prophecy

Not chosen

The prophecy about Edom recorded in the book of Obadiah was a result of the nation’s rebellion against Judah (2 Kings 8:20). Edom, also known as Esau, was the older twin brother of Jacob who sold his birthright for a bowl of soup (Genesis 25:32-33). Esau was predestined to serve his younger brother, and yet, he refused to accept his position. The struggle between the two brothers was manifested in hostility between their two nations, and after Israel went into captivity, Edom sought to take advantage of Judah’s misfortune.

Edom made the mistake of aligning itself with the world powers hostile to God and his kingdom. Therefore, the nation was doomed to destruction. Instead of defending their brother nation, Edom joined a confederacy that stood against Israel and made a pact to support their enemies. It says in Obadiah verse 10, “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever.”

Like a gambler that makes a wager against his own team, Edom showed no loyalty to God’s chosen people, but rather reveled in the thought that they would be beaten by their enemies. Since a time had already been set for his people to be justified, God made it clear to the nation of Edom that they had chosen the wrong side. “For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy reward shall return upon thine own head” (Obadiah 15).

While the foreign nations may have been able to claim ignorance about God’s plan for the nation of Israel, Edom could not. As descendants of Abraham, the people of Edom were aware of the promise God made to bless his chosen people. Jealousy and envy caused Edom to resent the choice God made. The nation, like their forefather Esau, could not get over the fact that God was in control and he would decide their fate. “And there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it” (Obadiah 18).

Edom could have been saved if they would have continued to serve Judah. It was because they broke away and became hostile to Israel that they were condemned. The problem was that Edom wasn’t interested in God’s mercy. God’s plan for Israel included salvation for the gentiles. The only requirement was that they had to submit to God and do things his way, but Edom would not. “And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s” (Obadiah 21).

Tell me the truth

The story of Ahab’s death provides a rare glimpse into the inner workings of God’s heavenly kingdom. The prophet Micaiah in explaining why he didn’t tell Ahab the truth about what was going to happen to him, describes a scene in heaven in which a spirit is charged with enticing Ahab to go to battle against Syria.

Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. Then there came out a spirit and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him wherewith? And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt prevail: go out, and do even so.

Micaiah’s description of heaven indicates that all the host of heaven was standing before the LORD as he sat upon his throne. This picture of divine judgment shows that God, as ruler of the universe, is in charge of all spiritual activity. All spirits report to him, including Satan (Job 1:6). Therefore, the lying spirit was accomplishing God’s will when he told Ahab’s prophets to say “Go up; for God will deliver it into the king’s hand” (2 Chronicles 18:5).

Ahab was upset when Micaiah told him the truth. It says in 2 Chronicles 18:17 that “the king of Isreal said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophecy good to me, but evil?” Ahab thought the message was good from his prophets because they said he would win the battle and the message from Micaiah was evil because he said Ahab would lose. What was actually important was that Ahab knew the truth, so he could make a good decision.

I don’t think Ahab understood the purpose of the message Micaiah gave him. It was meant to be a warning, a glimpse into the future so that Ahab could avoid disaster. Instead, Ahab chose to ignore Micaiah’s prophecy and attacked Syria anyway. Ahab thought he could achieve a different outcome, that he could make the false prophecy come true (2 Chronicles 18:26), but he was killed just as Micaiah prophesied.

The nameless prophet

King Jeroboam’s pagan practices did not go unnoticed by God, in fact, God sent a prophet to deliver a personal message of judgment (1 Kings 13:1). Strangely though, the judgment would not come for another three hundred years (2 Kings 23:15-20). Instead, God wanted to get Jeroboam’s attention and see if he would repent.

God’s messenger remains nameless and is referred to only as “a man of God” (1 Kings 13:1). The term “man of God” is a common way of referring to a prophet, but I think it is interesting that in this particular situation the prophet’s name is withheld. After delivering his message to Jeroboam, the man reveals that he is not allowed to go home with Jeroboam. “So he went another way, and returned not by the way he came to Beth-el” (1 Kings 13:10).

The Hebrew word translated returned is shûwb (shoob). “The basic meaning of the verb is movement back to the point of departure” (7725), so it is clear that God did not want the prophet to go back to anyone’s home after delivering his message to king Jeroboam. It is possible that the prophet’s life might have been in danger, but more than likely, God was trying to prevent him from compromising his integrity with the people of Israel.

It says in 1 Kings 13:11 that an old prophet dwelt in Beth-el. The reason God did not use this man to deliver his message to Jeroboam was that he had become untrustworthy. The old prophet intercepted the man of God on his way out of Beth-el and invited him back to his home. “He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him” (1 Kings 13:18).

False prophets had probably become common place in Israel due to their pagan worship. The man of God’s message might have been ignored because of his disobedience, so God punished him for going to the old prophet’s house. “And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way and slew him: and his carcass was cast in the way” (1 Kings 13:24).

No Secrets

I’m very glad that God doesn’t keep secrets from us about what he intends to do in our lives. The gift of prophecy is his way of letting us know what he knows about the future that is of concern to us. More than 20 years ago, I had a dream, I believe a prophetic dream, about my future. Although I didn’t understand everything the dream was communicating to me, I knew it was intended to be a guide that I could follow to assure me that God’s will was being carried out.

It is clear that Solomon was familiar with the books of Moses because most of the content of his prayer of dedication of the temple can be found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In particular, Solomon focused on prophecies that were given to Moses about Israel after they had settled in the Promised Land. The key issue in Solomon’s intercessory prayer was Israel’s repentance. He prayed to the LORD God of Israel:

If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; and so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive…Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people that have sinned against thee. (I Kings 8:46-50)

It was no secret that the Israelites would go into captivity, therefore, Solomon prayed as if it had already happened and asked the LORD in advance to forgive them.