemn warning : He who touches you, touches the apple of (my) eye (Zechariah 2: 8).

However, besides persecution, the evil spirit of rejoicing in the distress of others is intolerable to God. God is love, it is his nature, and he cannot bear that man, created in his image, is bad enough to rejoice in the suffering he inflicts on others. Also the last sentence quoted makes one think about the fate that God reserves for these wicked if, before the coming of the Lord, they do not repent and do not accept him for their Savior.

But, these verses are not written only for Edom, the brother of Israel, and his future. Indeed, the prophet Obadiah passes without transition from the mention of Edom to that of a universal judgment of the nations (v. 15), as to show that the disapproval of God applies to all those whose conduct towards the Jews is inspired by hatred and contempt for what God teaches us about them. But that's not all !

The Christian has millions of brothers and sisters, of different races, languages ​​and denominations. How do we feel when we learn that they are being persecuted in such and such a country ? That some have painful experiences ? Of course, no one would think of rejoicing... but the Word goes further : You shouldn't have opened your mouth wide ! Thoughts like, "They looked for it," "That was to be expected"... are unworthy of a Christian. God can only condemn them concerning Christians even when they are declared enemies (Proverbs 24:17) !

Let us banish these thoughts from our minds, both of unbelievers and of brothers and sisters in Christ who have been tried. Let us open our mouths to encourage those who are suffering and to pray for them.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)