Jump Start # 1206

Obadiah 15 “For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head.”

  Obadiah is that tiny minor prophet that is tucked in between Amos and Jonah. It’s one of the early prophets. It is one of the few one chapter only books of the Bible. It was written concerning the prideful nation of Edom. It shows that God was not exclusively focused upon Israel during the Old Testament period. The judgments against Edom were because of how they had treated Israel. Their arrogance moved them into a position where they thought they were untouchable. They were by most nations. They weren’t by God.

In a series of “do not’s” the prophet pronounces:

• Do not gloat over your brother’s day, the day of his misfortune
• Do not enter the gate of My people
• Do not stand in the fork of the road to cut down their fugitives
• Do not imprison their survivors

Then comes our verse. God will treat you the way you have treated Israel. Getting what we have done is a theme in the Bible. In James, the Bible declares that God will have no mercy for the merciless. In Matthew, the way we judge will be the way we are judged. In the prayer that Jesus taught, forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven others. Jesus further added to that, “if you do not forgive others, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

There is a connection between how we treat others and how God treats us. We cannot be bad toward others and expect God to be good to us. Thinking poorly of others…ignoring the needs of others…talking mean about others…and then thinking that God will embrace us because we are His people doesn’t fly with what the Scriptures teach.

The rich man in Luke 16 ignored poor hurting Lazarus who was laid at his gates. The poor man died. His death wasn’t noticed or even a concern for the rich man. Then the rich man died. He received exactly what he had done for Lazarus—no comfort, no compassion, no help. Alone in his agony, he begged for help. No one would be sent. He received as he did.

I think if we truly believed this principle, it would change the way we looked at others and what we did. Turn the conversation to national politics and all kinds of ugliness comes out. It’s easy to see the faults and mistakes of others. It’s easy to throw stones at others. It’s easy to point the judgmental finger at others. We recognize why others are so wrong. We have a hard time seeing anything wrong with what we do, especially  those judgmental attitudes. Remember, the way you treat others is a reflection of how God will treat you.

Now, there are a couple of qualifiers here:

Just because I am nice, sweet and generous with others does not mean that God will grant me Heaven. I must walk by faith and obey Christ. Goodness alone doesn’t open Heaven’s gate. Faith in Christ is a must. Cornelius, from Acts 10, was a very good man. He was generous, devout, and even prayed. However, he was not saved. Had he died, he would have died lost. There are many Cornelius’ today. Great people. Best neighbors. True friends. They’ll do anything for you. They are kind, helpful and a joy to have in your life. Most would think that they are saved. Why? Because they are so good. Goodness is never good enough for God. Sins, we all have them, have destroyed our relationship with the Lord. Only Christ can save us. All the great neighborly things a person can do will not cover the sins one has committed. We must believe and walk with the Lord.

God allows judging. That shocks some folks. They have the notion that Christians aren’t supposed to judge, period. Ever. Now they can judge Christians for judging, but the Christian isn’t allowed to judge. That’s the most common thought on the street. So the atheist can flaunt his shallow and fake theories, but if a Christian challenged those theories, he’s wrong for judging. Really? The same goes for the same-sex crowd. They are allowed to say anything they want—false, prejudiced and untrue as it may be. That’s allowed. That’s freedom of speech. But if a Christian were to respond, especially by pointing out that same-sex marriages aren’t approved in the Bible, they scream homophobia, judging and the wrath of the media swoops down and belittles the Christian until he is silenced. Wrong. God allows judging. It must be done properly and be based upon His word. When Jesus said to beware of wolves in sheep clothing—that necessitates some looking, comparisons, and judging. There is no other way. When the Bible speaks of fellowship being based upon walking in the light, there is some determination that must take place. How do you know if I’m in the light and how do I how that you are in the light unless we do some looking, considering and judging.

Judging to condemn…judging without taking thought to self…judging to put one down, be mean, or to make one look better than others, is not what we are talking about here. Yes, that judging is condemned. Treating others as we would want to be treated, the golden rule, helps keep all of this in check. Edom wasn’t doing that in our passage. They were harsh to Israel. They were cruel to Israel. They afflicted and hurt Israel. God was going to do the same to them. How they treated, was the way that they were going to be treated.

So, watch what you say about others. Watch your attitudes today. Don’t be mean toward others and think that God will smile upon you. There is a connection between how we treat others and how God treats us.

Roger