(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“‘“Because you have had a perpetual hostility, and have given over the children of Israel to the power of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time of the iniquity of the end, therefore, as I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood will pursue you. Since you have not hated blood, therefore blood will pursue you. Thus I will make Mount Seir an astonishment and a desolation. I will cut off from it him who passes through and him who returns. I will fill its mountains with its slain. The slain with the sword will fall in your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses. I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am Yahweh. “‘“Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries will be mine, and we will possess it,’ although Yahweh was there, therefore, as I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “I will do according to your anger, and according to your envy which you have shown out of your hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them when I judge you.”
(Ezekiel 35:5-11)
“The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord Yahweh says about Edom. We have heard news from Yahweh, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, “Arise, and let’s rise up against her in battle. Behold, I have made you small among the nations. You are greatly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says Yahweh. “If thieves came to you, if robbers by night—oh, what disaster awaits you—wouldn’t they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn’t they leave some gleaning grapes? How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out! All the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you. Friends who eat your bread lay a snare under you. There is no understanding in him.””
(Obadiah 1:1-7)
“Be exalted, God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth.
That your beloved may be delivered,
save with your right hand, and answer us.
God has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph,
I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim also is my helmet.
Judah is my scepter.
Moab is my wash pot.
I will toss my sandal on Edom.
I will shout over Philistia.”
Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?”
(Psalm 108:5-10)
Ego. Assuming that now is the time to go and take what you’ve always wanted because you’re awesome and the other people have been struck down. That was the idea in the minds of Edom. That was the plan of Mount Seir. These peoples were going to swoop down and take the Land since the Israelites and the Judeans were being conquered and taken off in exile. That wasn’t God’s plan. They rejoiced at the downfall of His people and were all set to take the best of best for themselves. But they both had roots in the knowledge of who God was. They both had a history with Yahweh. They should have known better. They should have known He was to be consulted. Nothing could have happened to His people, not even judgment, if He didn’t know it was happening. That automatically means He had some kind of plan. They didn’t ask what it was. They didn’t seek His will. They simply swooped in uncaring about Him or His will. They paid the price.
Because they set themselves against Him, He set Himself against them. Because they were not getting into alignment with Him or seeking to get into alignment with Him, He stood against them. He marshalled His armies. He judged their attack. It could have gone a different way. It could have been an opportunity to get right with Him. To seek Him. To be an instrument of restoration in some way. Perhaps as caretakers. Perhaps as watchmen keeping the Land ready for His people. Instead, they rallied against God and so He responded to them and gave them what they were insisting on.
When the people were unable to defend themselves or their territory, God defended them. God defended the Land. God has promised a return. A renewal. A restoration. He wasn’t going to let that be prevented. It would happen in His time. It WOULD happen. And those who chose to stand against that would be defeated. He would go to battle for His people. He would go to battle for His promise. He would make sure that His Word came to pass. Those that stood against Him fell. Those that tried to take advantage of His people’s misfortune failed. God works to see His Word come to pass. His promises NEVER fail. Ever.
Summary
We can trust God. We can believe God. He is faithful. He is merciful. He is gracious. He is our God and He CAN be trusted. No matter what the circumstances seem to be, God can overcome them. He can go around things, through things, over things, you name it and He can do it. He brings His Word to pass. Every time. If we will listen for what He says and obey what He says, we will see the promise come to pass. Because it WILL come to pass. Don’t mix time with it, mix your trust with it. Believe Him. Obey Him. Stand on the promise. Thank Him for it in advance. You KNOW it will happen, so thank Him. It will arrive. His Word doesn’t fail. When it seems to, it is always because we got it wrong. We appropriate something that isn’t for us, or we claim something He didn’t give us, or we make assumptions and get out in front of Him. That’s not how it works. Holy Spirit will correct us if we listen. And if we listen, we’ll know what to trust because what He says can be believed. Trust Him. Stand on the promises. Thank Him for them. They WILL come to pass. Don’t try and end-run around Him or His Word. That NEVER works.
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