This Is the Old Testament is part of a twelve-week thematic overview of the entire Bible. Each day we’ll read a thematic selection from a different book or two of the Bible, along with supplemental passages that show how the theme of that day’s main reading is found throughout Scripture. We’ll also read a brief summary of each book and a reflection on how the book fits into the larger story of Scripture. This week, we’ll continue looking at the Minor Prophets.
The Book of Obadiah: The book of Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament, contains Obadiah’s message concerning the coming Day of the Lord as well as a promise that Israel would possess the land of Edom, where the nation descending from Esau lived.
How Obadiah Fits Into the Story: The book of Obadiah displays the holiness and mercy of God. This book upholds faith in God’s just government and hope in the triumph of His will. Its message reorients our aching hearts to the truth that God is on His throne and faithfully cares for His own.
Reflection Questions:
1. How does God’s eternal nature affect the way He rules over His creation?
2. How does today’s reading shape your understanding of the story of redemption?
Take time to reflect on your responses and share what you are learning with others in the community in the comments.
Leave a Reply
83 thoughts on "Obadiah"
❤️
Question 1: How does God’s eternal nature affect the way He rules over His creation?
– I never really understood how God does it, I have had days were I just want to quit, it’s hard for me to wrap my head and mind around God dealing with me forever, it’s another mystery that shows how great His mercy really is. I really do think it shows how slow to anger He is that can last for so many generations. God sees a bigger picture than we do
Question 2: How does today’s reading shape your understanding of the story of redemption?
– The Lord our God is playing the game of chess when are playing checkers, because God knows check mate when we know moves and jumps.
Update: the swollen gland was nothing to be concerned about! What a lesson for me to not get caught up in the “what if” spiral. None of my them were even remotely close to the truth. This was a great lesson for Chela as well and a win because she took herself! Thank you for your prayers!
Thanks for the update, Tami! I was just thinking about Chela a while ago and wondering. Thankful for all you shared! ❤
SUSAN BURLEY For some reason, I can’t reply directly to you, but I wanted to say that my 26yo daughter thinks that she is entirely too young to even consider marriage, and she doesn’t want children because she feels like she has been mothering all her life. (She has a disabled older brother, and yes, she did start mothering him by the time she was 10, but not because I expected her to. At least, I certainly hope that I didn’t communicate to her.) I think some of those expectations are regional, because she lives in NYC, and none of her friends are yet married. But all of her high school friends are married and have kids, so she feels like she has nothing in common with them anymore. My own sister really wanted to get married and have kids like I did, but it just didn’t happen, so she stayed in school until she had a PhD and taught college for a while. She married an older guy with grandkids at 43, and now she’s a great grandmother (and a young widow) without ever having borne a child. I left an abusive marriage and now have 5 kids who aren’t so keen on the idea of marriage or Jesus, so I don’t know if I’ll ever have grandchildren of my own. Life is funny that way. And sometimes heartbreaking. But I do encourage you to keep following Jesus because his dreams for us are even better than ours could ever be. Since my divorce, I have gotten to serve Jesus in short-term missions abroad and at home in ways I never could have done with a husband who only pretended to love Jesus, and I continue to pray for my children to return to the path that I led them on when they were younger, that they may follow him authentically without a shred of the hypocrisy that they saw growing up.
“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” Obadiah 1:15. These verses fill me with fear and trembling. Yet, they also remind us to sow in tears so that we may reap in joy. Let us live in such a way that what returns upon our own heads is kindness, mercy, and righteousness, for if we wish to harvest these blessings, we must first be faithful to sow them (“The wicked earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness gets a true reward” Proverbs 11:18).
.
How does God’s eternal nature affect the way He rules over His creation? God’s nature is eternal and unchanging. That’s how predictable He is, unchanging, so we can make decisions knowing reliable outcomes from our actions. Though God is predictable in the sense He is unchanging, He is also unsearchable, “for who has known the mind of the Lord?”. Therefore we must seek Him, learn from Him continually to know His thoughts and His vision. His character is shown for us in the written words, James 1:17: “…the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”. Malachi 3:6: “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed”. God is holy and righteous, may we be imitators of God, as little children imitate their Father ( i see my son imitate my husband daily, in good and in bad). We have a perfect Father to model our actions from. God is Love and Merciful, Exodus 34:6: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…”. God is also a man of war, a divine warrior that brings terror, a defender of the defenseless, a righteous judge who hates evil. May we fear Him and love Him with all our hearts, for the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.
.
RHONDA- praying for comfort and strength and a miracle over Savannah’s recovery.
