Day 611: Obadiah 1- The Goal Of History

1 The vision of Obadiah.
Edom Will Be Humbled
Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord,
    and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
    you shall be utterly despised.
3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rock,
    in your lofty dwelling,
who say in your heart,
    “Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
    though your nest is set among the stars,
    from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.
 
5 If thieves came to you,
    if plunderers came by night--
    how you have been destroyed!--
    would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave gleanings?
6 How Esau has been pillaged,
    his treasures sought out!
7 All your allies have driven you to your border;
    those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
    those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you--
    you have no understanding.
8 Will I not on that day, declares the Lord,
    destroy the wise men out of Edom,
    and understanding out of Mount Esau?
9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman,
    so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
Edom's Violence Against Jacob
10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
    shame shall cover you,
    and you shall be cut off forever.
11 On the day that you stood aloof,
    on the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.
12 But do not gloat over the day of your brother
    in the day of his misfortune;
do not rejoice over the people of Judah
    in the day of their ruin;
do not boast
    in the day of distress.
13 Do not enter the gate of my people
    in the day of their calamity;
do not gloat over his disaster
    in the day of his calamity;
do not loot his wealth
    in the day of his calamity.
14 Do not stand at the crossroads
    to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
    in the day of distress.
The Day of the Lord Is Near
15 For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
    your deeds shall return on your own head.
16 For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
    so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
    and shall be as though they had never been.
17 But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
    and it shall be holy,
and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
    and the house of Joseph a flame,
    and the house of Esau stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
    and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
The Kingdom of the Lord
19 Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
    and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
    and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
    shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
    shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21 Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
    to rule Mount Esau,
    and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
 
Meditation
The future day of Jesus Christ is hope for the believer today. Paul writes, “…He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Jesus is the goal of history and His day will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:4). Yet the promise of God’s sovereign grace can strengthen you today.
 
God wins in the end. Jesus will return on the “day of the Lord” (15). This day is a theme in Obadiah (8, 11, 13, 13, 14, 15) and in Scripture it points to the total transformation of all creation. The vision of the prophet condemns Edom as an enemy of God, reminding them they will be removed from the map.
 
Edom is toast but God’s Kingdom will have no end (21). Enemies of God will be eliminated. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8; 21:6). Jesus Christ is the Scepter from the seed of Jacob (Genesis 49:10), the Savior of the world. The covenant security of the Lord is available to all who trust in Christ.
 
These promises hold our hope: God will complete the work He began in you on the day of Christ’s return. Jesus wins in the end and His enemies will be eliminated. King Jesus will make all things new! And you can believe what is true.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Which of the promises of God mentioned in the meditation mold your hope more?
 
-Edom is toast. God’s enemies will be eliminated. Jesus Christ will return in glory! How does this reality strengthen your steps in a world where sin and darkness can weigh heavy?
 
-God rules over history and He wants to rule over you. Where do you need to respond to God’s grace through obeying God’s word? Be specific.
 
Key Verse
17 But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.