Tag Archives: Obadiah

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Obadiah 1:10-21 and summary

Obadiah
The vision of Obadiah from Jehovah about the judgement of Edom.

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!) The next conversation starts Monday, February 5th, on Jonah.

In Obadiah 1:1-9, we talked about the WHO and the WHAT.

Edom and Pride
Yet there was even more reason for why God was judging Edom.

WHY is God Judging Edom?
Verses 10-15

The short answer:

Obadiah 1:10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
and you shall be cut off forever.

The historians talk about several times when Edom laughed at Judah, and even ambushed those that ran away from attacks. Because there were several times, they have difficulty dating the book.
Those various discussions can be found in any introduction to obadiah – Blue Letter Bible has a selection. Also, one could google for introduction of Obadiah, and many bible programs come up with these. Seriously, the point to me is that Edom had an attitude towards Judah, and was no help to them in their time of need.

What does that say to us, today?
Jesus’s teaching –

Luke 6:31 English Standard Version (ESV)
31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Matthew 7:12
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

The parable of the Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37

The writer of Proverbs says:

Proverbs 24:17-18 English Standard Version (ESV)
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
18 lest the Lord see it and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from him.

There are many verses where the child of God was crying out that the enemy not rejoice over them.

God did not choose to judge Edom because he wanted to judge someone.
God gave Edom many chances, and

Ezekiel 33:11 English Standard Version (ESV)
11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Here, we can see, it wasn’t just Edom. He warned Israel. He warned Judah. HE WARNS US!

But it is NOT HIS DESIRE!

2 Peter 3:9 English Standard Version (ESV)
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 English Standard Version (ESV)
3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Judgement must come for sin. Or, there is no standard.

Obadiah 1:15-16
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.

Matthew 7:16-20 King James Version (KJV)
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Judgement begins at the house of the Lord!

1 Peter 4:17
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And

“If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”[c]

James 3:1
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

1 Corinthians 3:12-13 King James Version (KJV)
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

scary stuff…or it could be, if we didn’t know about the work of Jesus.

Obadiah 1:17-21 talks about the deliverance of Judah.

God gave them a promise in Jeremiah 1:19

19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Do a search on “be strong and…” in scripture…those that were under attack were told to be strong and courageous…because GOD!

And God gave us a deliverer in Jesus Christ!

Romans 5:1-4
5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith[b] into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

One of the neat things about scripture is that the promises that Jeremiah spoke to the Israel and Judah are also promises to us!

2 Corinthians 1:20 English Standard Version (ESV)
20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Why does God deliver us from ourselves?
For HIS glory!

Obadiah 1:21
Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule Mount Esau,
and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

And that is for which we were created!

Isaiah 43:1-7
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”

GotQuestions.org discusses the purpose of man, and how we are to glorify God.

We glorify Him be being a light to the darkness, salt to the rotten world, and love to the hurting, peace to the distressed, kind to the broken, joy to the depressed.

Ephesians 2:10 English Standard Version (ESV)
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Micah 6:8 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,[a]
and to walk humbly with your God?

Mark 12:30-31 English Standard Version (ESV)
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

For me, these are the points that I need to learn from Obadiah.
I said I wanted to learn how to avoid the sins of Edom, and by drawing near to God, and choosing His path, I can avoid that!
Also, I thank God that I have 1 John 1:9 and 1 John 2:1-2.
I know that I cannot do it on my own. And I thank God that Jesus has made the way, and that the Holy Spirit lives within me to guide and comfort me!

How about you?
What is your take away from Obadiah?
What can you apply to your life today, to avoid the judgement of the Lord?

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission. The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.
Some artwork is from FreeClipArt Library. copyrights belong to them.

I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Obadiah 1:1-9

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!) The conversation starts Monday, January 29th.

updated insert on the dating of the book – via J. Vernon McGee:

“Either this was written as prophecy before it happened or it is a historical record of what did happen. The natural interpretation, of course, is to accept it as history rather than prophecy, which places the date of Obadiah’s prophecy around 587 b.c., after the Babylonian captivity and during the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah.”

Another date suggested is 887 BC – which is much earlier, and would have it be prophetic. Either way, the message is just as important today as it was whenever God sent this prophet!

Many many moons ago, when I was still a semi young lass, I hopmeschooled my children. As their teacher, I taught them that the first thing to do when researching a project,is to look for the children’s books on said topic. WHY? Because the authors make it simple for the children to understand, and they also hit on the most important points! When I found this children’s bible study post for Obadiah, it was PERFECT !
Sometimes, when it is difficult to understand a particular topic, go to the children’s aisle!

Obadiah 1:1-9 AMP
Obadiah 1:1-9 The Message

Verse 1 means nothing if one does not believe that God,the creator of the universe, spoke to men and women in times past to speak His word.
I believe that is is true for today, as well, because of Acts 2:17-18

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

I differentiate between someone prophesying and the cannon of scripture. The books we have in our Bible have been vetted, and challenged, and compared to the other books. We aren’t going to be adding words to the bible any time soon…in fact…Bible Gateway did the work to compile three verses: Deut 4:2, Deut 12:32 and Rev 22:18
Also, in the last days, the instructions to those that prophesy is that other prophets are supposed to test the spirits(1 Corinthians 14); – I would imagine that years ago, they didn’t just embrace anyone that said “thus sayeth the Lord” without doing their due diligence!

This prophecy is one that was vetted over centuries, and is considered worthy of being in the cannon of scripture.

Moving on, in my effort to find the simplest version, I read this in the Message:

The Message verse 2-4
“Listen to this, Edom:
I’m turning you to a no-account,
the runt of the godless nations, despised.
You thought you were so great,
perched high among the rocks, king of the mountain,
Thinking to yourself,
‘Nobody can get to me! Nobody can touch me!’
Think again. Even if, like an eagle,
you hang out on a high cliff-face,
Even if you build your nest in the stars,
I’ll bring you down to earth.”
God’s sure Word.

Yes, I do read the Bible from different versions. The Message just made me laugh!

The point is, in whichever version, that Edom(the descendents of Esau) had lifted themselves high, over their brethren, Judah.

There are three sins from the beginning of creation.

1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Eve illustrated all f them for us when she open the door to sin in the world!

Genesis 3:6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

This passage(Obadiah) is talking about Edom boasting – pride of life…

James 4:16 warns:
As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

King Nebachnezzar was brought down by his pride in Daniel 4 & 5.
The Devil was brought down by pride! Ezekiel 28:12-19 and
Isaiah 14:12-14 English Standard Version (ESV)

12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;[a]
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’

Verse 3, of Obadiah 1 says The pride of your heart has decieved you,

Proverbs 8:13 King James Version (KJV)
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 9:10
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
(Proverbs 1:7 & 22)

Psalm 14:1
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.
(Psalm 10:4, Psalm 53:1)

I looked up a few verses on pride, because:

PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL, OR DESTRUCTION:

Proverbs 16:18-19
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Proverbs 11:2
Proverbs 18:12
Proverbs 29:23

Isaiah 2:11-12 King James Version (KJV)
11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

And then, in the end times – the curse is proclaimed against Babylon – and this is not specific to Babylon the place…but Babylon the heart. Revelation 18

Pride is a horrible sin.
In my life, it seems that every sin I commit, I can trace back to pride.
I know that God said there were three sins…lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the (boastful) pride of life….but, in my life, I’ve narrowed it down to PRIDE!
Lust of the flesh – I DESERVE THIS!
Lust of the eyes – I DESERVE THIS!
Boastful pride of life – I AM SO AMAZING THAT I DESERVE ALL THE GOOD THINGS, ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS, ALL THE ACCOLADES, ALL THE CREDIT…etc., etc., etc.

