July 1 — The Kingdom Shall Be the Lord's
SCRIPTURE READING:
Obadiah; Psalms 82-83
SCRIPTURE:
Obadiah 1:¹ The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.
Obadiah 1:² Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.
Obadiah 1:³ The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Obadiah 1:⁴ Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
Obadiah 1:⁵ If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, ( how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?
Obadiah 1:⁶ How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!
Obadiah 1:⁷ All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
Obadiah 1:⁸ Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
Obadiah 1:⁹ And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
Obadiah 1:¹⁰ For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
Obadiah 1:¹¹ In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
Obadiah 1:¹² But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
Obadiah 1:¹³ Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
Obadiah 1:¹⁴ Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
Obadiah 1:¹⁵ 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 1:¹⁶ For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
Obadiah 1:¹⁷ But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
Obadiah 1:¹⁸ And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
Obadiah 1:¹⁹ And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
Obadiah 1:²⁰ And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
Obadiah 1:²¹ And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’s.
Psalm 82:¹ God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
Psalm 82:² How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
Psalm 82:³ Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Psalm 82:⁴ Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
Psalm 82:⁵ They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
Psalm 82:⁶ I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
Psalm 82:⁷ But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
Psalm 82:⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.
Psalm 83:¹ Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
Psalm 83:² For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
Psalm 83:³ They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
Psalm 83:⁴ They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
Psalm 83:⁵ For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:
Psalm 83:⁶ The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
Psalm 83:⁷ Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Psalm 83:⁸ Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.
Psalm 83:⁹ Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:
Psalm 83:¹⁰ Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.
Psalm 83:¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:
Psalm 83:¹² Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
Psalm 83:¹³ O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
Psalm 83:¹⁴ As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
Psalm 83:¹⁵ So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.
Psalm 83:¹⁶ Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
Psalm 83:¹⁷ Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:
Psalm 83:¹⁸ That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
DEVOTIONAL:
Obadiah is the shortest book among the prophets, yet it carries a weighty word about pride, violence, and the moral government of God. Edom, descended from Esau, stood in a family relationship to Jacob, and that history makes the charge sharper. The prophet does not condemn Edom merely for being a foreign nation; he exposes the cruelty of a brother who rejoiced when Judah suffered. The Lord sees public injustice and hidden contempt. He remembers the wounds done to His covenant people, and He refuses to treat arrogance as harmless simply because it wears the costume of political advantage.
The covenant setting matters. Israel's election never meant that the nations were invisible to God, and the prophets repeatedly show Him as Judge of all the earth. Psalm 82 presents God standing among rulers and demanding justice for the poor, fatherless, afflicted, and needy. Psalm 83 gives voice to Israel's prayer when surrounded by hostile powers. Together with Obadiah, these Scriptures teach that the Lord's reign is neither tribal favoritism nor detached spirituality. He binds worship to righteousness, listens to the endangered, and brings the proud low so that His name may be known.
The final promise of Obadiah looks beyond Edom's fall to Zion's deliverance and to the kingdom belonging to the Lord. Christians read that hope through Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David who came in humility, bore violence without returning it, and rose as the rightful King. He fulfills Israel's hope without erasing Israel's story. In Him, Gentiles are called away from hostility and brought near by grace, not by conquest. The cross exposes the pride that would stand aloof from another's calamity, while the resurrection announces that the Judge of all nations is also the Savior of all who repent and believe.
This passage presses us to examine the sins that feel socially acceptable: delighting in an enemy's downfall, using another person's weakness for gain, refusing compassion because a group seems unlike us, or baptizing revenge with religious language. Biblical justice begins with God's holy character, not with the anger of the crowd. The people of Messiah therefore learn to grieve when others suffer, tell the truth about wrongdoing, protect the vulnerable, and pray for mercy even while asking God to restrain evil.
In daily life, Obadiah and the psalms call us to humble solidarity. Families should not weaponize old wounds, coworkers should not profit from someone else's failure, church members should not enjoy private superiority when another believer stumbles, and neighbors should not be reduced to labels. Because Jesus received judgment in the place of sinners, His people can repent quickly, forgive sincerely, defend the weak patiently, and seek holiness without becoming harsh.
In U.S. civic life, the civic virtue flowing from this reading is protective justice for those who can be easily ignored. A fitting current prayer focus is for judges, local officials, school leaders, law enforcement, and community advocates to act with fairness toward the poor, the fatherless, the afflicted, and the needy. Followers of Christ should enter public life as truth-telling neighbors who refuse cruelty, resist contempt, and serve the vulnerable without partisan pride.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Where does Obadiah reveal that God judges not only open violence but also proud indifference toward another person's calamity?
How do Psalm 82 and Psalm 83 deepen our view of God's rule over both Israel and the nations?
How does Jesus the Messiah answer the promise that the kingdom shall be the Lord's?
What form of humble protection for the vulnerable is the Spirit calling you to practice this week?
PRAYER:
ADORATION: Lord of all the earth, You stand above every nation, every ruler, and every hidden motive; Your kingdom is holy, righteous, and sure.
CONFESSION: Forgive us for pride that watches suffering from a distance, for words that make enemies seem less than human, and for comfort that becomes cold when justice is costly.
THANKSGIVING: Thank You for Jesus the Messiah, who bore shame without hatred, conquered evil through the cross, and welcomes repentant sinners into a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
SUPPLICATION – GENERAL: Make our homes, churches, and workplaces places where mercy is active, truth is spoken, and the weak are defended with patience and courage.
SUPPLICATION – U.S. / CIVIC: Give our public servants a sober fear of You, protect those who lack influence, and teach Your people to serve civic life with humility rather than contempt.
SCRIPTURE: "But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness;"