JUN 29

Obadiah 1-14
Memorise Jeremiah 17:9
"...out of the hear proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies"

There are many lessons we can draw throughout the book of Obadiah even though it is a short book. The focus of the first part of the book is the listing and condemnation of the sins of Edom. Edom was guilty of pride, of trusting in the things of the world instead of God; and of cruelty and betrayal towards Israel their brothers. They were a cowardly bunch. Taking refuge among the Babylonians, they attacked Judah when they were weakest and most vulnerable. Most of us would be aghast at what they have done in verses 1-14. These are sins which most, if not all of us, would not imagine doing. However, what we may not realise is that, in reality, many of us have been guilty of these sins in one form or another. The difference lies only in the conditions wherein we live that did not permit us to put these sins into full practice. In other words, it is by the mercies of God that we are constrained by our circumstances to prevent us from becoming just like the Edomites.

How many of us have been free from pride? How many of us have never put our trust in the things of the world and not trusted God? How many of us have hated our brother or sister when we were angry? Although we have not killed anyone with our anger, but we have nonetheless treaded along that same path that leads eventually to it, if not for the constraining mercies of God. Perhaps we can say that we would never do what the Edomites have done, but in our hearts, we may be no better. We have been guilty of the same sins. Therefore, when we read the first part of Obadiah, it should cause us to be humble. We should recognize that it is only by the mercies of God that we have not become like the Edomites and suffer the same judgment. But left to our own devices, we would have easily slipped into hideous sins of any kind.

May Obadiah be a warning to each of us to remember that we can be no better if we allow sin to fester unrepented. If it were not for the grace of God that worked in our lives, we would still be wallowing in the filth of our sins!

Thought: Sin starts from the heart but eventually becomes an act if not stopped and repented of.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me to recognize how evil my own heart can be and to be humble.