ODJ: crashing down

September 12, 2014 

READ: Obadiah 1:1-14 

Even if you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down (v.4).

“We got really good,” Raleigh Becket bragged. He and his brother piloted a “Jaeger”, a huge battle robot that fought massive, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju as depicted in the movie Pacific Rim. In their arrogance, the brothers defied orders and went on a reckless mission battling a huge Kaiju alone. The massive beast destroyed their Jaeger, causing it to come crashing down in defeat. Raleigh’s brother was then killed by the monster while his brother could only watch in horror.
The prophet Obadiah knew all about arrogance. Called by God to deliver words of condemnation to the nation of Edom (Obadiah 1:1), he proclaimed, “You have been deceived by your own pride” (v.3). The people of Edom lived “in a rock fortress . . . high in the mountains”. But God revealed that even the perceived security of their lofty lair couldn’t save them. “I will bring you crashing down,” He told the Edomites (v.4).

God was angry with Edom, for they had failed to help His people in Judah when they were defeated and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. The people of Edom lived in a land near Judah and were descendants of Esau (the brother of Jacob whose 12 sons and their descendants became the 12 tribes of Israel), so God said that they had betrayed their “close relatives” and “stood aloof, refusing to help them” (vv.10-11).

God’s prophetic words came true. Just 33 years after Jerusalem fell to Babylon (aided by Edom), the Babylonians burned the Edomite cities to the ground. The not-so-mighty had fallen.

Pride will ultimately destroy you even if you think you’re “really good”. Don’t test God—humble yourself under His “mighty power” today (1 Peter 5:6).

—Tom Felten

365-day plan› John 13:1-20

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Read Proverbs 29:23 and consider what it says about the divergent destinations of the prideful person and the humble one. 
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What does pride do to your fellowship with God? How can you seek to stay humble even when things are going your way?