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Friday, July 31, 2015

And The KINGDOM Will Be The LORD'S Forever





Obadiah 1:1-21







Obadiah’s Vision







1The vision of Obadiah.


This Is What The SOVEREIGN LORD Says about Edom—


We have heard a message from The LORD:
An envoy was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”—
2“See, I Will Make you small among the nations;
you will be utterly despised.
3The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocksa
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’







4Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
from there I Will Bring you Down,”








Declares The LORD.





5“If thieves came to you,
if robbers in the night—
oh, what a disaster awaits you!—
would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
would they not leave a few grapes?
6But how Esau will be ransacked,
his hidden treasures pillaged!
7All your allies will force you to the border;
your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread will set a trap for you,b
but you will not detect it.






8“In that day,” 

Declares The LORD,

“Will I Not Destroy the wise men of Edom,
those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?






9Your warriors, Teman, will be terrified,
and everyone in Esau’s mountains
will be cut down in the slaughter.

10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob,
you will be covered with shame;
you will be destroyed forever.

11On the day you stood aloof
while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.

12You should not gloat over your brother
in the day of his misfortune,
nor rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their destruction,
nor boast so much
in the day of their trouble.

13You should not march through the gates of MY people
in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity
in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
in the day of their disaster.

14You should not wait at the crossroads
to cut down their fugitives,
nor hand over their survivors
in the day of their trouble.

15“The Day of The LORD Is Near
for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds will return upon your own head.

16Just as you drank on MY Holy Hill,
so all the nations will drink continually;
they will drink and drink
and be as if they had never been.

17But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;
it will be holy,
and Jacob will possess his inheritance.
18Jacob will be a fire
and Joseph a flame;
Esau will be stubble,
and they will set him on fire and destroy him.
There will be no survivors
from Esau.”




The LORD Has Spoken.





19People from the Negev will occupy
the mountains of Esau,
and people from the foothills will possess
the land of the Philistines.
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan
will possess the land as far as Zarephath;
the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will possess the towns of the Negev.
21Deliverers will go up onc Mount Zion
to govern the mountains of Esau.



And The KINGDOM Will Be The LORD'S.










Obadiah




Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament, is the pronouncement of doom against an ancient and long-forgotten nation, the land of Edom. But there is more to this book than that. The Scriptures have that beautiful faculty of appearing to be one thing on the surface, but on a deeper level, yielding rich and mighty treasures. That is certainly true of this amazing book of Obadiah.

We know very little about Obadiah except that he was one of the minor prophets (the twelve). There is a reference to a prophet Obadiah in the days of Elijah and Elisha and there is some thought that perhaps he is the same man. The name Obadiah was a very common name among the Hebrews though, and it is very likely this is not the same prophet, for in this book Obadiah mentions the day when Jerusalem was destroyed, captured by the alien armies, and that occurs long after the time of Elijah and Elisha. So most Bible commentators believe the author of this book was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, the last of the prophets before Israel went into captivity.

The name Obadiah means "the servant of Jehovah;" he fulfills the position of a servant. He comes and does his work and fades into the background; he delivers his message and he is gone. And that is about all we know about the man behind this book.

The book of Obadiah tells the story of two nations, the nation of Israel and the nation of Edom, the country to the south of Israel that is now usually referred to as the Negev or Negeb. Through this ancient land of Edom the Israelites marched as they came into the land of Israel out of the captivity and slavery of Egypt. As they came into the land they had difficulty with the Edomites; they were enemies of Israel from its very beginning.




1:1-16 This prophecy is against Edom. Its destruction seems to have been typical, as their father Esau's rejection; and to refer to the destruction of the enemies of The KINGDOM of CHRIST.


See the prediction of the success of that war; Edom shall be spoiled, and brought down. All the enemies of GOD'S Kingdom shall be disappointed in the things they stay themselves on. GOD Can easily Lay those low who magnify and exalt themselves; and will do it. Carnal security ripens men for ruin, and makes the ruin worse when it comes.


Treasures on earth cannot be so safely laid up but that thieves may break through and steal; it is therefore our wisdom to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Those that make flesh their trust, arm it against themselves. The GOD of The Covenant will never deceive us: but if we trust men with whom we join ourselves, it may prove to us a wound and dishonor.


All violence, all unrighteousness, is sin; but it makes the violence far worse, if it be done against any of GOD'S people. Their barbarous conduct towards Judah and Jerusalem is charged upon them. Those have a great deal to answer for who are idle spectators of the troubles of their neighbors, when able to be active helpers.




1:17-21 There should be deliverance and holiness at Jerusalem, and the house of Jacob would again occupy their possessions. Much of this prophecy was fulfilled when the Jews returned to their own land. But the Salvation and Holiness of The Gospel, its spread, and the conversion of the Gentiles, seem also to be intended, especially the restoration of Israel, the destruction of antichrist, and the prosperous state of the church, to which all the prophets bear witness.


When CHRIST Is Come, and not till then, shall The KINGDOM Be The LORD'S in the full sense of the term. As none that exalt themselves against The LORD Shall Prosper, and all shall be brought down; so none who wait upon The LORD, and put their trust in HIM, shall ever be dismayed. 


Blessed be The SAVIOR and Judge on Mount Zion! HIS WORD shall be a savor of life to life to us, while it judges and condemns obstinate unbelievers.







CHRIST Restores The David's Shelter To HIS KINGDOM




Amos 9:1-15 NIV








Israel to Be Destroyed





1I saw The LORD Standing by the altar, and HE Said:







“Strike the tops of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads of all the people;
those who are left I Will Kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.