SEARCHING- prayers over Bonnie, and for you as you hold up so many requests around you in difficult times.
WENDY B- praying that no side effects or negative symptoms.
MAMA MEL- thinking of you today and praying over your children and FIL, your joy.
.
May the joy of the Lord be our strength today, despite the dark clouds and shadows of death, may the sun shine on you with bright light and lift your spirit.
.
Be blessed dear sisters.
❤️
Love your comments, answers to prayer, and praying for requests.
Thankful Lord that you see all, know all, restore us with your grace, mercy, and forgiveness, offer redemption, love us and died for us. ❤️
God is so merciful, and I am so glad. As I was reading the Obadiah selection, I kept thinking of a phrase we all know… “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
God is in control and His perspective is eternal. We are in our temporal view. This is why we have to take time to sit in His presence to help reorient our perspective to His. He never changes and is constant. Our world is ever changing and it is easy to get caught up in it.
But God knows us and loves us. He sent us Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help us as we live in this world.
Sometimes my heart will just race when I focus on the now too much but then if I just sit with God, read His Word, pray and praise everything gets back in alignment with Him.
He knows just what we need.
Praying for all the requests! Have a blessed day!
Amen, sitting in the presence of God to “reorient” is such a needed thing in all our lives.
Love this!!
Reflection Questions:
1. How does God’s eternal nature affect the way He rules over His creation? I honestly don’t know how He does it. I literally have days where I can’t stand adulting, so I have such a hard time trying to understand how our God can put up with us for eternity. I guess it’s another mystery that shows how great His mercy is it’s probably why He has a slow burning anger that can last for generations. I think it shows how He can see the bigger picture where we can’t see the forest for the trees.
2. How does today’s reading shape your understanding of the story of redemption?
That our Lord is a God who plays chess while we’re playing checkers. There is a reason He is our God who protects and guides us.
Chess vs. checkers… that’s SO good and very true!
Amen
even so, come
❤️
God loves us, He provides continually and remains faithful.
❤
Great observation/question to ponder (by Warren Wiersbe from the NKJV Wiersbe Study Bible):
“In comparison with some of the longer writings of other prophets, Obadiah seems to have barely got his fifteen minutes on the stage of history, but he made his moments count. He left a mark that God included in His Word. Will our lives leave a mark that will turn out to be a small but significant moment in God’s plan?”
.
Biblegateway verse of the day:
Zechariah 14:9-
And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.
.
SONG SHARE:
Reign Above It All (Live) | The Worship Initiative feat. Aaron Williams
.
Love, hugs, and prayers! ❤
King Forevermore (Live) | The Worship Initiative feat. Aaron Williams and John Marc Kohl
“Will our lives leave a mark that will turn out to be a small but significant moment in God’s plan?” – great question to ponder!
❤
I always say that God is playing the long game…He let’s things happen, that bring about His will, that will cause this to happen so this can happen, etc etc. His will will always be done!!! I just want to do whatever it may be, what is “up” to me, I want to listen, hear, obey!! A hearer and a doer!!! He has restoration and redemption in mind at every turn!!!
❤
❤️
“God is playing the long game” so good!
Obadiah v 15a
“For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near;”
.
Sisters, every day brings us one day closer to the 2nd coming of Christ. Fervently praying for the lost and prodigals to turn to Jesus.
You’ve probably heard the saying that most every question in Sunday School can be answered ‘Jesus’ – praying that all will understand the 100% truth in that – ultimately, the answer to everything is knowing Jesus.
.
You Are God Alone, Phillips, Craig & Dean (writers Billy James Foote, Cindy Foote)
.
You’re the only God
Whose power none can contend
You’re the only God
Whose name and praise will never end
You’re the only God
Who’s worthy of everything we can give
You are God
And that’s just the way it is
.
You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
You are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone
.
DWAN praying
B praying
RHONDA praying for Savannah’s healing
.
WENDY B thankful the treatment went well yesterday, and how wonderful to have a praying, Christian nurse! Praying the symptoms resolve, that you have healing with no side effects and for God’s wisdom for the medical team in evaluating and understanding the unknowns.
.
TAMI praying for Chela’s health and for you as you apply the learned skills and turn this situation over to the Lord. Remember that He was not surprised by this swollen gland, and will walk with you both.
.
Prayer request for a friend’s dear SIL, Bonnie, beginning treatment for stg 4 lung cancer
Great observations and song! Praying along with you. ❤
Praying
Amen, the answer to everything is Jesus!
I love Phillips, Craig & Dean!!
