READING: Obadiah
With only twenty-one verses, Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, and yet it is a complete message with the twin prophetic themes of condemnation (1–16) and consolation (17–21; the consolation portion concerns Judah, not Edom). The burden of Obadiah is a pronouncement of inescapable doom upon the Edomites (Esau) because they looked down on their brother Judah (Jacob) in the day of his misfortune and rejoiced over the people of Judah in the day of their disaster (12–14). The Edomites’ pride will be brought low (3–4), and they will be ransacked (6), terrified (9), and obliterated (10). Israel, on the other hand, will be restored and will possess its inheritance (17–21).
Prayer
Lord, I realize that the things we do to other people eventually come back to us, and that we can either sow to please the flesh and reap corruption, or we can sow to please the Spirit and reap blessing.
Meditation passage: verses 3–4, 15, 17