In one of the most challenging truths of the New Testament,
Paul told the believers in Thessalonica, who found themselves being
persecuted and under the severe pressure of conflict, that God was at work
in their lives. In the circumstances, more accurately, by the
circumstances of their lives God was in control working out his will among
them. The simple belief that the believer can rest in God because God
works out all things in everyone’s life is unique to the Judeo-Christian
world view.
Paul expressed it to the Thessalonians as a truth that not only affected
their lives but that it also affected the lives of those who were
persecuting them. First, he said that it was by the persecutions and
tribulations, the conflicts of one’s life, that they "may be
counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which [they] suffer."
Knowing the ultimate truth of the ways of life (As Jesus said,
"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.), the believer in the
ultimate sovereignty of God’s grace knows that his outward man is being
ruined or is rotting throughly so that the inner essences of life can come
forth in newness of life. It is the conflicts of our lives that actually
is the seed-time for the harvest to come, the harvest of the manifestation
of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, in our lives.
The world says of this truth, "No pain, no gain." The misguided
Christian says, "In Christ, no pain, all gain." The true
believer says, "Gain does not come from man’s induced pain, but
only as God controls the times and the seasons. Or, in other words, you
ignited the conflict and nothing but hell is going to come.
Secondly, after Paul told the Thessalonians that the conflict that they
were experiencing was the door to experiencing the kingdom of God, he
said, "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense [to
repay] tribulation to them that trouble you." This is heart and soul
of the belief that God’s sovereign power rules the universe. Justice for
one’s ill-treatment comes not from the abused but from God who said,
"I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee."
The covenant of God with his people is the primary truth of the entire
revelation of God. It runs from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming the hope
for mankind, God has entered into a perpetual relationship with man. As He
spoke to Abraham, the father of all believers - participants in the
kingdom of God, "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I
will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in
thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Unto the true
believer God is the source of all justice for all abuse.
This is the message of Obadiah. After a brief introduction stating that
Obadiah is the prophet who has received this message from God, the book
can be divided into two parts: the destruction of the Edomites - verses
1-16; and the blessings of the Israelites - verses 17-21. Both coming out
of the promises of God’s covenant.
The Edomites’ persecutions and tribulations of the Israelites go back to
the time of the twin brothers, Jacob and Esau, who separated and went
their own way. Although their conflict raged for centuries, it is the
specific ill-treatment of Israel by Edom that brings the recompense of
their actions. They mocked Israel in their hour of judgment and
participated in the destruction and looting of Jerusalem when it finally
fell to a foreign power. Because of this great sin, Edom would be
destroyed. Obadiah declared, "As thou hast done, it shall be done
unto thee."
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