____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ May 4, 1997 ____________________________________________________ Special Series: Minor Prophets (#2) Obadiah's Prophecy by Jon Quinn The shortest book in the Old Testament is the book of Obadiah. It was written about five centuries before Christ and deals with some things that were going to happen to the ancient kingdom of Edom, and has some things to say that are needful for today. Not only does Obadiah deal with the coming destruction of the nation of Edom, he also tells why God is so angry with them. However, it is the end of this short book that captures our attention as it foretells of the coming of God's kingdom and salvation for those of all nations. Not only did the prophecy of Edom's destruction come to pass just as predicted, so also did the prophecy of salvation find its fulfillment in Christ Jesus. Historical Background ``The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom-'' (Obadiah 1). The nation of Edom was made up of the descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob and the son of Isaac. Jacob, from whom the nation of Israel came, and Esau seemed to be in constant competition with one another. This friction began while they were yet in the womb (Genesis 25:22-26). Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew because he thought he was so hungry. Hatred and bitterness existed on the part of Esau toward Jacob after that, and grew in its intensity after Jacob tricked him out of his father's blessing. Esau wanted to kill Jacob and so Jacob fled and did not return home for many years. The book of Hebrews warns Christians not to belittle the value of spiritual blessings and uses Esau as an example: ``That there be no immoral or godless person like Esau who sold his birthright for a single meal'' (Hebrews 12:16). It seems as if the nation of Edom had adopted their ancestor's lack of morality and spirituality. As the descendants of these two individuals grew into nations over the centuries, they were separated from one another by Israel's servitude in Egypt. It was during the Exodus that the two nations first came into contact. Israel expected Edom's cooperation because of their common heritage through Isaac, but the Edomites were hostile. When asked for permission to pass through their land on the way to Canaan, Edom refused and threatened to attack (Numbers 20:14-21). In the future, Edom would delight at any calamity that would befall Israel, at times joining with Israel's enemies in looting the land. Finally, Edom was conquered by David (II Samuel 8:14). Edom successfully revolted years later during the reign of Jehoram, but soon both Israel and Edom became subjects of Babylon. Interestingly enough, Edom became known as Idumea from which the Herods came who ruled when Jesus lived. Edom's Transgressions ``The arrogance of your heart has deceived you... because of the violence to your brother Jacob... foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem -- you too were one of them....'' (Obadiah 3,10,11). Edom had become a carnal people with no thought given to loyalty, justice or mercy. With greed they would look upon the possessions of others, happy to take advantage of the misfortune of others to enrich themselves. They were extremely prideful thinking themselves indestructible. They were wrong about that as Obadiah warns and history bears out. Edom was prideful (vs. 3). The wise man said, ``Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud'' (Proverbs 16:18,19). Pride was the source of Edom's weakness. Edom was violent (vs 10). Edom's children grew up in an environment of violence and a ``might makes right'' attitude. Certainly such attitudes were displayed toward one another as well as outsiders. Edom gloated over their brother's disaster (vs. 12). They rejoiced over the disaster of others. Instead of compassion there was rejoicing. Edom was a cruel and callused people. Edom joined in looting Israel (vs 13). Self interest brought about treachery. It was a nation without ethics or principles. Edom oppressed the fugitives (vs. 14). Edomites would set up ambushes to attack fleeing refugees to rob, kill or enslave. For these reasons God promises to send judgment upon Edom. ``The day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done unto you. Your dealings shall return on your own head'' (vs. 15). Edom would dismiss the warning. Their arrogance would not allow them to admit the possibility of their defeat. Their high mountain fortresses make them impervious to attack. Yet the Lord promises to bring them down (vs. 3,4). Modern Applications ``For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope'' (Romans 15:4). God promises to bring judgment upon Edom. God continues to involve Himself in human events as His purpose dictates. I do not suppose it would have been easy for the Israelite of Obadiah's day to find much evidence of God's intervention, but later Israelites would be able to look back and see it. Sometimes I suppose it is difficult to see God at work in our own world. Part of the reason is that we do not know all the end results toward which God is working. Also, we do not see things as God sees them and our ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8). Additionally, God achieves His purposes sometimes by direct intervention while at other times simply by permitting things to occur. For example, He permitted Judas to betray His Son because the betrayal advanced His purpose to provide the world a Redeemer. The point is this: Do not think that God's purposes will be thwarted by man. Even when our nation and world seems to be going in the opposite direction from which they should, trust God to achieve His purposes, and live by faith. Another point is how God looks upon actions and attitudes such as pride, indifference toward others' misfortune, and greed. To be envious of our brothers or sisters or to be bitter toward them is un-Christlike and shameful. In Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan He shows in the conduct and attitude of the priest and Levite how ungodly it is to be able to help a brother in need but refuse (Luke 10:31-32; see also Philippians 2:2-4; James 3:14-15; I John 3:14-16; 4:20,21). Mount Zion ``But on Mount Zion there will be those that escape, and it will be holy...the deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the kingdom will be the Lord's'' (Obadiah 17,21). In the final section of the book of Obadiah there is a prophecy concerning the Lord's coming kingdom. Note several aspects of this prophecy and its fulfillment in Christ: ``And the house of Jacob will posses their possessions.'' (vs 17b). The house of Jacob refers not merely to the physical descendants of Israel, but to spiritual Israel, the redeemed in Christ (Luke 1:33). ___________________________________________ PUTOFFITIS by Dee Bowman That looks like a hard word, right? It's what we might call ``a big word,'' right? Well, look at it again. It's just two little words and a suffix. It's put, off, and itis. The Greek suffix itis is common vernacular in this age, especially when it relates to disease. Actually the meaning of it is ``disease of.'' So we speak of tendon-itis, which is an inflation of a tendon, or eye-ritis, which is a disease associated with the eye. There is a common disease among Christians which I have chosen to call Putoffitis. It is the tendency to put things off, to wait until later, to procrastinate. The things involved are ofttimes things that are important and need immediate, sometimes urgent attention. Like lots of itises, it's something all of us suffer from time to time. Like many health problems, one of the best ways to combat this subtle but very pervasive disease is to be aware of its symptoms and catch it early. SYMPTOMS OF PUFOFFITIS Poor concern for important things. If we are not careful the insignificant, the irrelevant, the unimportant will slide in and take control of our thinking. The number of admonitions in the New Testament concerning this proclivity should serve to emphasize the constant need to be aware of its possibility. Paul said, ``If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above...set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth'' (Col. 3:1). And ``think on these things,'' he said, ''...true things, honorable things, just things, pure things, lovely things, and things of good report'' (Phil. 4:8). In a stern warning, he also said that ''...to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace'' (Rom. 8:6). Most putting off is done because we prefer to think about the wrong things. Slow attention to opportunities. Favorable circumstances don't often repeat themselves; after they come, they are apt to disappear never to come around again. Further, opportunities don't hold their value very long. To put off grasping the occasion will often result in that occasion softening or not being as suitable as it once was. James says, ``to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, it is sin'' (Jas. 4:17). One of the biggest excuses for losing opportunities is ``I intended to.'' Intentions are often lost in Putoffitis. Selfishness. I tried to think of several ways to say that and it just came out selfishness. Most procrastination is based on a selfish choice regarding the use of our time. Oh, we believe in God and we acknowledge Christ as Lord, we just don't have time do what needs to be done--at least not right now. Do you know anyone who doesn't intend to get right with God eventually? This kind of selfishness caused the demise of the rich man (Luke 16). And James warns, ``Go to now, ye that say tomorrow we will go into such a city...'' for, says he, ''...ye know not what shall be on the morrow.'' We suffer from Putoffitis when we put off things. What if there is no tomorrow? What then? REMEDIES FOR PUTOFFITIS Develop the habit of beginning today. There is no command of God on which you cannot begin today--right now, in fact. Name one. There is no reason for delay. Let us ''...exhort one another daily, while it is called today...'' (Heb. 3:13). It's late, folks. We best be about doing what we can while we can. Don't listen to the Devil. The Devil is the fomenter of Putoffitis, he is its chief mentor, its strongest advocate. He's so sneaky! You see, he doesn't really care how strongly you believe, or how much you love God, or how firmly attached you are to the word of God. If he can just get you to put off doing anything about those things, he can accomplish the same ends he would have had he caused you not to believe. Just be ready (Eph. 6:11) when he comes around. Keep your eyes on the goal. When you can see a possible victory, you don't stop and gaze around about it, you press toward it. Discouragement, on the other hand, will cause the goal to be hazy, far away, distorted; and that will cause you to lose interest and veer off the path. Paul said, ``I press toward the mark...'' (Phil. 3:14). Pressing is hard; but the goal is worth it. Keeping your head up when things are hard is not easy; but the reward for having done it makes it worth it. Stay around those who're doing something. If you hang out with folks that suffer from Putoffitis, chances are you will suffer from the same malady (I Cor. 15:33). But if you hang around with enthusiasm, you'll be enthusiastic. If you associate with fervor, your heart will burn too. If you run alongside motivation, you can't help but want to finish too. It's just a good thing to be with those who're doing things and be separated from those who're not. -- Via Online Southside Reminder ___________________________________________ NEWS & NOTES June Music passed away April 29, after having been more than two years and three months in a local convalescent home (the best one I've ever seen, I might add). During that time, her son Ron, who is a member with us, visited her virtually every day -- even when she could no longer respond. We extend our condolences to her immediate family, other relatives, and friends. Others who have passed away recently: Forrest D. Moyer, April 30, of a heart attack; Bill McCuistion, April 30, of cancer; Dan Haynes, April 28, also of cancer. Let us be praying for all who have lost loved ones. Prayer requests have been made by several people for David Allen who has been made terribly ill by an ``unknown parasite,'' which has caused him to lose 30 pounds and be depleted of all fat and nutrient reserves. He has been in constant pain, has suffered diarrhea for 7 weeks, is very limited as to what he can eat, and has had to make 5 trips to the emergency room. Mark Roberts writes, ``One of our families has a four-year old girl, Lauren Solomon, who has been diagnosed with a massive brain tumor. The cancer has spread in her little body, and is fast growing and very aggressive. Yesterday the doctors decided to go ahead and start radiation IMMEDIATELY instead of waiting three months as originally planned because it is spreading so fast. All of this has happened in the last 10 days and the family is just devastated.'' If you are visiting with us today, we are glad to have you. Please come again. Free Bible courses can be mailed to you upon request. Feel free to ask. A Bible film slides series could be shown in your home, if you live nearby and would desire this. Do you live in our area and need a ride to church? One of the members here would be glad to provide you with transportation. Just let us know. Christians, pray for everyone! (cf. 1 Timothy 2:1-4). ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@wwd.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.wwd.net/user/tedwards/go ________________________________________