Daily Blast - Minor Prophets: Day 12
Scripture
“You have been deceived by your own pride
because you live in a rock fortress
and make your home high in the mountains.
‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’
you ask boastfully.
4 But even if you soar as high as eagles
and build your nest among the stars,
I will bring you crashing down,”
says the Lord.
5 “If thieves came at night and robbed you
(what a disaster awaits you!),
they would not take everything.
Those who harvest grapes
always leave a few for the poor.
But your enemies will wipe you out completely!
6 Every nook and cranny of Edom[a]
will be searched and looted.
Every treasure will be found and taken.
7 “All your allies will turn against you.
They will help to chase you from your land.
They will promise you peace
while plotting to deceive and destroy you.
Your trusted friends will set traps for you,
and you won’t even know about it.
8 At that time not a single wise person
will be left in the whole land of Edom,”
says the Lord.
“For on the mountains of Edom
I will destroy everyone who has understanding.
9 The mightiest warriors of Teman
will be terrified,
and everyone on the mountains of Edom
will be cut down in the slaughter.”
Reflection
Today we are looking at the book Obadiah. This is the shortest book in the old testament with only 21 verses. It is about a nation called Edom. Edom has a very interesting history. Edom and its neighbour Israel were derived from the family of Abraham through his son Isaac. Isaac had two sons Jacob and Esau. The descendants of Jacob became Israel and those of Esau became Edom. Like the brothers, there was a tense relationship between the two neighbouring nations, but they were tied together by a family bond.
In 2 Kings, Israel is invaded and defeated by Babylon. Instead of coming to their aid, Edom took advantage of Israel’s situation and went into Israelite cities and stole from them and abused Israelite refugees.
The book of Obadiah is about God holding Edom accountable for their actions and is a prophecy as to Edom’s future.
The first half of Obadiah is about Edom’s pride. Edom was built on a mountain and therefore in terms of location, they were higher up than most nations and as such more difficult to attack. However, Edom also believed that they were higher in terms of superiority as well. God tells Edom that their pride and self-exaltation is going to be their downfall. Their pride was the reason they helped destroy Israel and, as the scripture says above, God tells them that whatever they did to Israel is going to be done them.
The second half of Obadiah moves the focus from Edom to all nations. Obadiah explains that just like Edom, any prideful nation will fall. He expresses that God wants to restore His kingdom over Jerusalem and all nations. God uses Edom as an example as to what happens to prideful nations.
Obadiah’s prophecy focuses on the destructive power of pride. It reminds us of the consequences of living selfishly, of following through on our feelings and desires without considering their impact on those around us.
Humans can be very prideful creatures; we can find it difficult to let go of our pride even if we know that it would help the situation. We need to remember that pride puts ourselves in the centre of everything instead of God at the centre.
God should be at the very core of our lives. In being prideful we are comparing ourselves to others and feeling that we are superior to them. God created us all to be equal, where no one is superior. In fact, He calls us to put others before ourselves. So, in having these prideful thoughts are we keeping God at the centre? And are we doing His will?
Challenge
I encourage you in your time with God today to think reflectively about your relationships with people. Is there a time where your pride has hurt or effected someone? Why don’t you ask God to help in this, to identify areas where you can be better and to change your focus from yourself to Him?