A lesson from Obadiah

The book of Obadiah is easy to overlook, in part due to its brevity -- it clocks in at a mere 21 verses -- and in part due to its seemingly narrow message of judgment on Jerusalem's neighboring nation of Edom.

Evidently, as the Hebrews were being carted off to captivity, the Edomites were sitting nearby mocking the Hebrews. Recalling that the Edomites were related to the Hebrews through Isaac, Obadiah delivers the message that the Edomites' mockery will not go unpunished (Obadiah 1:12, KJV),

But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

For this haughty attitude, God promises (Obadiah 1:15, KJV)

Thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

Again, it's easy to ignore the book of Obadiah since it appears to deal with an ancient political dispute between two nations. But the larger question for us is this: Have we ever behaved like Edom when misfortune fell upon someone else? When politicians, or athletes, or even people we know encounter embarrassing situations or misfortunes, do we ever take a kind of perverse delight? Plain and simple, that kind of attitude, even if kept to ourselves, is a sin. And our "reward" for such an attitude? "Thy reward shall return upon thine own head."

Let us try to flush such haughty thoughts out of our heads.

But if not...

In the third chapter of Daniel, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar erects a golden idol and demands everyone to bow down and worship it. Three Jews (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) refuse, drawing the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar, who threatens to throw them into a fiery furnace.

The response of the three Jews is one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible (Daniel 3:17-18, KJV),

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

The three words "but if not," which I place in bold font, have earned a certain mystique thanks to their potential role in the World War II battle of Dunkirk. But in terms of pure theology, those three words are powerful. The three Jews recognize that God was under no obligation to save them from destruction, but they were under an obligation to obey God.

It's tempting to view prayer as a method to get stuff from God, and certainly some prayers take the form of requests. But prayer is more than the process of making requests. It's deeper purpose involves conforming our will to God's through a life of spiritual obedience. Facing near-certain destruction Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego understood that. Let us try to emulate their example.

The nearness of God

Where is God? In John 4:24 (KJV), Jesus says,

God is a Spirit.

Being a spirit, he is anywhere and everywhere, all at the same time.
God, himself, expresses this concept clearly through Jeremiah (23:23-24, KJV),

Am I a God at hand ... and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? ... Do not I fill heaven and earth?

This omnipresence of God speaks first and foremost to his infinite power. Our finite minds cannot process such infinite presence. But it also speaks to his nearness. Even now, as I type on my keyboard, God is here, watching my actions and reading my thoughts. That should provide motivation for me to remain obedient, but more important, when I stumble, it means that God understands my weaknesses, and is ready to forgive when I confess.

The "nearness of God" is one of his defining features, and one that we should acknowledge in prayer.

But thou didst trust in thine own beauty

In chapter 16 of Ezekiel, God spends verses 1-14 outlining all of the blessings he bestowed upon his people. As we pray today, let us read those 14 verses, pause for a moment, and reflect upon how God has provided for us.

But then continue to verse 15, which begins (KJV),

But thou didst trust in thine own beauty...

So many of our sins stem from this very problem. We gladly accept God's blessings, including the very blessing of being alive. But then we turn our attention and adoration to those blessings themselves, rather than toward he who provided them.

In our prayers today, let us focus (as Paul put it) on the creator rather than the creation.

A famous verse, and a simple prayer

The opening verse of Psalm 118 appears to have been an important part of ancient Jewish prayer, seeing that it appears many, many places throughout the Bible. Even to this day, that verse remains an important part of worship services, whether Catholic or Protestant.

The KJV rendering of that verse reads,

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.

The verse is simple, but spiritually rich. It gives a command for how to pray (i.e., give thanks), and it lists two important reasons why we should give thanks.

The verse also is easy to memorize, and easy to convert to first person for use as a frequent prayer throughout the day. (For example, we can say, "Thanks, Lord, for you are good. Your mercy endures forever.")

However we choose to use this verse, the frequency with which it appears in the Bible strongly suggests its importance. Let us find a way to employ it in our prayer lives.

Two "two evils" we all commit

Staying in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 2, verse 13 (KJV) outlines the double-edge sin we all commit. In the verse, God first says,

For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters...

Note the similarity to the language Jesus uses when speaking at the well with the Samaritan woman (John 4:14, KJV),

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

So the first part of our sin is that we refuse God's life-giving "water." But it gets worse! Returning to Jeremiah 2:13,

...and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

So, not only do we turn our back on God, we search out things to replace him, things that "can hold no water." In our prayers, let us search out times we have committed those sins listed in Jeremiah 2:13, and ask for forgiveness.

A prayer for mercy from Jeremiah

Compared to other Biblical prophets, the book of Jeremiah offers fascinating glimpses into the (often despondent) psychology of its author. Simply put, Jeremiah did not seem to enjoy his job as a prophet!

As an example of a window into Jeremiah's mind, consider his prayer for mercy on behalf of the Hebrew people (Jeremiah 14:20-21, KJV),

We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.

Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.

The first sentence offers a humble acknowledgement of sin. The second sentence asks God to temper his punishment, but note the reason for Jeremiah's wanting mercy. Not because the people deserve mercy. Not because the people promise thereafter to remain obedient. Rather, Jeremiah requests mercy for God's "name sake." Jeremiah requests mercy because humans are the "throne" of God's glory.

The point is, everything we do, including repenting, should be for God's glory, and his glory alone.