Daily Devotional For Friday, August 28, 2026
Good morning Southside! Thank you for taking the time to join us in our daily devotional. Today, we are going to look at Obadiah 1:15-16:
“The day is near when I, the LORD, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads. (16) Just as you swallowed up My people on My holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history.”
When was the last time you read any Scripture from Obadiah? A few days? A few weeks? A few months? A few years? Or, never? Obadiah is part of what we call the “Minor Prophets.” Of all the prophetic books, it is the shortest. Yet, even in its shortness, it is packed with God’s Word. This book is very similar to the prophetic book of Joel and Amos. Much of the Scripture here lets us know that Obadiah was an eyewitness to the 3rd and final military campaign by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Judah in 586 BC. In this final and 3rd campaign, Nebuchadnezzar and his military leveled Jerusalem.
The very nations God had used to discipline His people, God would then bring judgment against these very same nations. The book depicts God’s judgment against the nation of Edom primarily. We do not know much about Edom other than Edom over the centuries had an unhealthy and unstable relationship with Israel and Judah. When Assyria came in 722 BC to attack and conquer Israel, Edom joined Israel in a joint attack against Judah (2 Chron. 28:1-21).
Edom was always looking out for themselves when invading armies came. Edom joined Judah as an ally against Babylon in 587 BC (Jer. 27:1-15), but as the Babylonians were becoming more successful, Edom joined Babylon against Judah (Lam. 4:21-22; Ezekiel 35). God was about to bring justice against Edom for their willingness to join alliances against Judah. What Edom did against Judah, God did the same thing against Edom as well. So, how does all of this relate to us some 3,000 years later?
- First, God is a God of justice. He will not tolerate any sin, not even the sin of the most devout Christians such as Billy Graham or David Jeremiah. God is a God of mercy, grace, forgiveness but He is also a God of wrath. Scripture warns us that our salvation from the Lord is not a license for us to sin (Rom. 6; Gal. 6:7; Matt. 7:15-20; & 1 John 2:19). Believing you can make a decision as a child or teen and then leave obedience to Jesus Christ for most of your life may indicate you were never belong to Jesus at all. Jesus says everyone will know we are His by the spiritual fruit of obedience in our lives.
- Second, one day God is going to right all this wrong, sin and evil in this world. This is the point of Revelation 20:7-15 and Revelation 21:1-4. This is almost impossible for us to conceive – existence without sin, evil, temptation, death,disease, the demonic and the devil. We get to go back to the way God had intended from the beginning with Adam and Eve.
It is so easy for us to blame Adam and Eve for bringing sin into the world, but the truth is every person has perpetuated sin in their lifetime. So, when we get to heaven and walk up to Adam and Eve, we may say to them, “What were you thinking?” Well, they could say the same thing to us also. Hopefully when we get there, we will just praise God that we are in heaven.
Reflection Assignment: How conscious are you of your own sin? Would you say you sin less or more now? As we mature in Christ, we should be sinning less but feel more guilty when we do. Why? Because we are pursuing righteousness more rather than unrighteousness. Does this describe you? Why or why not?
Scripture To Meditate On: Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, thank You that one day You are going to bring in a new order and way of living for all of us. Thank You that one day death, sin and evil will be forever gone. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly