Thoughts on Obadiah

 

I've been studying the book of Obadiah as part of my 2021 Spiritual Goals I set for my self this year, which was to study 4 Minor Prophets.  I completed Hosea and Habakkuk this past winter/early spring, and now I've completed Obadiah, Joel, and part of Zephaniah.  So I guess I'm ahead of my goal! Today I'd like to share some thoughts I had from my study of Obadiah.

I'll start with some facts:  it's the shortest book of the Old Testament (just one chapter!). We don't know much about Obadiah...he's rather obscure yet the entire chapter is devoted to him telling us to not hold grudges. He tells us to be careful in how we treat others. It's also a book about pride..the pride of of Esau's descendants.  Based on timelines of history, scholars have concluded that Obadiah was a contemporary of Elisha making him the earliest writing prophet based on the situation with Jerusalem as mentioned in Obadiah 1:10-14 (I found this information via a study by Chuck Swindoll).  This was about 840 years before Jesus was born. The name Obadiah means " worshipper of Yahweh". 

What I learned:

Obadiah was speaking to the people of Edom.  Edom was the nation that descended from Esau. They were choosing to worship idols and magic instead of the Lord God. They were filled with pride. God sent Obadiah to warn the people of Edom but they only became more proud! The study I read had these wise words:

"Pride happens when we put our own ideas above the truths of God and His ways".

The Edomites didn't care at all about the Israelites (God's chosen people).  They refused the blessing of the Lord!! 

God proved just how much He loves His people: the hand of God went up to fight the Israelites against Edom so they could enter the Promised Land. 

"...on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.  The house of Jacob shall be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau shall be stubble; they shall kindle them and devour them, and no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau," for the Lord has spoken." ~Obadiah 1:17 & 18~

 

What we can take away from this prophet:

When we face stress, fear, challenges and worries, God's love for us is greater!  God's love for us is so deep that He doesn't let us face our problems alone.  He doesn't want us to be separated from Him. People who "make fun" of Christians or God will come face to face with Him one day. 

Also:  Do not close our hearts or our selves to helping others.  God allows us to be blessed by helping others first. 

I'm finding the study of the Minor Prophets to be very fascinating and there is much to glean from for us today.