Sunday
School Lessons
Commentary by Walter Albritton
August 3
Pride Can Destroy Us and Separate Us from the Mercy of God
Obadiah 1-21
Key Verse: As you have done, it shall
be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. – Obadiah 15
Today’s
lesson presents us with the temptation to spend too much time on the identity
of the prophet Obadiah and the nature of this shortest of all the Old Testament
books. As always, our time will be better used to ask what the Lord is saying
to us, about our lives and our destiny, in these 21 brief verses.
With
that in mind, consider these observations as worthy of our careful reflection:
1) A proud heart will deceive you and
eventually God will humble you.
Pride leads to destruction. Yet we are all tempted to
think we can manage our lives without God’s help. Satan tries to persuade us to
believe his lies. Constantly, he says, “You do not need to humble yourself
before God. Be your own person. Live your life on your own terms. The
traditions of your parents are old-fashioned; do what you want to do. Do what
feels good to you. The Christian religion is a lot of Do’s and Don’ts designed
to squeeze the joy out of life. It is
foolish to give money to the church since it is filled with hypocrites. Your
money belongs to you. You earned it. You have a right to spend it on
entertainment, traveling, or gambling – whatever appeals to you. You are not
some silly little ‘steward’ whom God will hold accountable for your actions.
You do not have to try to please God. You can do what pleases you.”
The Edomites were proud. They ignored the chance to be
charitable. They chose instead to be ruthless and heartless, all the while
supposing no one could bring them down from their lofty perch. However, they
were wrong. One day God said, “I will bring you down,” and He did.
Peter was much smarter than the Edomites. He refused to
believe Satan’s lies. He chose to live as a servant of Jesus Christ. He saw the
danger of pride and the wisdom of humility:
“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,
because ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:5-6).
2) God’s judgment will fall upon us if we
refuse to lift a finger to help our brothers in their hour of need.
The words of Jesus are strikingly similar to what Obadiah
said. The prophet said, “As you have done, it shall be done to you.” Jesus
said, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the
measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2).
Again, in the passage about the sheep and the goats
(Matthew 25), Jesus makes it clear that those who ignore the needs of others
will be punished, while those who reach out to the needy will be rewarded.
Both Obadiah and Jesus warn us not to stand by with out
hands in our pockets, doing nothing, while people all around us are suffering. Therefore,
the question looms before us always: Shall we believe the lies of Satan, and live
for ourselves, or shall we believe Jesus and do what we can for “the least of
these,” our brothers? The choice we make will determine our eternal destiny!
3) Finally, God will have the last word.
Obadiah begins by
declaring, as all the prophets did, the Word of the Lord: “Thus saith the Lord
God concerning
Whatever the ugly behavior of people, God would have the
last word. What mattered was not what people did but what God said and did
ultimately. Evil will not win at last. Satan and his lies will be exposed and
the One who is “The Truth” will live and reign forever.
Terrible things happen in the world. Wickedness seems
often to have the upper hand. Eventually, however, right will prevail, love
will win, and the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our Lord
and Christ.
Until that day, may the Lord save us from sinful pride,
and from trusting in our own righteousness. May the Spirit move us to humble
ourselves under the might hand of God so that we may be numbered among his
sheep in that final judgment! + + + +