A Man Named Obadiah

The wrath of God poured out on the enemies of Israel

by R. Douglass Mahaffey
    
    When God sets His plan in motion, He normally uses the most unlikely people to perform His will through. But one thing is always consistant. His actions are just and He wiil receive glory from them. Take the minor prophet Obadiah for instance.
     Obadiah was an Edomite, (the people from the decendants of Esau. He converted to Judaism and was sent a message from God in a dream about the assured destruction of the Edomites for their constant antagonizing of the Jews.
     Obadiah's own people turned their backs on him and did not heed the warning from God. Their immanent destruction was a choice they made on their own by hardening their hearts and not changing their ways.
     As Obadiah, whose name literally meant "servant of Yaweh," had prophesied, God's wrath against the Edomites came to pass, just as was explained in Obadiah 1:15: "For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head."
     God's actions will always line up with His word, and you can bet His glory will be delivered unto Him, and those who seek to follow in His will are going to be blessed.
     I am often times perplexed when I hear a person ask, "If God was such a loving God, then why would He send someone to hell?"
     They obviously don't understand the nature and the heart of God. God's will is that no man should perish. He doesn't want anyone to die and go to hell. Man, because of a hardened heart and a sinful desire, brings that fate on himself by rejecting the blood sacrifice that Jesus paid on the cross.
     If they would only open their hearts and see that God's will for their lives is perfect, they might would submit to that perfect will. But arrogantly, people say, "Well, I've made my peace with God and we have an understanding."
     Do they really? It seems as though the deal is one sided and the sake of convenience is embraced.
     When Obadiah gave God's message to the Edomites, he had hoped that they would have listened. Had they, God would have withheld His wrath as He did against Ninevah when they heeded the message Jonah gave them about their coming destruction if no change came to meet God's will. If their salvation was possible by their obedience, so is ours.
     When we open our eyes to the truth, and allow our hearts to harken to the voice of God, the fruit of the spirit is planted. When we exercise that fruit, there is growth and oneness with the spirit. If not, the Bible says in Romans 1 that God will give us up to a reprobate mind and give us over to our sin.
     What fruits are we bearing when we walk according to the flesh? We are bearing fruits of Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
     But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.