Obadiah verses 5-9 talk about how BAD Edom was….
comparing their behavior(which is explained in verses 10-14) to the typcial run of the mill criminal…THEY WERE WORSE!
And therefore, God is going to judge them.

And, in my life…what about my pride?
Does it hurt others?
Probably, yes…in that I would lift myself above others.

Luke 14:11 English Standard Version (ESV)
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Moses is honored for being humble:

Numbers 12:3 Amplified Bible (AMP)
3 (Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)
Exodus 33:11

It is not being Christlike!
When Christ offers us rest, he described himself as meek and lowly, or, in the Amplified Version:

Matthew 11:29 Amplified Bible (AMP)
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.

Christ promises blessings to those that are meek – which is translated humble in the AMP version.

Matthew 5:5 Amplified Bible (AMP)
5 “Blessed [inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect] are the gentle [the kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the self-controlled], for they will inherit the earth.
Footnotes:
Matthew 5:5 Or humble, meek.

The Psalmists says God will lift up the humble!
Ps 147:6
Ps 149:4

God spoke to Solomon:

2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Isaiah calls out:

Isaiah 2:17
The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

James – dear James says it this way:

James 4:6-10
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[a] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

We are called to love everyone – even our enemies.
God loved us first so that we could love.

More concerning to me about pride is that it lifts us up above God. If we place ourselves above God, then what have we done? Idolotry.
God will not share his glory with another – Isa 42:8, and very clearly stated that we were not to set up anything gods before HIM!

Exodus 20:1-6 King James Version (KJV)
20 1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Once I recognize pride as the sin of idolotry – then, we have to look at Revelation for the final judgement for idolotry!

Revelation 21:8 English Standard Version (ESV)
8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

We’ve all heard the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector(publican) praying.
This is what Jesus had to say: Luke 18:9-14

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

In my signature line is a quote from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers:

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I looked for the cure, and found one in 1 Corinthians 5:6-7

1 Corinthians 5:6-7 English Standard Version (ESV)
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

This is how we ought to think:

Romans 12:3
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Oh Lord, I want to be delivered from the sin of Esau, and all others that are our examples of raising themselves above You! I want to confess the sin of Pride in my life, and ask that you help me to see clearly so that I can root out every seed.
I want to recognize not only who I am in Christ, but WHY I am in Christ, and that is by grace, and not of myself, but it is a gift of God – Ephesians 2:8-10

But, I also thank you Lord, for showing that you are strong on behalf of those that humble themselves under your hand, and that if we draw near to you, YOU WILL DRAW NEAR TO US. James 4:6-10

Lord, I pray:

Psalm 51:10-12 English Standard Version (ESV)
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right[a] spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

In Jesus’s name, AMEN.

Psalm 94 is an excellent parallel chapter to this section of Obadiah – and probably the whole book. In the ESV it’s titled, the Lord will not Forsake His People!

More information on Obadiah is available at Obadiah Introduction
next, Obadiah 1:10-16.

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission. The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.
Some artwork is from FreeClipArt Library. copyrights belong to them.

I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Obadiah – Introduction

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!) The conversation starts Monday, January 29th.

Obadiah

I love J Vernon McGee for his insights into the Bible. He’s entered into his eternal reward, but we are blessed to still have his works of theology and bible Studies.
Blue Letter Bible provides all of his notes, amont many other commentators. For this study, I’m referring to Obadiah. I also like his outline of the book better than any I’ve seen:

I. Edom — destruction, vv. 1-16

A. Charge against Edom, vv. 1-9

B. Crime of Edom, vv. 10-14

C. Catastrophe to Edom, vv. 15, 16

(Poetic justice — lex talionis — law of retaliation)

II. Israel — restoration, vv. 17-21

A. Condition of Israel, v. 17

B. Calling of Israel, v. 18

C. Consummation of all things, vv. 19-21

(“And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.”)

