Obadiah 1:13
“Don’t enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don’t look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity.”
What does Obadiah 1:13 mean?
God is speaking through the prophet Obadiah to the nation of Edom, which had turned its back on its relatives (the people of Judah) when they faced destruction and exile. Rather than helping during their darkest hour, Edom stood by watching and even looted what remained. This passage captures three specific ways they added cruelty to suffering: they positioned themselves as intruders in Jerusalem's gates, they looked with contempt at the pain they saw, and they took advantage of the chaos to steal. The core message applies far beyond ancient history, though. God notices when we ignore someone's crisis, when we feel smug about another person's downfall, or when we benefit from their misfortune. These aren't grand sins in the world's eyes, but they represent a hardening of the heart in moments when compassion matters most. If you're walking through your own calamity right now, know that God sees both your suffering and how others respond to it.