What role does God play in the life of the nations, especially in the way they treat people in the world that God loves?

Read: Obadiah 1:10-14

Obadiah may be the shortest Old Testament book but it has a lot to teach us about God’s radical reign in history and politics.

God loves the people of the world, so he is involved in the politics of the nations and deeply concerned about the way that they behave towards others.

Israel and Edom  were involved in HISTORIC HOSTILITIES. Israel was the nation of the descendants of Jacob, and Edom the descendants of his brother, Esau. Just as Jacob and Esau had quarrelled, so the nations they birthed carried on this historic feud. There was no love lost between them; when the Israelites wanted to pass through Edomite territory (Numbers 20: 14-21), the King of Edom refused and threatened them with violence if they did not turn back. And just to be clear, these are two nations that are closely related.

Worse was to follow, when Edom displayed a stunning BETRAYAL OF TRUST when Judah, the southern and surviving kingdom, was invaded by the Babylonian empire in 586 BC. Psalm 137: 7 tells us that the Edomites encouraged the Babylonians to completely destroy Jerusalem. Then they joined in and attacked Israelite towns in the south, and ambushed refugees, and either killed them or handed them over to the Babylonians.

They thought that they themselves were secure and safe from any attacks, but it turns out they were relying on FALSE SECURITIES. Like so many nations before and since, they had a sense of superiority and pride over all the other nations. They believed that their defences, built in high and inaccessible places made them invulnerable. They trusted their wealth to make them self-sufficient and their knowledge to give them an advantage over other nations. And, just in case, they allied themselves with nations like Babylon so they would be safe from invasion.

So, where is the Kingdom of Edom now?

Along with so many other nations who thought they could do just as they pleased and ignore the existence of God, trusting in their own strength, they have been consigned to the GRAVEYARD OF HISTORY. Their country was annexed by Nabonidus, the last King of Babylon, in 553 BC ( interestingly, Nabonidus was the last King of Babylon because in 539 BC, Cyrus of Persia occupied Babylon and the Babylonian empire also disappeared). Over the years that followed every trace of the Kingdom of Edom disappeared.

Obadiah tells us that the fate of Edom is a picture of all earthly Kingdoms and Empires that believe they can behave just as they please, even persecuting God’s people. But Obadiah finishes his prophecy by reminding us that in God’s radical politics a day will come, as it surely did for Edom, when evil is overcome and faithfulness is rewarded. God is sovereign over human history, and his ultimate purpose is to establish a lasting Kingdom, a place of healing for the nations, where “all who call on the name of the Lord” can live together in peace and harmony under the loving rule of God.

Refugees and asylum seekers are a very present group of people in all the nations of the western world. What is the prevailing attitude to them in my nation?

Have I betrayed my calling to be God’s agent in treating refugees with love and compassion? Have I just gone along with everyone else or have I been prepared to stand out when necessary?