2Though they dig down to the depths below,
from there MY Hand Will Take them.







Though they climb up to the heavens above,
from there I Will Bring them Down.







3Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
there I Will Hunt them Down and Seize them.







Though they hide from My Eyes at the bottom of the sea,







there I Will Command the serpent to bite them.







4Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I Will Command the sword to slay them.







“I Will Keep MY Eye on them
for harm and not for good.”


5The LORD, The LORD ALMIGHTY
HE Touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;







6HE Builds HIS Lofty Palace in the heavens
and Sets its foundation on the earth;







HE Calls For the waters of the sea
and Pours them Out over the face of the land—







The LORD Is HIS Name.


7“Are not you Israelites
the same to ME as the Cushites ?”




Declares The LORD.







“Did I Not Bring Israel Up from Egypt,







the Philistines from Caphtord
and the Arameans from Kir?

8“Surely The Eyes of The SOVEREIGN LORD
Are On the sinful kingdom.
I Will Destroy it
from the face of the earth.






Yet I Will Not Totally Destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”








Declares The LORD.





9“For I Will Give the Command,
and I Will Shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain is shaken in a sieve,
and not a pebble will reach the ground.







10All the sinners among MY people
will die by the sword,
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’







Israel’s Restoration




11 “In that day

I Will Restore David’s fallen shelter—
I Will Repair its broken walls
and Restore its ruins—
and Will Rebuild it as it used to be,







12so that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations that bear MY Name,e 





Declares The LORD, WHO Will Do these things.





13“The days are coming,” 

Declares The LORD, 


“when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman







and the planter by the one treading grapes.







New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,
14and I Will Bring MY people Israel Back from exile.






“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.







They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.







15I Will Plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I Have Given them,”






Says The LORD your GOD.














9:1-10 Amos, in vision, saw The LORD Standing Upon the idolatrous altar at Bethel. GOD Will Set HIS Eyes Upon them for evil, not for good. Wretched must those be on whom The LORD Looks for evil, and not for good.


The LORD Would Scatter the Jews, and Visit them with calamities, as the corn is shaken in a sieve; but HE Would Save some from among them. The astonishing preservation of the Jews as a distinct people seems here foretold.



9:11-15 CHRIST Died To Gather together the children of GOD that were scattered abroad, here said to be those who were called by HIS Name. Verses 13-15 may refer to the early times of Christianity, but will receive a more glorious fulfillment in the events which all the prophets more or less foretold, and may be understood of the happy state when the fullness both of the Jews and the Gentiles come into The KINGDOM of CHRIST. Let us pray for the fulfillment of these prophecies, in the peace, purity, and the Beauty of HIS KINGDOM on earth.


GOD Marvelously Preserves HIS elect amidst the most fearful confusions and miseries. When all seems desperate, HE Wonderfully Revives HIS church, and Blesses her with all spiritual blessings in CHRIST JESUS. And great shall be the glory of that period, in which not one good thing promised shall remain unfulfilled.





 



What is the purpose of GOD in the earth in this hour? Is it a restoration of the “Davidic Tabernacle” with twenty-four hour worship and prayer? 


Discussions on this often draw from Acts 15:16-17. After this I Will Return, and Will Build Again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I Will Build Again the ruins thereof, and I Will Set it Up:” (Acts 15:16 KJV)


Examining this passage, many believe there needs to be a restoration of the Davidic Tabernacle. 


In David's Tabernacle worship and prayer continued endlessly. The chronicler writes, “Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night.” (1 Chronicles 9:33). 


There is much good to be gained from the 24/7 worship model established on patterns of the Davidic Tabernacle. Active, heart felt worship and an ongoing experience of the presence of GOD is truly something to be celebrated. 


Yet, as edifying as worshiping in a “Tabernacle pattern” might be, it is not the ultimate intent of this significant passage. 


To understand GOD's Intent, the original wording of this passage should be examined. Rather than referring to “David’s Tabernacle” as the King James puts it, the original language refers specifically to David’s Succoth.” 


 

What Was David's Succoth? 

 

In studying the scriptures we find that Succoth was a strategic city on the east side of the Jordan valley.


First of all, the city of Succoth figured prominently in the Patriarch Jacob’s travels. Jacob went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth” (Genesis 33:17).  


Later it was important in the military campaigns of Gideon. Gideon took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers.” (Judges 8:5-16)


However, David, who is the primary reference of the text, used the city of Succoth as a strategic staging area to attack the enemies of Israel. This “town of tents” became closely associated with David’s military victories. 


Thus, the rebuilding of David’s Succoth would not herald the restoration of the Davidic Tabernacle. Rather, it would herald the restoration of the “Davidic Kingdom.” 




 
How David's Succoth Applies to Us 




The prophecy of Acts 15:16-17 (along with its foundation in Amos 9:11-12) isn't about establishing worship communities that operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; it is about a manifestation of the Reign of GOD through The MESSIAH.


This understanding makes a lot more sense as one examines Amos 9:11-12 in the New Living Translation. The passage reads:


In that day I Will restore the fallen kingdom of David. It is now like a house in ruins, but I Will Rebuild its walls and Restore its former glory. And Israel will possess what is left of Edom and all the nations I Have Called To Be Mine. I, The LORD, Have Spoken, and I Will Do these things.” (Amos 9:11-12 NLT)


Rather than focusing on “Tabernacle worship,” believers need to focus on “KINGDOM” engagement. It seems that few are aware that David’s Succoth is already being established right now through JESUS and HIS Body—the Church. 




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Amen.