December 13

OT: Obadiah 1:1-21

Wow, Obadiah is short! As a result, the intro material I read on it was even shorter. I thought Harris' material was so short that I looked at another book, An Introduction to the Bible, by Fant, Musser, and Reddish. It was even shorter than Harris! Neither of them had anything about the author, but they both did say that the book most likely was written shortly after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 587 BC. Apparently, Edom joined in the plunder and otherwise gloated over Jerusalem's defeat, and that was not cool. It was especially insulting because the Edomites were said to be descended from Esau, Jacob's brother. Apparently, the Israelites were expecting more brotherly conduct, but I seem to remember some prophecy about the descendants of Jacob and the descendants of Esau always butting heads. So perhaps Edom's behavior should come as no surprise.

Regardless, God condemns it and tells Edom that they will be paid back for what they did. And...that's about it for Obadiah.

NT: Revelation 4:1-11

Today, we get into some of the crazy stuff of Revelation. The scene is the throne room of God. God is depicted only as having "the appearance of jasper and carnelian." I'm not sure what carnelian is. His throne is encircled by a rainbow, with four eye-covered beings flying around it, singing,

"Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come (8)"

Around the throne, there are also 24 other thrones, occupied by elders. There were also seven lamps, which were "the seven spirits of God" (5). And a sea of glass.

As to the exact nature of the arrangement, or to what all of these things represent, I have no idea. It clearly seems, though, that the point of the passage is to convey the magnificence and awesome nature of God. Sometimes, we modern Christians forget the wonder and might of God, thinking of Him instead as a buddy or something. And though He does, of course, love us beyond all measure, He is still a Being to be feared and obeyed.

Psalm 132: 1-18

A psalm in honor of David and of the covenant God made with him.

Prov. 29: 24-25

When you choose to be an accomplice to evil, you become your own enemy. And fear of others will prove to be a snare. I like both of those proverbs.