This is the tenth lesson in a series of lessons on the book of Obadiah. In this lesson I’m going to look at verse 10 and talk about the danger of opposing the Jewish people.
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Transcript:
Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. This is the 10th lesson in a series of lessons on the book of Obadiah. In this lesson I’m going to look at verse 10 and talk about the danger of opposing the Jewish people.
1Cor. 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
This verse tells us the things written in the Old Testament are examples for us to learn from. What I’m going to look at in this lesson is an example in Obadiah of somebody being punished because they opposed the Jewish people. I’m going to start by looking at verses in the book of Genesis which tell us God extended special protection to the Jewish people. Then I’ll read the verses in Obadiah that give an example of what happens when someone opposes the Jewish people. Then I’ll talk about what this means for you and me living in the 21st century.
Gen. 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram,
“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3 And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
We see here a promise to Abram that whoever blessed Abram would be blessed and whoever cursed Abram would be cursed. That promise was given to Abram. Abram had a son named Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob. Here are some verses that tell us the promise was extended to Jacob.
Gen. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come close and kiss me, my son.”
27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said,
“See, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed;
28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the fatness of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;
29 May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
Be master of your brothers,
And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
And blessed be those who bless you.”
We see the pronoun you multiple times. While it refers to Jacob, it also refers to Jacob’s descendants. Jacob was also named Israel. All of Jacob’s descendants are the Israelites. We see the blessing here on the Israelites was that peoples would serve them, nations would bow down to them, and they would be master of their brothers.
We also see at the end that part of the blessing was that anyone who cursed the Israelites would be cursed, and anyone who blessed the Israelites would be blessed. Those verses show us that God extended special protection to the Israelite nation and the Jewish people. Now let’s take a look at an example of what happens to someone who does not treat the Israelites properly.
Obadiah 1:10 Because of violence to your brother Jacob, shame smothers you and you will be cut off forever.
We see here that because Edom did violence to their brother Jacob, they were going to be cut off forever. That happened to Edom because God had promised that whoever blessed the Israelites would be blessed, and whoever cursed the Israelites would be cursed. When Edom decided to attack and plunder the Israelites, they were punished for that.
Now let’s talk about what this means for you and me. First of all, it means we should not oppose the Jewish people. There are Jewish people living in many countries around the world. Those countries need to be very careful how they treat the Jewish people in their midst. Likewise, individuals need to be careful how they treat the Jewish people in their midst. There’s a lot of anti-semitism around the world, and being anti-semitic is dangerous because God extended special protection to the Jewish people. Anyone who is anti-semitic does so at great risk to themselves.
It also means we should not oppose the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel is a nation in the Middle East. There are many countries who are enemies of and against the Israelite nation. That is very dangerous because God promised to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. Any country that opposes Israel, mistreats Israel, and attacks Israel puts themselves in great danger because God may decide to punish them just as He punished Edom.
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