Day #183

Sermon - Audio
Obadiah & Pslam 82-83 - Audio
Obadiah & Pslam 82-83 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Obadiah

*It's a very short book with a large message. In fact, this commentary is longer than the book itself!

The book of Obadiah as a chapter in the master story: The master story of the Bible is the story of God’s acts of judgment and mercy toward the human race. The book of Obadiah zeroes in on those two actions of God. Because this prophetic book is directed to a non-Jewish nation, moreover, we are led to see that the Bible is not just for the Jews but for everyone. -ESVLB-

*The Hebrew name Obadiah means “Worshipper of Yahweh” or “Servant of Yahweh.” There are 13 “Obadiahs” in the Old Testament, and one of these most likely wrote the book.

*The book of Obadiah is written to Edom, a non-Jewish nation. These people do not follow after the One True God. The message makes much more sense when understanding this truth.

*Obadiah condemns the Edomites, who were descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau, for attacking the Judeans during the Babylonian crisis rather than assisting them. The Edomites took delight in bringing disaster to Jerusalem. They were hostile to God's people, and for this doom and destruction is prophesied for them.

*Even though Jerusalem fell for its unfaithfulness, and even though Edom was one of God’s tools for bringing judgment, the Lord has tied himself to his people and will punish those who hurt them. Quite the paradox!

*Warning: Obadiah is not a "happy" book. It is a book of judgment upon Edom.

1 - Obadiah states that this is coming from God, not himself. Speaking for God is not an easy job.

2 - "make you small...be utterly despised" = Edom's judgment will bring about a change in size and influence. The nation will be condemned by all other nations.

3 - Notice that it is pride that has led to Edom's fall.

3-4 - The people of Edom dwelt in the rocks - "you who live in the clefts of the rock." Their place and stature in which they lived went to their heads. Their hearts became prideful.

5-6 - When thieves come they usually leave some things behind, this will not be true of Edom...it will be pillaged.

See Malachi 1:3-4 = "And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. "

5-9 - This is what is going to happen to Edom: robbed/pillaged (6), treason/deception(7), look stupid/made low (8-9). I warned you that this isn't going to be a "happy" book.

10-14 - The reason for this violence against Edom? Instead of aligning themselves with the tribe of Jacob, they became enemies of his. Edom spoke proudly of their fall, they rejoiced over it, they helped other enemies overtake them...Justice will be served.

Q. What is our response to people we see in trouble? Do we allow injustice to continue without stepping in? Do we rejoice over the poor, the weak, the broken's suffering? By doing nothing we do just that.

15-16 - What you have sowed, you shall reap even worse. The level of mercy shown by the people of Edom to Judah, will be shown to them...which is none.

17 - Obadiah wants Edom to know that Israel will surely rise again and be delivered. As for them...not so much. In 70AD Rome completely crushed the remaining Edomites...you won't find one today.

21 - "saviors" is "deliverers" - this is not to be confused with Jesus' title of Savior...He is the Great Savior/Deliverer. Obadiah is saying that no "saviors" will come to help Edom, but they will Israel.

Those appointed by God to deliver the people and bring just governance. The Lord has always been the King over the nations (v. 1), but here the prophet promises the future, definitive manifestation of God’s kingly rule from Mount Zion, i.e., Jerusalem. That end-time redemptive reign will be inaugurated by the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah (Matt. 12:28) and consummated at his coming in glory (Matt. 25:34). -ESVSB-

Psalm 82

God has taken his place in the divine council [ Psalm 82 ]. The underlying situation in the poem is the poet’s disillusionment with earthly rulership. The format in which this disillusionment is packaged is an imaginary divine council of gods in which God takes his preeminent place and from which he speaks (v. 1). The gods may be either supernatural powers or earthly rulers metaphorically called gods. The ensuing poem shuttles back and forth between statements from God and from the poet, as follows: God commands an unspecified audience (the gods?) to execute justice and compassion in society (vv. 2–4); the poet’s satiric put-down of misguided people, perhaps the same gods or rulers whom God has just addressed (v. 5); an unspecified voice (God’s?) divests the gods of their powers (vv. 6–7); the poet prays that God himself will compensate for the failure of the gods or rulers described earlier by coming as judge of the nations (v. 8). -ESVLB-

1 - Our God is bigger, Our God is stronger, Our God is higher than any other - "Our God" by C.Tomlin.

2 - The author wonders why God is not bringing justice upon the evil nations. This is a reminder to us today that just like before, his people await patiently for his justice in the world.

3/4 - Let the case of the poor/weak/broken be heard!

5 - The unwise people of the earth are not looking to God for guidance/wisdom/power.

6 - Sons of the Most High, members of God’s heavenly court. “Elyon” is an ancient Canaanite epithet, here applied to God (7:18 n.). -JSB-

8 - God is the only true judge that can bring about justice for his people.

Psalm 83

Let them perish in disgrace: a communal lament [ Psalm 83 ]. All lament psalms are occasional poems that refer to a specific situation in either the personal life of the poet or the public life of his nation. The occasion of this poem is a military threat against Israel by a coalition of enemies. A further context is the holy war motif in which Israel is God’s nation and the enemies of Israel are also the enemies of God. When faced with a national crisis, OT poets turned naturally to the lament psalm as the best literary form by which to express their feelings. The poem unfolds according to the following sequence: introductory cry to God to act (v. 1); description of the crisis (vv. 2–8); petition, which in this case is also an imprecation or calling down of a curse on the enemies (vv. 9–18). -ESVLB-

*The author returns to remember the entirety of God's story. He believes and knows that vindication is coming, but is desiring it sooner rather than later.

1 - "silence" - Quiet or "Cutting off"

Q. Have you ever felt like God is silent/quiet/or cut off from you while suffering, anguish, and injustice is all around you? When? How did He answer you?

2 - God's enemies are becoming prideful and boasting of their seeming victory over God's people.

3-5 - They are haters of God. They want Him and His people to not be remembered.

6-8 - The enemies are listed: Moab & the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia/Tyre, Asshur/Children of Lot

9-11 - Remember the book of judges where God dealt harshly with each of these tribes, with the exception of En-dor. The psalmist is asking for the same justice to be brought.

13-15 - The psalmist is not ashamed of what he is asking. He asks for them to be set ablaze by a forest fire fanned into flame by God's windstorm.

Ending - I find this ending rather interesting. After the psalmist claims that he wants them set ablaze, we get a different sense that the confounding of the enemies’ plans will cause them to recognize God’s name and His supremacy over the earth. The psalmist believes that it is destruction and justice that will bring about this heart change.