In case these references are not deep enough, I’ve been looking over this introduction to Obadiah by David Malik provided by Bible.org, another great place for Bible research online.

Dr Malik proposes this is the purpose of Obadiah:

A. To proclaim judgment upon Edom for rejoicing over the fall of Jerusalem

B. To proclaim through the judgment of Edom that all of the nations will be judged for their hostility to God’s people

C. To proclaim a message of hope for Judah

Here’s my understanding, and since this is my blog, I guess that’s the understanding you are going to get, hahaha!

Who is Obadiah?
Servant of God.

On Bible Gateway, when I do a search for Obadiah, it gives me the list of all the Obadiahs...including the book.

Obadiah – servant of Yahweh.

J.Vernon McGee – “this name was as common in that day as the name John is today.”

When – when was this written?
The dating has been difficult…even for all those lofty scholars that have access to tons of information and references! They have forgotten more bible knowledge than I will ever have, therefore, if they can’t figure it out, I know I won’t! hahaha!

The one agreed upon timing is that it has to do with the time that Edom laughed and helped to take down Judah.
From the Bible.org introduction,

The Babylonian context matches other exilic scriptures which describe the involvement of Edom in the fall of Jerusalem.

a. Psalm 137:7:
Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem who said, ‘Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation’

b. Lamentations 4:21-22
Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, Who dwells in the land of Uz; but the cup will come around to you as well, you will become drunk, and make yourself naked, the punishment of your iniquity has been completed. O daughter of Zion. He will exile you no longer. But He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins.

c. Ezekiel 25:12-14:
Thus says the Lord God, ‘Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred grievous guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,’ Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off man and beast from it. And I will lay it waste; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. An I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of the people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath’ thus they will know My vengeance,’ declares the Lord God (cf. also Ezekiel 35:5, 12-15)

There are a few other options listed in the Bible.org link, as well as any number of others you can find online.
My feeling is this:  it was appropriate then, to the enemies of the Lord, and it is appropriate today, as a shadow of what we can know of the Lord’s concern for his children today.

To Whom?
The Edomites.
Who were they? descendants of Esau.
To understand this sibling rivalry, one has to reread Genesis.
Genesis 25:19-34

Poor Rachel, finally having a baby, has twins…and they are fighting inside her womb.
She cries out to God WHY!!! and he says:

“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you[b] shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”

Read on and Esau sells his birthright.
Then in Genesis 26, he marries girls that are not of the tribe Abraham…gentile, non believing girls.
Genesis 27 – here’s where Jacob really does in Esau…though he does it at the hands of his mom, Rachel – and steals Esau’s blessing. Any wonder why Esau was angry?

Genesis 27:41
41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

I don’t know God’s thoughts.
I know that there is something here about predestination and election – which I have spoken of in Itty Bitty Bible Study – Ephesians 1:3-6. I love what pastor JD Greer said in his study on Ephesians – understand that we are chosen, but that we choose, and that the ability to comprehend that is a mystery.
From Thompson’s Chain Reference Bible, commentary on Romans:

this is what the summary says:

The wall of the supposed sovereign election of God is a certain portion of the race to salvation, and the divine reprobation of all others. Rom 9:7-18
In the midst of his argument showing the awful situation of the natural man, he points out the doors of divine mercy provided for in the plan of salvation, by which all men can escape the impending judgments of God if they will.
An attempt is made in the drawing given to illustrate the points of the apostle’s arguments by a diagram of the walls and doors of escape.

There is a truth that God knew what Esau was going to be like.
There is also a truth that Esau chose to be the way he was.
And, God knew about Cain and Abel…and Cain chose to turn away from his offering to repent, and killed his brother. But each is responsible for HIS choice.

another Bible verse:

Proverbs 26:2
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.

and:

Galatians 6:7-8
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

For more on Galatians 6 – you may want to look at Itty Bitty Bible Study Galatians 6.

