ASLC Devotions -- Monday

Obadiah 1:1

The vision of Obadiah.

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 it for battle!’

Obadiah had a vision. And he shared it with the people. The people of Edom, the people who are the primary subject of the vision, would not have wanted to hear Obadiah's vision. They probably would have dismissed it as the crazy rantings of a nutcase. The vision consists primarily of pretty graphic promises of how the kingdom of Edom and the Edomites are going to be brought down from their mighty perches and destroyed. There's a reason that the book of Obadiah isn't featured heavily in children's Bibles.

But the Lord's message through Obadiah wasn't FOR the Edomites. It was for the Israelites, about the Edomites. The Edomites were not Israelites. They were a neighboring small kingdom. They had sided with the mighty Babylonians and helped them destroy Jerusalem. To get a small piece of the pie, they had sided with the big bully on the block and conquered Jerusalem. And the promise of God is: that's not the end of the story. The victory of the bullies is not the end of the story. The victory of those who side with the bullies is not the end of the story. God has another ending.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Remember to join together for Holden Evening Prayer this Wednesday at 7 pm. Also, discuss this reflection, and others, at http://aslcdevotions.blogspot.com