Obadiah and the Sovereignty of God

The book of Obadiah may be my favorite book of the Bible – and not because it is the shortest! 🙂 Ultimately, the message of Obadiah is about pride and those who are destroyed because of it.

Obadiah is a beautiful picture of the sovereignty of God, and fills me with such peace in knowing that God is in complete control, He has a plan, and His plan will be fulfilled.

Remember that God said, “Jacob have I loved. Esau have I hated.” God’s plan is not about fairness, and that means our lives are not about fairness. It is about the will of God and the fulfillment of His eternal plan – the one you and I are not privy to beyond what is in the Holy Scriptures. (Reference Romans 9:11-18)

There is a test and it refers to our reaction to God’s sovereign choices. We are not to have an overly inflated view of our own role in God’s plans and would do well to remember that even though God hated Esau, He let him have great wealth. Esau was wealthier than Jacob. But still, God hated Esau. The wicked whom God hates often have greater wealth or better lives on earth than those that God has chosen, but the end of the wicked is destruction, not eternal life.

The brothers represent a great divide – an unscalable fence between two types of people down through the ages. This isn’t a divide of races or nations or cultures – it is a spiritual divide. Esau represents those who know God’s sovereign choices but stand opposed to His plans. Jacob represents those who know God’s sovereign choices and accept God’s sovereignty and His right to bestow blessings as He wishes. These people are in step with God’s divine purposes.

God accomplishes His will despite our sin and despite our cooperation. The Esau’s of this world are out-of-step with what God is doing and either willingly or ignorantly oppose His will. Regardless of their behavior or beliefs, God motivates human beings to accomplish His will and purposes. Remember Pharoah? Nebuchanezzar?

God will intervene to bring justice upon those who mistreat His chosen ones, and He will complete the work He has begun, accomplishing His plans and purposes and, ultimately, bringing about eternal glory for all who stand with Him.