When there are curses, there is a reason. And even then, God sometimes chooses to judge those that are the instruments of the curse, because they are choosing to be violent and ungodly. Oh my, what a difficult thing it is to be the God of heaven and earth! My head is spinning just trying to keep this all straight!

Brotherly rivalry is as old as right outside of the Garden.
Today, we have the Israelites and all the Arab world. This is the very sibling rivalry, passed down from generation to generation.
There are two sides to every story, but, I want to make sure that this conversation does not turn into a current events religion bashing event.

As Christians, we have to remember that we have a history of blaming the Jews for crucifying Jesus, and treating Jews as less than dogs. As well as anyone that does not believe the same as we do – Muslims, all oriental religions, all tribal peoples, even differing denominations of Christianity! I don’t want to start thinking more highly of myself.

The Bible says that the Jewish people were chosen by God to tell his story. I’ve heard from a Jewish Rabbi that Christians have the wrong idea of “chosen ones” from the point of view of the Jew. “We were chosen to be an example, to carry the Word and to obey it. Look at our history, would you want to be that example?” 
Jesus was a Jew. He gives promise to everyone.
Jesus went to the gentiles…probably Arabs, if the area I understand is correct.
There is NO people group that is separated from the option of “For God so loved the WORLD that HE GAVE his only begotten son that WHOSOEVER would believe on HIM should have everlasting, eternal, life”. John 3:16

I plan to look at Obadiah in the light of prophecy to US, God’s children.
I choose to recognize that if I have chosen God, HE has chosen me, because no one comes to the Father except the Father draw him. I am saved by grace through faith and that not of my own but it is a gift from God. And that is the truth for every believer and follower of Christ. This is a different view of being chosen, that I’m not chosen by my worth, I’m chosen by HIS promise. I am made worthy because HE loves me. He did not choose me because I am beautiful, I am beautiful because HE chose me.

As His child…we have been given an inheritance, and we are given protection.
Many of us pray Psalm 91 for protection when things are scary…

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say[a] to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

This was written long before Christ.
It’s written to “he who dwells in the secret place of the most High”, or my favorites – “He is my hiding place”, or “those that run into the name of the lord, a strong tower, shall be saved.” THESE are believers.

 The other side of the coin is this:

2 Chronicles 7:14
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

This often quoted verse is written to those that are called according to HIS name…and they need to repent. That would include Jews…since it was written to the Jews…but now, it is applicable to anyone that calls upon the name of Jesus Christ! It says clearly that there is some sort of unhealed land that needs healing, and it will only be healed if the people REPENT from their wicked ways!

When the Israelite were getting a little high minded, this is what God had to say to them:

Deuteronomy 7:6-11
6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

Even more to the point:

Deut 9:6
6 “Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.

Remember, God was just keeping his promise to the righteous fathers that went before them. He’s faithful to a 1000 generations. Then, remember – this is not written to any specific people group – it’s just true! Cause and Effect!

Proverbs 26:2
Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.

Even Jesus has something to say about where blessings fall…

Matthew 5:44-45
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

…and our responsibility to those we perceive as enemies! Love and prayer…which means then, that we are the sons of our Father…who blesses all.

What’s My Focus?

I’m looking at this tiny book to see what characteristics of Edom do I have?

And, what negative traits of the Israelites/Judeans might I have?

And, what do I do to change this in me?

I also am looking at how long suffering God is with His children. While Edom was art of the exile or destruction, there are plenty of prophecies and such that point that God gave Judah plenty of options to change, repent, and get right or He’d remove His hand of blessing. I know thatGod has been loooooooong suffering with me, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

Has God been longsuffering with you?

Are you blessed to know that you were chosen by God?

Can you relate to doing something very UNChristian, and hoping that God would not find out? If so, do you know that HE has provided us with an advocate in Jesus Christ?

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 2:1-2 But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Next – Obadiah, part 1. Please Join me!

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

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