Pride will bring Calamity

Obadiah verses 1-4

Do you recall the great old hymn “It is no secret what God can do?”  It is also no secret what hate in a family can do!  But often when we see families that have distain for others in the family, it can be traced back to someone wronged a family member, and a feud is on going between them. 

It began with a mother that favored one son, and a dad who preferred the other, and they were Isaac and Rebekah who had twin sons, Jacob and Esau.  It is also good to remember that hate is like gossip, it’s not always founded in truth.  Now Esau was known as Edom and from him came the Edomites, and we also know that the Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel, and from him came a people called the Israelites, and the brothers never got a long and neither did the two nations that came from them.  In 586 B.C., the Edomites were rejoicing when Judah was over-run and taken captive by the Assyrians, in fact, they even assisted the Assyrians by capturing fugitives.

What we know about Obadiah is that he spoke what God put into his heart, no other information is known about this prophet.  The book of Obadiah is the shortest in the Old Testament and it focuses exclusively on the nation of Edom.  It seems that this took place between 585-550 B.C.

Remember this is God speaking through His prophet Obadiah, to the nation of Edom, as we look at the first four verses.  “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: “Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”  Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised.  The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.” (Obadiah 1:1-4 ESV)

I do not believe I am in error when saying that any nation that is an enemy of Israel is also an enemy of God, look at the promise God made to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3.  The battle call is not against Israel, but Edom, and for many reasons, but “the pride of their hearts is the root cause, God tells us that pride is a deceiver, and it makes us put faith in things that cannot protect us.  As I read this my mind went to our Nation, have we not also been deceived by our pride to believe many lies?  Have we not put pride in our wealth, our homes, our military, and some even in our very corrupt government?

My hope is that you understand, “It is no secret what God can do” and pride will bring calamity to a nation, a people, a church, a business, and a family.  I enjoy reading what others have said on the subject of pride, “Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.”  Thomas Merton   Saint Augustine had this to say on the subject; “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”  And Blaise Pascal’s quote is a great summation: “Jesus is the God whom we can approach without pride and before whom we can humble ourselves without despair.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice