The Judgment on Edom, Who Hated His Brother
This passage deals with the sin of Edom, which betrayed its brother Israel and stood by and rejoiced at the destruction of Judah, and with the judgment of God that followed. Edom grew proud because of its geographical advantage, and instead of helping its brother in distress it responded with plunder and slaughter, testing God's patience. God warned that their disregard for brotherly love would in the end come back upon themselves, and that prophecy was fulfilled exactly in history.
The sermon stresses that Edom's downfall was not simply a national defeat but a righteous judgment on those who cast aside grace and hated their brother. It reminds us that human beings may boast in their own strength or position and grow proud, but that God alone gives all these things and takes them away. It also shows how greatly God's wrath is stirred by an attitude that stands by at a brother's suffering, or even does him harm.
Believers must not be shaken by worldly power or changing circumstances, but live good lives directed toward God alone. This sermon, which helps us realise that helping a brother in difficulty is itself worship offered to God, asks what we should hold on to as we live.