JUN 24

Obadiah 1-21
Memorise 1 Peter 2:2
"...the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart."

After understanding the background and context of a biblical book, the next thing to do is to get a general idea of what the book is about. This can be achieved by reading it several times from beginning to end. One should try to read as many times as possible. You will discover new lessons each time and with each repeated reading, you will have a stronger grasp of what the book is about. Ideally, a complete reading should be done in one sitting. This helps you remember parts of the book so that you can relate the ideas together and understand the book better.

The theme of Obadiah can be summarized as: God’s judgment on those who harm His chosen people. This can be derived by observing that a certain broad overarching ideas in the book of Obadiah. Firstly, you will notice the naming of the sins of Edom in how they prided themselves in the physical protection of the mountains. God hates pride (Prov 8:13). Furthermore, they participated in the cruel destruction of Jerusalem as allies to the Babylonians. Their cruelty and cowardly attacks on Judah were condemned. Finally, their judgment was pronounced. Their evil deeds shall be returned to them. They will be inflicted with the same acts of cruelty that they themselves inflicted on the Israelites. Not only will Zion be finally restored, the same people that they seek to destroy will be the source of their own destruction. In a twist of events, Israel will be called to destroy Edom.

Having a broad idea of a book helps us in our next step of study where we seek to understand the details of smaller sections of the book. Without this broader understanding, interpreting smaller portions of scripture may result in error. This is because we lose sight of the author’s main thrust or idea; hence the importance of first developing this broader idea prior to going into the details. May God help us understand His Word more thoroughly.

Thought: How many times do you think you should reread a book before you are ready to study the details?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me the patience and perserverance to study Your Word.