IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

Deliverance on Mount Zion

Date: Aug. 27, 2014

Passage

Obadiah 1:1-21 (ESV)

The vision of Obadiah.

  Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom:
  We have heard a report from the LORD,
    and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
  “Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
  Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
    you shall be utterly despised.
  The pride of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rock,
    in your lofty dwelling,
  who say in your heart,
    “Who will bring me down to the ground?”
  Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
    though your nest is set among the stars,
    from there I will bring you down,
      declares the LORD.
  If thieves came to you,
    if plunderers came by night—
    how you have been destroyed!—
    would they not steal only enough for themselves?
  If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave gleanings?
  How Esau has been pillaged,
    his treasures sought out!
  All your allies have driven you to your border;
    those at peace with you have deceived you;
  they have prevailed against you;
    those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you—
    you have no understanding.
  Will I not on that day, declares the LORD,
    destroy the wise men out of Edom,
    and understanding out of Mount Esau?
  And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman,
    so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

10   Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
    shame shall cover you,
    and you shall be cut off forever.
11   On the day that you stood aloof,
    on the day that strangers carried off his wealth
  and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.
12   But do not gloat over the day of your brother
    in the day of his misfortune;
  do not rejoice over the people of Judah
    in the day of their ruin;
  do not boast
    in the day of distress.
13   Do not enter the gate of my people
    in the day of their calamity;
  do not gloat over his disaster
    in the day of his calamity;
  do not loot his wealth
    in the day of his calamity.
14   Do not stand at the crossroads
    to cut off his fugitives;
  do not hand over his survivors
    in the day of distress.

15   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.
16   For as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
    so all the nations shall drink continually;
  they shall drink and swallow,
    and shall be as though they had never been.
17   But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
    and it shall be holy,
  and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
18   The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
    and the house of Joseph a flame,
    and the house of Esau stubble;
  they shall burn them and consume them,
    and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
      for the LORD has spoken.

19   Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau,
    and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines;
  they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
    and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20   The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
    shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath,
  and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
    shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21   Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
    to rule Mount Esau,
    and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.

Daily Bread

Introduction to the Book of Obadiah

Obadiah means "servant of the Lord" or "worshipper of the Lord". He was from Judah, and was called to tell of God's judgment against the nation of Edom. Two accepted dates for this prophecy are between 853 BC and 941 BC when King Jehoram and Jerusalem were attacked by the Philistine/Arab coalition (2 Chron 21:16) or 586 BC when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25:2; 2 Chron 25:36).

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Obadiah is written the form of a poetic dirge. Because of their treachery and pride, Edom stood condemned and would be destroyed. The prophecy shows that God judges those who have harmed his people and responds towards anyone who harms his children. It also tells of God's desire for his kingdom to spread throughout the land. God wants his people to experience deliverance and the peace of the Kingdom of God. There are two mega themes in the book: justice and pride.

The book can be divided into three parts:

Part 1: An announcement that disaster was coming to Edom (1-9).

Part 2: The reasons for their destruction (10-14)

Part 3: Judgment will fall on all who harm the people of God, but there will be deliverance for those who belong to God. (15-21)

Key Verse: 1:21

  Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
    to rule Mount Esau,
    and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.

First, Edom's pride deceived her to her reality (1-9). The Edomites were confident that their capital was safe from invasion while their army raided at will. They gloated over Jerusalem's suffering, helping themselves to spoils. They returned fugitives. All this occurred even though Israel and Edom had common ancestors. They would be destroyed. When we take refuge in our own strength, holding onto false pride, there will be consequences.

Second, God would deliver and restore his people (17-21). When God dwells in the midst of his people, they are a burning fire. The Edomites would be stubble that fire consumes. Deliverers will govern the mountains of Esau. In God, they would experience complete victory, taste freedom, peace and justice. Anyone can dwell in this kingdom, even Edomites who repented of their sins and put their faith and trust in God. Yes, even those.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for delivering me. I long to dwell in your presence in your kingdom, face to face. May the kingdom of God grow in peoples' hearts across our nation.

One Word: God will bring victory to his people

Daily Bread

Peter is Rescued

Acts 12:1-17

Key Verse: 12:11

When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

Read More

Intro Daily