The Prophets: Obadiah

During the month of September, we will focus on the Old Testament prophets.  There is a notion that prophets are fortune tellers, revealers of the future.  Though prophets often speak of the future, that is not their primary purpose.  Prophets serve as God’s messengers of accountability when God’s people (and particularly the leaders of God people) strayed from the path laid out for them by God.  They challenged immorality, worship of other Gods, unjust practices, and other violations of God’s law.  The hope of spending some time in the prophets will help us see that hundreds of years later, their message is still relevant.  So let us begin.

Obadiah 1 (the whole chapter)

You just read an entire book of the Old Testament!  Congratulations!

Depending on which scholars you believe, Obadiah was either one of the first prophets in Israel or came much later.  I tend to believe Obadiah was earlier, but the specific time isn’t all that important.  His message was for Edom, a people who were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob.  Edom not only sat by and watched Israel be plundered by the Babylonians, they took advantage of Israel’s misfortune by plundering Israel themselves.  Obadiah declares that the consequences of those actions will lead to the eventual destruction of Edom.  Furthermore, he announces that Israel will eventually be restored. 

Obadiah reminds us that celebrating and taking advantage of someone else’s downfall grieves the heart of God and ends up harming ourselves as well.  Edom and Israel were connected by ancient blood and though many resentments and conflicts had polluted their relationship, they should help each other when the chips are down. 

The divisions between Edom and Israel are not unlike the divisions we experience in own day.  It’s easy to feel such resentment for “those other people” that we forget that “those other people” are not “other” at all.  We are connected to them.  When “they” fall, Obadiah reminds us that we will not be unaffected.  Remember our common roots and work to help each other instead of participating in “mutually assured destruction.”   Thousands of years later, Obadiah speaks.

Prayer:  God of all peoples, show our common humanity and connection with those we consider worthy of destruction. Help us be merciful when others fall. Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for those that you harbor resentment for today. 

Song:  Greg Holden & Garrison Starr – I’m Not Your Enemy