I love this song so much. Thank you for the reminder. Praying for Bonnie’s treatment and healing.
I taught Vacation Bible School 2-3yo a couple of weeks ago, and I can attest to the fact that Jesus is the answer to every question! Except for “When is Mommy coming back?” Hehe!
Lol
Thank you Searching! All is good! Doc was not concerned. Apparently this is common and it seems even more enlarged bc Chela is so little. Another lesson for me and her!
Thank you❤️
❤️
God is outside of time. Naturally, He does not follow our plans or timelines set by society to carry out His perfect plans! I find myself reminding myself of that a lot lately. I may be “behind” in society because I’m 27 and unmarried with no kids, but God never said that. He never set a timeline for when a person is supposed to reach major life milestones and thank God for His perfect plan of uniqueness for each of our lives!
Thanks for sharing, Susan. My 35 year old son has voiced similar thoughts over the years (being behind), but he is gaining confidence in his role at work. It’s fun to see him blossom at any age. I think God views us in a similar way. ❤
Amen! Such a positive outlook that you have, praise God for His grace and peace, and for his unique, individual timeline and plan for each of us – no matter what our age!
Amen Susan! For what it’s worth, I didn’t get married until I was 33 and then had my daughter at 34 There is really no timeline! But I do remember feeling like it would never happen in my 20s.
God is ruler over all….”the Lord of Armies will reign as king Isa 34:23″, and so he reigns with authority, power, justice, judgement and strength and he is in charge. All that is, is under His authority and will subject to that.
SRT sisters thank you. My heart was undone with tears as I read your great words of encouragement yesterday. Thank you so much for praying. My hormone injection treatment appt went well yesterday. I definitely had some reluctance and was quite emotional going in – just being at the point in time of this journey of now needing treatment felt hard. My nurse is fantastic – she is a Christian and we (my husband was with me)all prayed together at the end of my appointment. It was just such a beautiful time of fellowship and a gift. There is stories of God’s amazing faithful, attentive care for me that are too long to share here but sweet sisters, your words were truly a blessing. This morning feeling my usual not well self, but otherwise no additional side effects at this point. Please continue to pray for symptoms to settle down, for wisdom for the doctors as there is still some unknowns that are being investigated, for no side effects and for healing. The Lord can do all of these – He is ruler over all. I am tired and weary but do grateful to our great God.
@Rhonda praying for Savanah and your family ❤️
Wendy, so glad to hear about your experience yesterday. Thankful God gave you a Christian nurse! Continued prayers for symptom relief and zero side effects as well as lessened anxiety. ❤
So glad to hear your appt went well. What a blessing to have a christian nurse and to all be able to pray together, and what a testimony to anyone else within earshot!
Continued prayers for your requests, and that God would completely heal you. ❤️
Wendy, praising God with you! What a beautiful reminder of His loving care in providing you with a Christian nurse and being able to pray together. Thank you for sharing this sweet testimony of His faithfulness. Will continue to pray.
How sweet that was. Thank you for sharing Wendy. Continued prayers over you and this journey toward victory that Jesus has paid in full for your healing at the Cross.❤️
Praise God for his sweet love and presence. I’m so glad that things went well yesterday. God is good. Continued prayers for you for no side effects and that you start feeling better soon. ❤️
Great testimony Wendy! God put that nurse there just for you!
Wendy, such a wonderful testimony. I’m praying that your symptoms resolve and you would be a testimony to the Mighty Name of Jesus!❤️
Thank you so much. All praise to our mighty Lord. ❤️
God always has a plan for His people. Even in judgment, He preserves a remnant, demonstrating His mercy and great love for His own. He demonstrates this love most clearly through His life, death, and resurrection. May we rejoice in the mercy of our God that brings us close and frees us to live for Him!
❤
Amen!
Q1 – God sees the whole picture. He is in the past, present and future so nothing comes as a surprise to him. He has complete control and is Lord over all.
Q2 – Ultimately evil will be overcome.
Ladies, can I ask for prayer? Chela has had a swollen gland that she is going to the ENT for today. This is kicking my health anxiety into high gear. I shared some time ago that she was diagnosed with OCD. We are taking a course for parents to support her which has been so helpful, and we have seen tremendous growth in her, praise the LORD. But I am also seeing how I have suffered with OCD most of my life. Both of ours manifests with obsessive thoughts and rumination, not physical rituals (handwashing, etc…) I used to have severe health anxiety and would avoid going to docs, obsess before appts, etc.. praise God because He helped me to overcome it. But when it comes to my daughter, that’s another story. So now the skills we are learning in this class I get to apply to myself!
