Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Obadiah 1

This chapter is the only one in this tiny book of prophecy. I went to read this since Obadiah was mentioned as one of Elijah's contemporaries. I wanted to see what he had to say. But this book reminds me of a side of God I don't like to think about. His vengeance. His justice. His unchanging truth.

In many other places in the Bible besides just this one, we see generations of people suffer and pay the penalty for the sins of their ancestors. This wasn't a threat; it was reality. Esau was long dead and gone. He was from way back in Genesis. But his sins were not forgotten. Their consequences carried on to the time of Obadiah when they would be completely wiped from the face of the earth. Harsh? I guess, if there was no hope of a Savior.

Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been. But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance.

I think this verse is yet another foreshadow of the grace and mercy God would extend through Jesus. And because of Christ, my ancestry takes on a whole new lineage. I am no longer sentenced to carry the burden of the sins of my forefathers. I can stand free and washed clean of guilt. The light of God's grace gave me a new heritage. I am a child of God. I was born into His family. God only sees the blood of His Son in my veins. I can possess the inheritance of salvation.

I love the idea of the complete and total removal of sin through Christ. Unlike the blood of animals which only covered our sin, the sacrifice of Christ erased it once and for all. Not just forgotten. Gone.

When I understand who I am and where I stand with God because of grace, I can worship the vengeful, just, unchanging truth of who God is. I can know that He is also mercy and forgiveness and unswerving love.

1 comments:

Bea said...

March 11---My daddy's birthday! Though he never said it much, I always was very aware of his love for me and knowing he loved me brought me through many challenges. His deep unconditional love for me pointed easily to trust my heavenly Father.
On his birthday,I always meditate on his deep abiding love for me and what a sweet, kind, wise, gentle man he was, but he, like our heavenly daddy, also guided us to walk in truth. We knew there was a sure consequence for disobedience. As we walk in truth and choose life over death, we reap the benefits of being in His family. Today I am very thankful for both my daddys--wouldn't trade either one of them for 'all the tea in China'.