You Are Your Brother's Keeper

Are you willing to help others in need? To demonstrate the scope of the Second Greatest Commandment (You shall love your neighbor as yourself), Jesus tells us the story of the Good Samarian – a story where a man who should be considered an enemy goes above and beyond to help a fellow man in desperate need.

In the Old Testament, there is probably not another people group that has been prophesied against more severely than the Edomites. More than a few Old Testament prophets foretell a complete destruction of the Edomites and the book of Obadiah is totally dedicated to that prophetic message. Why? What did they do?

Quite honestly, the stood aside and watched in glee as their brothers in Judah were ransacked by the Babylonians. Even worse, they took advantage of the situation, plundering the cities after the Babylonians left and capturing the refugees to sell as slaves. The Edomites, who were Israel’s closest brothers as descendants of Esau, were essentially kicking the Israelites while they were down.

Throughout scripture, God makes it clear that he is the defender of the downtrodden. He will protect them and avenge them. Indeed, he did avenge Judah because the Edomites were completely wiped off the face of the earth as the prophets foretold.

We are to care for the oppressed. We are to look after the needy. God’s heart is with the poor. So should ours.

Hear more about this by listening to the message at the link below.

Obadiah: You Are Your Brother’s Keeper
http://www.box.net/shared/yf0atg56q7