There is nothing hidden from God. Nothing. He sees all, knows all, and no one, no where, in no manner can keep anything outside of His knowledge. Some of us may think that a little frightening, and others may find it comforting. Edom has been indited by God through the prophet Obadiah as being presumptively proud, self-reliant and insatiable. They believe themselves to be beyond anyone's reach, and they have no problem wanting more and more and more. Our flesh and satan can also be this way – prideful and never satisfied, and as we continue to study through the book of Obadiah, we will discover that nothing we do or nothing we may hide is hidden from Him. Obadiah wrote in verse six of his prophecy:
How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
Obadiah begins Edom's revelation with “How are the things of Esau”. Notice with me first that Obadiah reverts to the original name of Edom - “Esau”. Esau as we learned earlier means “hairy”, and we referred to how his name was changed to Edom or “Red” after he sold his birthrite to his brother Jacob for a simple bowl of red pottage. We also found that Esau was a type of the flesh or “our flesh nature” in the Bible, and because we live in our flesh today's verse should have particular interest to us.
Obadiah goes on to say, “the things of Esau are searched out”. In other words, the things of Esau are found out, discovered, and revealed. Although Esau or Edom thought themselves to be hidden, God has exposed them and their charateristics. The writer of the book of Hebrews penned these words in chapter four and in verse thirteen:
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Edom thought themselves outside of God's judgment and revelation, but they were not. They thought their sins were invisible, but they were not. God has exposed them.
Next Obadiah says “how are his hidden things sought up!”. The idea here is that they are bubbled up from beneath the surface. Like an under ground geyser that burst forth from the Earth's surface, Edom's sin is uncovered and revealed. Although Edom thought themselves to be clandestine, their little and not so little secrets were now made open for all to see.
Sometimes we can be like Edom or Esau. We may have secret sins about which we believe no one knows. We may have “pet” sins that we justify or excuse and think that they are hidden. They are not, and should God reveal them, all of us would become extremely guilty. Sometimes the best way to deal with sin and our sin nature is to reveal what is really there, and then allow God to deal with it. This manner is used by God with some of us. He so desires a relationship with us that in order to break through our stubbornness and pride He will humble us by exposing something that we would rather He not. In speaking of conforming to the laws of God Moses wrote in the book of Deuteronomy in chapter twenty-nine and verse twenty-nine:
The secret [things belong] unto the LORD our God: but those [things which are] revealed [belong] unto us and to our children for ever, that [we] may do all the words of this law.
God exposed the secret things that He knew of Edom or Esau, and now their judgment was impending. They should have conformed to God's law, but now they will pay a price for not doing so. Today may we consider passionately those “secret sins” that we may possess, confess them, and ask God to purify us and cleanse us before He tells everyone everything He knows.
Next time we will begin to see the fall of Edom and the manner in which it plays out, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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