Anglican Devotional 30 May 2024: God’s Judgment Over The Of His People Faith Zone

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 30 May 2024 – God’s Judgment Over The Enemies Of His People

TOPIC: God’s Judgment Over The Enemies Of His People

READ: Obadiah 1:1-14 (NKJV)

The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the LORD, And a messenger has been sent among the nations, [saying,] “Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”):
“Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised.
The pride of your heart has deceived you, [You] who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; [You] who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
Though you ascend [as] high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down,” says the LORD.
” If thieves had come to you, If robbers by night — Oh, how you will be cut off! — Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape-gatherers had come to you, Would they not have left [some] gleanings?
“Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! [How] his hidden treasures shall be sought after!
All the men in your confederacy Shall force you to the border; The men at peace with you Shall deceive you [and] prevail against you. [Those who eat] your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it.
“Will I not in that day,” says the LORD, “Even destroy the wise [men] from Edom, And understanding from the mountains of Esau?
Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau May be cut off by slaughter.
” For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever.
In the day that you stood on the other side — In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem — Even you [were] as one of them.
But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress.
You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction In the day of their calamity, Nor laid [hands] on their substance In the day of their calamity.
You should not have stood at the crossroads To cut off those among them who escaped; Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress.

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THE MESSAGE:

Understanding the historical relationship between Edom and Israel will help us to understand the animosity that the Edomites had towards Israelites, which later resulted in their destruction. Esau was the father of the Edomites and Jacob the father of Israel. It seems that Esau’s anger towards his brother, Jacob, was passed on to his descendants. The Edomites seized every chance they had to fight Israel. They did not only rejoice over Israel’s captivity, but also took over his possession. Therefore, because of their evil behaviour, God condemned them to termination as a nation. God sent nations to rise up against them in battle, to make them small and to bring them down completely (verse 1, verse 2 & verse 4). The fulfilment of their destruction happened about A. D. 70 when their land was ruined economically by the Arab invaders and later conquered by the Romans.

It is time Christians should beware of God’s judgment that begins even from this world. Christians should beware of their actions to their neighbours while avoiding issues that can transpire between families and eventually lead to generational battles. God is a Righteous Judge; He will surely judge everyone according to their wickedness against their neighbours.

God encourages brotherly love among brethren so that people can live together in peace and harmony. Christians should also learn not to take laws into their hands, especially at this trying period when we face persecutions from other faiths but rather call upon God to fight against the enemies of Christian faith.