Bible Recap Week 27

This week on Bible Recap with Pastor Julie, we journey through the short but powerful book of Obadiah and discover that family conflict isn't just a modern struggle—it's woven throughout Scripture. As we explore the story of Edom, we're reminded that while earthly families may disappoint, betray, or fail us, our Heavenly Father never will.

Obadiah's very name means "servant of the Lord," a beautiful reminder of who we are and to whom we belong. As God's covenant people, we can rest in the truth that He never leaves us, He always hears us, and He remains faithful in every season.

Edom believed they were untouchable, but God Himself declared that their pride would bring them low. True biblical wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, and although Edom knew who God was, they chose pride over repentance and rejected His invitation to come to Him.

Join Pastor Julie as we uncover how pride, betrayal, and revenge never have the final word. Instead, God's justice, mercy, and faithfulness prevail. We'll also connect Obadiah's message with Psalm 83, which reminds us that the Lord alone is the Most High over all the earth.

No matter what family struggles you've experienced, this episode is a powerful reminder that your identity is found in belonging to God's family—and His faithfulness never fails.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everyone, and welcome to the Watertick Bible Recap Podcast. This is Pastor Eric, and I'm really glad you're listening. This podcast is one of the tools that we're using this year as we read through the Bible together. It's a chance for us to think about last week's reading. What's standing out to you? What's confusing? What might God be saying to us along the way? One of the things that we are focused on in the reading is what does our reading say about God? We call it God's God. How is it helping you trust God? I believe relationships move at the speed of trust. So the more you go to relationship with God, the more you know God, and the more you trust them. My hope is that along with this podcast and other tools that you're using, you're going to grow in God. God is a dictionary guide, which means to live and to love like Jesus. So this time is a workout. A workout that builds muscle so you can live like Jesus. Love like Jesus. I love spending time in the Word with you like this. So let's get started.

