Obadiah

WEEK  18                                             Obadiah

TUESDAY  Reflections

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. It is God’s pronouncement of judgment against Esau’s decedents the Edomites. These people were related to the Jews yet lived as their enemies.

 

Their first sin was pride. They were filled with pride because the mountain where they lived offered protection from attack. God was further displeased by their actions toward Israel when they were attacked. They didn’t assist them and even took advantage of the attacks to attack Judah themselves. 

 

Esau had been taught by Isaac about God, but he and his family chose another way. Now they were going to face the consequences of those choices.

 

A historical note: Four years after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, Edom was successfully attacked. By the time Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D., the Edomites ceased being a people. 

 Oba 1:1-21
(1)  The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
(2)  Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
(3)  The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
(4)  Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
(5)  If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
(6)  How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
(7)  All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
(8)  Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
(9)  And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
(10)  For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
(11)  In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
(12)  But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
(13)  Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
(14)  Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
(15)  For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
(16)  For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
(17)  But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
(18)  And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
(19)  And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
(20)  And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
(21)  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

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2 Kings 3

WEEK  18                                         2 Kings 3

MONDAY  Reflections

Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you” 2 Kings 3:14.

 

Who is Elisha speaking to? The King of the Northern Tribes of Israel. This wasn’t some person who was safe to ignore, this was the person who could have you killed and not give it a second thought, yet Elisha wasn’t impressed. Why? Because Elisha was there to serve the Lord, not an earthly king. Elisha definitely didn’t feel he was obligated to give God’s wisdom to those who were not serving God, but since there was a person there who was at least trying to serve God Elisha relented and sought God’s assistance.

 

When I look at this story I am reminded that we are not here to solve the world’s problems just so they can continue doing what they want. However, when we see a fellow Christian in a fix we need to consider giving them a hand. There are many people who think Christians should just give help because they are able to, but what I see here is a reminder that we are not called to give help just because someone is powerful or in need. We need to give help because God calls us to or because there is a fellow believer in need.

2Ki 3:1-27
(1)  Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
(2)  And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.
(3)  Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
(4)  And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
(5)  But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
(6)  And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.
(7)  And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.
(8)  And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.
(9)  So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.
(10)  And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!
(11)  But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
(12)  And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
(13)  And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
(14)  And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.
(15)  But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.
(16)  And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.
(17)  For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.
(18)  And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.
(19)  And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.
(20)  And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.
(21)  And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.
(22)  And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood:
(23)  And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.
(24)  And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.
(25)  And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
(26)  And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.
(27)  Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

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Lamentations 3

WEEK  17                                       Lamentations 3

SATURDAY  Reflections

In the tears of Lamentations, there is hope. "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not" (verse 21-22 KJV). Judah and Israel deserved what happened to them, but even in the middle of it, God has promised mercy and compassion. There was much destruction, but it was not complete. The Jews were not wiped out as other people groups were.

 

The destruction of Jerusalem was horrible, but through the experience of the captivity, God formed a people who would serve only one God. God worked even this destruction to good. How much more can we hope even in the middle of pain when we remember God's promises to us (Romans 8:28)?  

Lam 3:1-66
(1)  I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
(2)  He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.
(3)  Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.
(4)  My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.
(5)  He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
(6)  He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.
(7)  He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.
(8)  Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.
(9)  He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.
(10)  He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
(11)  He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.
(12)  He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
(13)  He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
(14)  I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.
(15)  He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.
(16)  He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
(17)  And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
(18)  And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:
(19)  Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
(20)  My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
(21)  This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
(22)  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
(23)  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
(24)  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
(25)  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
(26)  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
(27)  It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
(28)  He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.
(29)  He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.
(30)  He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.
(31)  For the Lord will not cast off for ever:
(32)  But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
(33)  For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
(34)  To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,
(35)  To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High,
(36)  To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
(37)  Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?
(38)  Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
(39)  Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
(40)  Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.
(41)  Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
(42)  We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.
(43)  Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.
(44)  Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.
(45)  Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.
(46)  All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
(47)  Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.
(48)  Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
(49)  Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,
(50)  Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.
(51)  Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.
(52)  Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.
(53)  They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.
(54)  Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.
(55)  I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.
(56)  Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.
(57)  Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.
(58)  O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.
(59)  O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.
(60)  Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.
(61)  Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me;
(62)  The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.
(63)  Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.
(64)  Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
(65)  Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.
(66)  Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.

Amos 4

WEEK  17                                                 Amos 4

FRIDAY  Reflections

Not all women were victims in Israel. This prophecy begins by calling wicked women the cows of Bashan. This is meant to be derogatory. As the wickedness is going on around them these women want nothing more than to have their desires met, specifically the desire for drink. They also participate in the oppression of others. In this patriarchal society, God isn't letting the women off the hook. They may not be doing the harm the men are but most aren't resisting it, in fact, they are contributing to it.

 

I don't think God is going to accept the excuse, "I wasn't in charge, it's not my fault." 

Amo 4:1-13
(1)  Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
(2)  The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
(3)  And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the LORD.
(4)  Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:
(5)  And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
(6)  And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
(7)  And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.
(8)  So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
(9)  I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
(10)  I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
(11)  I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
(12)  Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
(13)  For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

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Matthew 17

WEEK  17                                            Matthew 17

THURSDAY  Reflections

Matthew 17 begins with what has been referred to as the Transfiguration of Christ. At this moment Jesus is seen in all his true glory with Moses and Elijah. Yet a small side detail captures my attention. Peter knew that Jesus was talking to Moses and Elijah. 

 

How is that possible? There were no photos, no statues, no real description of him in Jewish history at all. Yet, Peter knows who they are.

 

It could be that he heard them talking a while and after they referred to one another he spoke but that doesn't sound like the Peter we read about. Peter was the jump first ask questions later. Get onto the water and then wonder, "how is this possible."

 

This is Saint Charles’ thought: Peter was getting a look into the spiritual realm into the place where Paul says we will know even as we are known. It was a supernatural transfer of knowledge, which he immediately used for the wrong purpose (how human).

 

People wonder will we know one another in eternity. This incident I believe shows we will.

 

If this is too far out for you then go down to verse 24-27, where Jesus said basically "We aren't going to offer offense even if we could and be right." Consider what this means for you.  

Mat 17:1-27
(1)  And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
(2)  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
(3)  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
(4)  Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
(5)  While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
(6)  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
(7)  And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.
(8)  And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
(9)  And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
(10)  And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
(11)  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
(12)  But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
(13)  Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
(14)  And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
(15)  Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
(16)  And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
(17)  Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
(18)  And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
(19)  Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
(20)  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
(21)  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
(22)  And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:
(23)  And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
(24)  And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
(25)  He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
(26)  Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
(27)  Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

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