One of my most recent areas of study has been trying to fully understand the book of Obadiah in the Bible. In case you’re wondering, yes, it is a real book. It’s entirely possible that you’ve gone your entire life without reading it. It rarely gets used in church services because, well, I think it points out an obvious, yet uncomfortable truth about what God asks of us that Jesus references continually much to the chagrin of the Pharisees or the religious elite.
The book of Obadiah starts out with a pretty grim outlook. God himself isn’t exactly the happiest character at this point. He is frustrated with the descendants of Esau and how they treated their distant relatives, the Israelites. We are told that some stood aloof, while others shared in the destruction of Jerusalem (Obadiah 1:10-14). But why would God be frustrated and angered by their actions and inactions? Well, I think this points us to a truth that in order to uncover, we must first go all the way back to Genesis to fully understand.
Most—hopefully all—Christians know the story of Jacob and Esau. We are well aware that Esau sacrificed his future for a small, temporary meal. And, we all laugh at his terrible choice because we think we wouldn’t do the same exact thing. The unfortunate truth is that we are all guilty of sacrificing part our God given futures of hope and love for a little moment of comfort.
What gives me hope about the story of Jacob and Esau, and ultimately Obadiah, is that in spite of every action and inaction, God was always present, using terrible decisions for good. Just go back and read Genesis and you’ll slowly realize that God used a pretty shady person—and all of his other shady and fallen descendants—to usher in a world that would be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ.
Jesus didn’t come from a line of righteous people. He came from a line of people that we would all probably try to avoid; he came from a line of those who fell short every day. Yet, in spite of all of their failures, God used them. To me, that is the biggest and most obvious theme of Obadiah.
Of course God had already chosen Jacob and his family to father in an entire nation and the Messiah, but we can’t forget that God also had his hand on Esau and his people as well. Just because we don’t acknowledge someone doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. Ignoring something or someone still implies that there is something out there that we are turning away from.
Esau may have had a different path in life, but the end of the day, if we are to believe that God is the God of all, He must also have His hand on even those that we deem the most defiled or broken. In spite of all of the awful choices that we all make, God offers us peace, love, and mercy. The story of Obadiah just reiterates the story of Genesis itself. Do as you must, strive as you please, you will always fall short. In spite of that fact, God will always use you for His goodness even if you can’t see the little glimmers of His love just yet. Discipleship seems to be more akin to cooking a meal in a faulty Crock Pot as opposed to being a microwaveable TV dinner. There might be days where it seems like the Crock Pot isn’t working, but what matters is that your meal is still in the Crock Pot. As long as you’re there, there is always hope on the horizon for you to become what you are destined to be. If you’re making a TV dinner that cooks in 3 minutes, prepare to get something similar to the soup Jacob gave Esau. It will hold you over and taste fine for a moment, but once you eat it, you’ll probably want to pass on the next chance you get to eat one—especially if you check out the ingredients.