The Cross will bring All Things Down

11/21 Reading Portions: 1 Chronicles 16; James 3; Obadiah 1; Luke 5

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11/21 Reading Portions: 1 Chronicles 16; James 3; Obadiah 1; Luke 5

Listen to the audio devotional above, and/or read the written devotional below.

Obadiah 4

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.

EDOM

Obadiah’s prophecy, or “vision” (Oba 1), was about the nation of Edom. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob and the eldest son of Isaac. Esau’s name was changed to Edom when he sold his birthright for something to eat (Gen 25:30). This was what Adam did when he sinned in the garden. In Hebrew, Edom and Adam have their origin in the same root word.

Esau (Edom) was an unholy and sexually immoral man of fleshly desires (Heb 12:16). He wanted the blessings from God, and even sought them with tears (Heb 12:17), while he refused to give the God of those blessings glory and honor since the “root of bitterness” sprang forth from his worldliness (Heb 12:15). All his worldly accomplishments would come to nothing, even if those achievements would rise as high as the soaring aloft like the eagle. Even though Edom eventually made his nest among the stars, ruling in Judea as kings during the days of the Lord Jesus’s incarnation, YHVH God brought Edom down for his pride and rejection of the gospel.

We should heed this prophetic word as a warning. Although we have been saved by God’s grace in Christ, we should not allow our achievements and accomplishments to fill our hearts with pride. If we do, our Redeemer will bring you [and me] down to a place of thankful humility. We must ever keep in mind the truth of God’s grace:

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 1 Corinthians 4:7

While the apostle had accomplished much by God’s grace, he moreover stated,

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14

Hallelujah! What a Savior! May we, as Paul, find our only boast in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Though like an eagle we may soar
And among the stars we nest,
It’s Christ our Lord we must adore
And upon His grace we rest.

“The Cross will bring All Things Down” Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash