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Lamentations 5:1-22; Obadiah 1:1-21; 2 Kings 25:22-26; Jeremiah 40:7-41:18<\/strong><\/span> Old Testament<\/strong> \u2013 Lamentations Chapters 4 in yesterday\u2019s readings and chapter 5 in today\u2019s are tough chapters to read. We know why everything that we read in these chapters has come to pass from our readings in the book of Jeremiah. I guess the thing personally that jumped out at me today when reading this chapter were these thoughts: Have I personally ever experienced anything like what we read about in this chapter? The answer is no. The second thought or question that came to me, however, was this: Are there people in our world today that are experiencing similar things that we read about in this chapter? And I believe the answer is obviously yes. Not for the same \u201creasons\u201d that Jerusalem was experiencing all of this of course \u2013 but the same experiences of starvation and lack of hope are indeed happening in our world today.<\/span><\/p>\n Today we start and finish the book of Obadiah \u2013 the shortest book in the Old Testament!<\/span>\u00a0 Obadiah was a prophet from Judah, who prophesied against Edom, Israel\u2019s neighbor to the southeast of Jerusalem & the Salt Sea.\u00a0 Edom was a descendent of Esau \u2013 and Israel a descendent of Jacob.\u00a0 Esau & Jacob were the twin sons of Isaac and fought during their lifetimes, and the fighting of the nations of Israel & Edom continued throughout the Old Testament.\u00a0 A quick flashback of Jacob & Esau is here from Genesis 25:23 \u2013 \u201cTwo nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Below is clear map of where Edom was located \u2013 in modern day Jordan \u2013 in relationship to Israel:<\/span><\/p>\n Quick tangent \u2013 This map above, which shows the ancient city of Petra reminds me of an amazing book I read several years ago.\u00a0 It\u2019s called \u201c<\/span>Walking the Bible: A journey by land through the Five Books of Moses\u201d <\/span>by Bruce Feiler.\u00a0 Has anyone read this book by chance?\u00a0 I had a good friend give it to me, and I avoided reading it because it looked kind of long and boring\u2026 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 But it\u2019s not!\u00a0 It\u2019s fantastic.\u00a0 I cannot believe I waited years to read it.\u00a0 In the book Bruce writes about his journey across the land that he takes from Mt. Ararat in Turkey, where Noah\u2019s Ark was thought to have landed, through Abraham\u2019s journey in the fertile crescent to Canaan, to the Israelites going to Egypt, through the Exodus, the Sinai, the Negev, and the finally to Petra and Edom and to the edge of the Promised Land.\u00a0 It is an amazing modern day retracing the steps of the patriarchs!\u00a0 I cannot recommend it highly enough.\u00a0 It\u2019s a nonfiction book.\u00a0 And not really religious per se \u2013 though it\u2019s all about the Bible, so in my mind it was.\u00a0 This is a great read!<\/span><\/p>\n Back to Obadiah \u2013 There is some uncertainty over when Obadiah prophesied.\u00a0 It was either approximately 853-841 B.C. when Edom rebelled against Judah during the reign of Jehoram \u2013 in which case Obadiah would be a contemporary of Elisha.\u00a0 Or, more likely, it was approx 605-586 B.C. when Babylon was attacking Jerusalem \u2013 in which case Obadiah would be a contemporary of Jeremiah.\u00a0 A good overview of the book of Obadiah is <\/span>at this link<\/span>.\u00a0 Verse 11 today tells us this about the reasons for Edom\u2019s punishment \u2013 \u201cFor you deserted your relatives in Israel during their time of greatest need. You stood aloof, refusing to lift a finger to help when foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem. You acted as though you were one of Israel\u2019s enemies.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Verse 15 stood out to me in Obadiah today: \u201cAs you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 This is a good reminder to do unto others, as we would have done unto us\u2026\u00a0 Or, what goes around, comes around?\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 God was upset that Edom sat around and did nothing while their neighbor Israel was attacked.\u00a0 They could have done something, but did nothing.\u00a0 In our world today are our neighbors are being attacked \u2013 or hurt \u2013 or starving \u2013 or dying of disease?\u00a0 If so, should we be doing something about it?\u00a0 Should we be like the Good Samaritan, caring for our neighbor?\u00a0 Who is your neighbor?<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Jeremiah chapter 40 continues with Gedaliah being appointed governor of Judah by Babylon. Gedaliah seems to be a good sort, as he invites the people living in the country side to: \u201cSettle in any town you wish, and live off the land. Harvest the grapes and summer fruits and olives, and store them away.\u201d<\/em> (v. 10). However, things don\u2019t go well too long for Gedaliah, which is sad\u2026\u00a0 Ishmael enters the scene in chapter 40 and into chapter 41, and ultimately murders Gedaliah. This definitely made me sad! Things seemed to be getting a bit peaceful in Judah, and prosperous to a degree. And then evil enters the scene once again\u2026 How many times have we seen this scenario play out over history?\u00a0 Below is an image of Ishmael\u2019s treachery to the remnant of Judah in 41:6 \u2013<\/span><\/p>\n Worship Video:\u00a0 <\/strong>Our Obadiah readings today reminded me of the Delirious song \u201cMajesty.\u201d\u00a0 I had the good fortune to worship to this song with Delirious several years ago just before it was released.\u00a0 They were playing some of their \u201cnew stuff\u201d and this was a great song to worship to live!\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice the crowd in this video is definitely worshiping.<\/span><\/p>\n \n
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