When you meditate upon the words in Obadiah, you will find three important lessons (though God may also give you insights that are more than what He showed me.) The following are the insights I learned from this book.
1. Pride can destroy one's life. God hates pride. It brings one to forget about God, the Giver and Creator of all things. Once a person is on the peak of his/her success, s/he tends to forget God, follow his/her selfish desires. Wealth, fame, and success may replace God's place in one's heart. And this is the reason why such person begins to operate his/her life without regarding if it glorifies God or if it is the right thing to do. When a person starts receiving praises from people, s/he begins to forget that such praises should be pointed to God. In most cases, people are destroyed because of pride.
2. You ought not to rejoice over the failure or destruction of others. Sometimes, people rejoices over the destruction of other people especially if they are their enemies. But in Obadiah, God reminded us that we should not rejoice over their destruction or failures, lest we too may suffer from it. I remember a very important biblical principle, which Jesus Himself told to His disciples: "Whatever you sow, you reap." Or, as Jesus puts it "Do unto others what you would like others do unto you" (Matthew 7:12). Even God Himself becomes merciful and sympathetic towards us when Adam and Eve fell into sin or had disobeyed His commandment. He even immediately offered a way to save them (Genesis 3).
3. The Lord sees the works of the wicked and repays them. God is omniscient. He sees everyone, knows their hearts, and what is in their mind. That's how God is. It is for this reason that He knows each one's work, either bad or good. For those whose works are outside His will, He repays them with His wrath. For the Christians who continue to live a life of sinfulness or who have fallen down into sins, He disciplines them. But whatever it is, God hates sin, and He will repay to everyone who committed it. But thanks be to God, He has offered a way out from it.
To learn more about:
3. The Lord sees the works of the wicked and repays them. God is omniscient. He sees everyone, knows their hearts, and what is in their mind. That's how God is. It is for this reason that He knows each one's work, either bad or good. For those whose works are outside His will, He repays them with His wrath. For the Christians who continue to live a life of sinfulness or who have fallen down into sins, He disciplines them. But whatever it is, God hates sin, and He will repay to everyone who committed it. But thanks be to God, He has offered a way out from it.
To learn more about:
- Pride and its consequences, you may click on this link: http://www.letgodbetrue.com/sermons/pdf/pride.pdf
- Sowing and Reaping Principle, you may click on this link: http://www.consumed.ca/en/law-of-sowing-and-reaping.asp
- God's Character of Omniscience, you may click on this link: http://www.gty.org/resources/Sermons/1353
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