RHONDA – You have been on my heart since I read the post about Savannah. I’m praying for you and your family. That God would do a mighty miracle in her and your family.
Praying for you and Chela today and adding my amen to your prayer for Rhonda J and family! ❤
Praying Tami! Also for Rhonda, her sister and family
Tami, it is so hard to watch our children struggle. My Mama’s heart is right there with you. Praying for Chela, that the swollen gland will not be anything serious and that God will give you His perfect peace about all of it. ❤️
The fact that God is on His throne, is the only thing that makes sense of this world. He is faithful, and unlike us, He always keeps His promises.
—
I had a little trouble deciphering question #1 so went on line for a little help. What I found made sense and so much easier to understand. I know it’s kind of “cheating”, but sometimes the questions are hard to understand at first glance.
.
1) How does God’s eternal nature affect the way He rules over His creation?
.
Answer- “Because He is not bound by a past, present, or future, His rule over creation is absolute, unwavering, and flawlessly purposeful—free from the revisions, doubts, or limitations that characterize human leadership.”
.
Human leadership is so very limited because of finite minds and thinking. And because they are human, their thinking is flawed and constantly changing. God is always perfect.
—
How reassuring it is to know we have a King on the throne who is the same yesterday, today and forever – and who’s way is perfect!
.
“God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.” Psalm 18:30
—
@Rhonda – praying for you, your sister & nephew, and that a miracle happened, sparing Savannah’s life. ❤️
Sharon, Q1 was hard. And no judgement here! I look stuff up all the time:)
Sharon, thank you for doing your research, this was so helpful!
I’m glad you did some research to help find that answer. That was very helpful for me! I come to the comments to see what others come up with for answers since my own are often very simple or uncertain at this time of the morning!
Exactly this Sharon, so true….”The fact that God is on His throne, is the only thing that makes sense of this world.”
Thank you for sharing. I have been saying all along I’m struggling with this study format so any extra info is helpful for me. :)
Thank you, Sharon, for the research. This format is definitely more challenging than the devo + Scriptures format BUT it does result in me doing more actual studying of the Word and using other resources to help with context and understanding.
Thank you for sharing your reaction to the question. I read it and know the answer, but fail to put it into words properly so I don’t try. I used the internet on one of the questions early on and also felt like I was cheating. ☺ ❤
.
Like you, my thoughts went to another attribute: immutable.
This was very helpful for me too! Thank you for sharing your findings. I also think these questions are very difficult.
Because God is eternal, He is outside of time. He sees everything at once, whereas we only see a spec in the “timeline.” In God’s rule over His creation will eventually bring judgment to the unjust and wicked, we just may not see it.
.
Today’s reading reminds me that the story of redemption includes judgment for those who reject God.
.
RHONDA J – praying for you and your family. Praying for a healing miracle for Savannah
.
MARI V – praying things went well at court.
.
SEARCHING – praying your cousin’s wife has answers and restored health soon
❤️
❤️
❤❤❤
Praying!
Amen!
Amen
That’s just it!
.
GOD’S nature is eternal!
.
Forever!
.
Always!
.
GOD’S love is eternal, non of this depending on performance stuff. It is real, so real, we are often in awe and believe HE can’t love us so, and yet through the ages and to this day, HIS eternal nature is still our saving grace..
.
From the beginning of time, from the DAY GOD uttered the words..
.
“Let there be light..” HE has been our light in every dark aspect of our lives, whether we have known it or not, HE has loved us!
From Adam and Eve, through Moses, through Esther to Job to Daniel to Malachi, right the way through Matthew, Mark, Luke, a d John to Jude, and in between them and now, right this minute and day, GOD’S eternal nature is the same, never changing, not one drop, HE loves, cares, HE loves, care and the beautiful and blessed cycle repeats for us and our people, every generation..
.
GOD NEVER CHANGES! HE HASN’T IN AS LONG AS, NEVER WILL.
.
PRAISE BE!
.
BUT GOD..
.
AMEN.
.
Happy Tuesday my loves, covered in love and prayers ❤️
Yes Tina! God never changes. He is steadfast and He does what He says He will do. Such solace to know this and what a reason to trust Him in world filled with constant change and broken promises.
“God is the same yesterday, today, and forever”
❤❤❤
❤️
Good morning! I was looking at the words connected to fire in this passage and the ways that we are reminded in other passages of how fire is connected to purifying us believers. Our God is powerful and loving and yes Holy! ❤️Hannah C
Thanks for sharing that observation, Hannah! ❤
God’s kingdom will reign
❤️