Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the Lord’s. Obadiah 21 (NIV).
This last verse of Obadiah is a prophecy of the Christ. It is a prophecy that has been both fulfilled and is awaiting fulfillment. In verse 21, the deliverer is the Lord Jesus Himself, who spent much of His earthly life in the Temple, which was built on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. He delivered His people out of Babylonian exile back to their home. That plays into how the verse is awaiting fulfillment in Jesus’ Kingdom-yet-to-come. We separate ourselves from Him through sin; we’re back in exile. When Jesus returns, everything – us, land, everything – will be under His realm as He makes the world the new Zion.
Think about that a little and maybe you’ll see the fruitlessness of sinful rebellion. The more I think about it, the more I think that all sin is just a variation of idolatry. All sin is simply what results when we put ourselves in God’s place, thinking we’re better than Him. It’s as old as mankind itself, because that was mankind’s original sin. Indeed, it was the original sin of Lucifer, who was cast out of heaven for wanting to be God. Idolatry and the pride-child born of it were the worst sins of Esau. Idolatry fly-papers itself onto every one of our sins as well.
And Jesus vanquished sin, restoring the balance relationship between ourselves and God. He conquered death: the outcome of sin. He removed the barrier that our sins put between Him and us, making it possible for each of us to stand before God guiltless once again. White lies? Paid for. Murder one? Paid for. Cheating, lying, porn addiction, and watching Bridgerton? All paid for.
Paid in full so that we can stand on Zion with Him unafraid. We who exiled ourselves away from Him by our sinful choices will return home because “home” will be wherever He is. Search inside yourself and, if you believe in Jesus, you already know this to be true. Indeed, when Obadiah prophesies here about the Jesus, who he didn’t even know yet, he’s prophesying about our destiny as well. We’re a part of His eternity now because He saved us. We did nothing to earn it, but He did it anyway. When Jesus returns, everyone (even the unrepentant) will know that He who stands atop Zion is the Lord and Savior of all. So repent, now, and enjoy being saved.
And so ends the tiny book of Obadiah. Next, we move to the story of an angry man, a fish, and what God teaches us through them.
For further reading: Judges 3:9, Psalm 22:28, Malachi 1:14. Revelation 11:15, Jonah 1:1
Bless, O Lord, the words of Obadiah so that they may be a blessing to others who read them.
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Practical Proverbs 