The Deceiver

Obadiah 3,4 "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?' 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."

The shortest book in the Old Testament…Obadiah. No one really knows a lot about this prophet. In fact, no one is really sure when this book was written, but one thing is clear, Obadiah was telling Edom, the descendant's of Esau that they were going down. Why? Because of what they did to Israel (Esau's brother, Jacob). When Israel was being taken captive, Edom did nothing. In fact, Edom rejoiced in their destruction, participated with those who bid for Jerusalem, took their property and cut off roads that they could have used to escape. Jacob and Esau…always wrestling, always at odds. What was behind all of this? Why the animosity? Because of Esau (Edom's) pride. They thought they were hot stuff. In fact, they thought that they were indestructible.

I think that this is interesting to look at because Edom was doing well. In fact, they were living the high life. Their habitation was high. They lived in the clefts of the rocks and ascended as high as the eagle and lived among the stars. I don't think that this meant that they flew. What it meant was that they had it made and they knew it, so much so they got pretty pompous and rejoiced in their brother's adversity. This pride was not just an outward thing, although it expressed itself outwardly. It was an inward thing. It started in the inner man. "The pride of your heart has deceived you." "You say in your heart, who will bring me down to the ground?" This deception began internally and evidenced itself in how it responded to its own family members.

Pride. It's a deceiver. Things go well. Internally, in our heart we think that things are going well because of what great people we are. When this happens, we are done. We think it, we start believing it and then we say it: "I'm pretty good. I've got it made. Look at the stability in my life. Nothing can touch me." Unfortunately, then our actions reveal it in the shameful way that we treat others, even those in our own family.

The result: "Behold, I will make you small…:. V2 "I will bring you down." God does not play with pride. He hates it. "These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: (First on the list:) A proud look…". That is where it all starts…pride, and that is where it will end: "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."

The solution? What I have been writing about in my study of Amos: "I am nothing, God is everything but He wants to make me something for His glory, not mine." That has to be my mindset. That has to be my inner man. That has to be my heart.