WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Close your eyes and wait for God. He’s there, whether you have a sense of his presence or not. Use that knowledge to quieten your busy thoughts.

Justice will come
Obadiah’s prophecy contained four elements commonly found in many of the Bible’s prophetic books: the promise of judgement, the reasons for judgement, a description of what that judgement would be like, and the promise of deliverance and restoration.

It’s a pattern that helps us readers to make sense of the world we live in. Things don’t just happen randomly. Evil may seem to have the upper hand for a while, but in the end it won’t go unnoticed or unpunished. There will be justice. But justice, as the Old Testament portrays it, can sometimes appear to be as thoroughly unforgiving and violent as the wrong it punishes.

Ray of grace
However, that’s not the end of the story. There is a deeper message here. It’s not just a question of tit for tat. Cutting across the cycle of wrongdoing, judgement and punishment chronicled by Obadiah is a startling ray of grace.

God’s new kingdom will come, a kingdom in which old enemies and rivals will be brought together, rescued and united (v 21). Under God’s rule, the law of love and grace trumps all other laws. It’s revolutionary and life-changing. It points forwards to the new covenant under Jesus Christ.

Respond: Bring to the Lord any thoughts or actions that you are ashamed of today. It’s OK – he knows about them already. Are you ready to receive his forgiveness and make a new start?

http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-09-01