The questions are often asked, “What happens to God's people once they have gone through affliction and trial? Does God forsake them? Does He no longer care for them? Does He really care to restore them to a position greater than they were before?” Well, these questions and more are answered for us by Obadiah in the latter part of his great prophecy. Edom has been against Jacob or Israel, and now God is against Edom. Edom is being judged for their actions, and the punishment of Jacob is now replaced with promise that restoration will begin. Obadiah gives us insight into this restoration in verse nineteen of his book where he wrote:
And [they of] the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and [they of] the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead.
We have been studying the reciprocal judgment of Edom for looking upon Jacob proudly, greedily and insatiably over the last few days. Now we see Edom conquered by God completely, and Jacob begins to regain their positions. The first statement from Obadiah is, “they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau”. The very ones who were enjoying and giving aid to the captors of Jacob will lose their land to Jacob. Do we not remember the fortified cities and the vantage point of Edom? Now the promise is that those located in Jacob's south area will take them over.
They also will gain “they of the plain of the Philistines (or Palestine or the Gaza Strip); and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim (the middle portion of Israel) , and the fields of Samaria:(North of Ephraim)”. In other words, piece by piece the land of Jacob will be restored to them. Obadiah continues “and Benjamin shall possess Gilead” (or the northeast portion of Israel). The smallest of the tribes of Jacob will obtain lands currently possessed by others. God is in the restoration business for His chosen people, and nothing that Edom does about it shall prevent it.
Sure, Jacob went through some afflictions, and Jacob suffered the judgment of the Almighty. However, this loving Almighty Father used these afflictions to draw Jacob to a closer walk with Him. No longer would they as a people worship other gods or ignore Him. They now would walk closely with God and realize that He and He alone was their strongest advocate. Because of this restored relationship with God, God brought them back to the places from which they were once taken.
We too may learn from our afflictions. Sometimes afflictions seem so many, however, if we will take a little time to meditate upon it, we may just be like the writer of Psalm one hundred and nineteen where he wrote in verse sixty-seven:
Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept your word.
Our Heavenly Father desires a relationship with us that comes through belief in what His Son Jesus did for us by dying on the cross. Jesus paid the price for our sins, and now we may have fellowship with God. Perhaps our flesh nature will have the attention of God, and we might feel that we have been put aside and made captors. But, we must never forget that the God who restored Jacob to their lands and mended Jacob's relationship with Him is the same God who has His eye upon us. If we are in afflictions right now, if loss has become our growing theme, it may just be that the Heavenly Father is using these things to draw us so close to Him that we will never stray from Him for as long as we live. May we all take inventory today and learn from the lessons of Edom and Jacob.
Next time we will talk more about the restoration of Jacob after Edom is destroyed, 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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