Obadiah 1; Psalm 82; Psalm 83; Acts 19:1-10; Revelation 16:3; NKJV         

Obadiah 1

1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom (We have heard a report from the Lord, And a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying, "Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle"): 2 "Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised. 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?' 4 Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down," says the Lord. 5 "If thieves had come to you, If robbers by night-- Oh, how you will be cut off!-- Would they not have stolen till they had enough? If grape-gatherers had come to you, Would they not have left some gleanings? 6 "Oh, how Esau shall be searched out! How his hidden treasures shall be sought after! 7 All the men in your confederacy Shall force you to the border; The men at peace with you Shall deceive you and prevail against you. Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it. 8 "Will I not in that day," says the Lord, "Even destroy the wise men from Edom, And understanding from the mountains of Esau? 9 Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, To the end that everyone from the mountains of Esau May be cut off by slaughter. 10 "For violence against your brother Jacob, Shame shall cover you, And you shall be cut off forever. 11 In the day that you stood on the other side-- In the day that strangers carried captive his forces, When foreigners entered his gates And cast lots for Jerusalem-- Even you were as one of them. 12 But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress. 13 You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction In the day of their calamity, Nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity. 14You should not have stood at the crossroads To cut off those among them who escaped; Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress. 15 "For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. 16 For as you drank on my holy mountain, So shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, And they shall be as though they had never been. 17 "But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire, And the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, And no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau," For the Lord has spoken. 19 The South shall possess the mountains of Esau, And the Lowland shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim And the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead. 20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel Shall possess the land of the Canaanites As far as Zarephath. The captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad Shall possess the cities of the South. 21 Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion To judge the mountains of Esau, And the kingdom shall be the Lord's.

Psalm 82

1 A Psalm of Asaph. God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. 2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4 Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.5 They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable. 6 I said, "You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. 7But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes." 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.

Psalm 83

1 A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God! 2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. 4They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more." 5 For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You: 6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; 7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah 9Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera, As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,10 Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, Yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,12 Who said, "Let us take for ourselves The pastures of God for a possession."13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like the chaff before the wind! 14 As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire, 15 So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm. 16 Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O Lord.17 Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish, 18 That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth.

Acts 19:1-10

1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." 4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all. 8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

Revelation 16:3

3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

Obadiah is potentially the book with the least focus in church circles. The shortest book in the Old Testament is not even focused on Israel, but the judgment of Edom. If you were paying attention yesterday, you noticed Edom come up during 2 Chronicles 20 and 21. Typically, very little is considered regarding these descendants of Esau, since destroyed as Obadiah predicts.

Much could be said regarding Psalm 82 and angelology, but little will. Suffice it to say, God has other supernatural entities that He stewards some work to, and He does not take kindly to rebellion of any kind. Many skip over this psalm, because it is confusing or short, but miss great value!

Psalm 83 is an interesting Psalm to read the same day as Obadiah and think about the implication of the Day of the Lord. There were other psalms that had this same type of feel, but we are typically out of the flow of reading these psalms now. All of these have value, even if they don't have immediate application!

The verses from Acts today are unique as anything in scripture. This Ephesian Outpouring is as clear of a "rebaptism" and a "subsequent experience" as there is in scripture. Compare that with how Apollos was taught by Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus and the theology of the pentecostal experience becomes more clear from the narrative of scripture.

The single verse of Revelation today actually hearkens back to the Exodus. When the Nile was turned to blood, Pharaoh should have been convinced of God's power. The entire ocean turning to blood is quite incredible, but as you will see, still does not produce repentance, similar to Pharaoh. When God brings all of creation into subjection on that day, He will produce many phenomenal signs on a much bigger scale than the plagues of Egypt, now judging the world.

Some days, like today, may not have two or three natural themes throughout. They may, in fact, be very nuanced or peculiar in their meaning or application. However, this in no way diminishes the importance of that same scripture, and in fact, it increases the value of every single verse.

Want to add a comment or some fresh insight on how God has dealt with you through this material? Click here to add your voice to the conversation and post on our church's Facebook group.