Addressed to Edom, a nation that descended from Esau and eventually worshipped idols, the book of Obadiah lists Edom’s transgressions against their brother Jacob, i.e. the nation of Israel.

In God’s eyes, Edom was a very nasty sibling.

A sibling who stood aloof when strangers bullied his brother (v11).

A sibling who gloated over his brother’s misfortune (v12, 13).

A sibling who cut off his brother’s lifeline and even helped his bullies for personal gain (v14).

Here, we see that complicity to violence is still violence.

Edom did not take Israel captive, yet God still judged them for haughtily spectating and supporting Israel’s captors (Assyria, Babylon) from the sidelines (v15).

How about us today – what kind of siblings are we?

As spiritual siblings in Christ (and for some of us, biological too), Jesus’ command for us is clear: “whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:21)

Such siblinghood requires us to remove any “root of bitterness” that may hinder us from loving our siblings (Hebrews 12:15).

Esau failed to remove the “bitter root” of anger, resulting in his descendants, the Edomites, staying vengeful against Israel for many centuries (Ezekiel 25:12).

So, to be better siblings in Christ, let’s start by reflecting on ourselves and identifying:

• How have I sinned against my siblings? (‘Small’ sin is still sin.)

• How can I love my siblings better in my words, actions, and accordance to the Bible? (1 John 3:18)

• What sacrifices do I need to make to take better care of my siblings? (1 John 3:16)

Obadiah ends with a warning and promise: that God will punish bad siblings, while rescuing the bullied ones into His kingdom.

The righteous God loves us individually, including our siblings; He cares very much about how we treat them.

Therefore, instead of our “bitter roots”, let the Holy Spirit control us so that we can be better siblings for each other. Amen.