Devotion based on Week 4 of “The Prophets” – Obadiah (WATCH HERE)
“On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.” (Obadiah 11, NIV)
The prophet Obadiah paints a sobering picture of Edom’s pride. When their brother nation Israel was under attack, instead of showing compassion, Edom stood aloof. Worse, they even joined in the looting and rejoiced over Judah’s downfall. Pride had hardened their hearts to the plight of others. Rather than seeing Israel’s suffering as an opportunity to show mercy, Edom used it to exalt themselves.
Pride does that. It blinds us to the needs of others and makes us callous to their pain. Where humility opens our eyes to suffering and moves us to compassion, pride whispers, “They got what they deserved,” or “That’s not my problem.”
Obadiah 12–14 lists Edom’s offenses: they gloated, rejoiced, boasted, looted, and even handed survivors over to their enemies. Pride not only kept them from helping — it pushed them toward harming. In their arrogance, they failed to see that their actions placed them under God’s judgment.
We see the same danger today. When a neighbor loses their job, pride can make us think, “If they had worked harder, they wouldn’t be in this mess.” When someone’s marriage falls apart, pride may cause us to gossip instead of grieve. Even in the church, pride can make us distant, critical, or self-congratulating when others struggle, instead of walking with them in compassion.
The call of Christ is different. Paul writes in Philippians 2:3–4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” To ignore the hurt of others is to walk in the way of Edom. To step into the pain of others with love is to walk in the way of Christ.
The danger of pride is that it also blinds us to our own vulnerability. God tells Edom in Obadiah 15, “The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you.” Pride may seem powerful in the moment, but it leads to destruction. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
But there is hope. God’s answer to pride is found in Jesus. Where Edom exalted themselves over others, Jesus humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). Through His humility, He broke the power of sin and pride. Through His mercy, He restores us when we repent. By His Spirit, He softens our hearts so that we no longer stand aloof, but step forward in compassion.
The good news of Obadiah is that though pride brings judgment, God provides a future: “But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance” (Obadiah 17). Deliverance comes not through our pride, but through God’s grace.
Apply: Where am I tempted to “stand aloof” to others’ pain? Do I ever gloat at another’s failure, even quietly in my heart? Look for one tangible way this week to enter into someone’s struggle with compassion instead of distance.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for the times pride has made me blind to the needs of others. Keep me from standing aloof when I could step forward in love. Deliver me from arrogance and fill me with the humility of Christ, who laid down His life for me. May Your Spirit shape me to be a person of compassion, reflecting Your mercy in an unmerciful world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.