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This week marks an exciting milestone. We have now read 17 books of the Bible. I don't know if you caught that this week, but 17 books of the Bible, and we're officially halfway through the Old Testament. So give yourselves a pat on the back, do a little happy dance. You have been reading God's word for half of the year. Um, and that deserves a celebration. And if you're anything like me, I like to look at my Bible from where we've started, and now my bookmark is literally right in the middle of the Bible, and it just it is amazing to see um all that we've learned. So today I'd like to focus in on the reading that we did from Obadiah. We know that it's the shortest book in the Bible, but not to let its length fool us, right? Because it carries a powerful message. So if you'd walk with me through the studies that I did, um here we go. Obadiah is family drama. Right? When I'm reading Obadiah, I am thinking, wow, this is family drama. And I think most of us know what it feels like to live through some kind of family drama. Nearly every family has stories of broken relationships or betrayal, bitterness, relatives who simply stop speaking to one another. Or maybe you've heard the stories down the line, you had family that wouldn't speak to each other or over one simple thing. Sometimes it's a death in the family, and all of a sudden it's just separation. And um sin has affected every family tree. Every single one. Obadiah reminds us of another family conflict that we read about previously in our reading, right? Jacob and Esau. The nation of Edom descended from Esau, making them Judah's closest relatives and at this moment closest neighbors. Yet instead of helping God's people in their time of need, they celebrated their downfall and even participated in it. So one truth that stood out to me in this reading was that earthly families may fail us, but when we belong to God's family, he never abandons his children. Right? The reading, 2 Chronicles 20, 12, where God's people are crying out in their helplessness, and God hears them. Throughout scripture, God is faithful to his covenant people, and we are now his covenant people. Something that stood out to me also before we even get into the reading was that Obadiah's name means servant of the Lord. So even his name is there to remind us whom we belong to. All right, so let's break down verses one through four. Edom had become incredibly confident, right? Did you see that? They're they're like nothing can touch us. They lived in mountain fortresses that seemed impossible to conquer. Their security wasn't found in God, it was found in geography, military strength, and their own pride. And pride is always dangerous. Scripture consistently teaches that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And Edom believed that they were untouchable. Yet God Himself declares that he will bring them down. And when God is opposed to something, there is no fortress high enough, right? As we keep moving forward through verses five through seven, um, one detail that really stood out to me and caught my attention was that Edom's downfall would not primarily come from obvious enemy enemies. We've seen throughout scripture, we know the enemies and who is, I guess, quote unquote, good and who is bad. Um, however, this one says that hey, your downfall is gonna come through people you know, your trusted allies. Verse 7 literally says, All your allies will force you to the border, your friends will deceive and overpower you. Those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it. The people they relied on would betray them. It reminded me a little bit of Job's friend. Do you remember the reading of Job? Sometimes the deepest wounds come from those that are closest to us, and that stings. But our ultimate trust was never meant to rest in people, alliances, or influence, but it was meant to rest in God alone. So let's keep moving. Verses eight through nine. God is saying that he will remove both Edom's wise men and mighty warriors, he's removing them all. And we've been talking about Proverbs and learning about wisdom, and we know that wisdom does not simply mean intelligence. Biblical wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, which we know they did not have. Edom had plenty of worldly confidence, but they lacked godly wisdom because they had rejected the dependence on God. They knew the stories, they knew the family history, so they knew who Yahweh was. However, they chose pride and rejected dependence on God. Verses 10 through 15, this section explains why judgment is coming. Travel back with me to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 23, verse 7. It says, Do not despise an Edomite, for the Edomites are related to you. So verse 10 in Obadiah, it points directly to violence against their brother Jacob. The Lord wanted peace between Israel and Edom, right? They're relatives. God is saying, Hey, you both came from Abraham. The family relationship made Edom's betrayal more heartbreaking. And then verse 11 teaches something really important. It's talking about strangers carrying off the wealth and foreigners entering the gates, the destruction of Judah. And so sometimes we think we're innocent because we didn't actively participate in the evil. However, we see that Edom just stood there and watched and they refused to help. Yet God holds them accountable not only for what they did, but also for what they failed to do. And then it gets darker. Verse 12 describes them rejoicing over Judah's disaster, right? They mocked, they celebrated, they took advantage of their suffering. Verse 13 says something interesting. So it reads, You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over them in their calamity. There is a wordplay here with the word calamity. Um in the Hebrew, it gets lost in translation into the English. But there's the wordplay is actually calamity resembles the name Edom. The cleverness of Obadiah. Right? So this reinforces the message, that central message, that Edom's mockery of Judah's destruction, it's gonna rebound upon themselves. By embedding the nation's name within the very word, describing their coming judgment, Obadiah creates this poetic justice because Edom's name becomes inseparable from their own calamity. So instead of showing compassion for their neighbors, for their relatives, they act more like looters after a disaster, right? Taking advantage of someone else's pain. Verse 14 might even be the hardest verse of all. Because Adam actually captured fleeing survivors and handed them over to be killed. Their betrayal reached its fullest expression. Then in verse 15 comes one of those major themes of the book. As you have done, it shall be done to you. Right? This reflects what has often been called the principle of retribution. God is perfectly just. Sin always, always has consequences. And God's justice is never arbitrary. Moving on to verses 16 through 18, Judah's future is very different from Edom's. Not because Judah deserved it, they had also sinned greatly, and they will continue to. And history bears this out. So the Edomites later become known as the Idumeans. I hope I'm saying that correctly, but they become known as the Ijumeans, okay? In the New Testament, when we read about the Herods, King Herod, or any of those, when it says Herod, they are descended from them. But then after the Jewish-Roman wars, Edom disappears from history. Just as Obadiah foretold. So one of the biggest takeaways for me was that pride, betrayal, and revenge never have the final word. God does. And another scripture that stayed with me was 2 Chronicles 7:14, because it reminds us what God's people are called to do. If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves. Humility is the opposite of Edom's pride. As we finish Obadiah, we're reminded that kingdoms will rise and they will fall. Families may disappoint us, and even the strongest fortresses eventually will crumble. But God's kingdom, God's kingdom stands forever. And the king is coming back. So let's be people who walk in humility and trust him completely and remember his faithfulness in every season. That wraps up today's Bible recap. Thank you for the opportunity to walk through Obadiah with you.

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Keep digging into God's Word, and I'll see you next time.waterZ.ca. And you can listen to our weekly message on any platform under the Water's Edge website or by downloading the Water's Edge app.