“All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads.” These words, the Lord said to the Edomites in the book of Obadiah. Did you ever wonder, What are the consequences of disobedience to God? Read on to see what happened to Edom and what will happen with us.
The people of Israel will be a raging fire and Edom a field of dry stubble. The descendants of Joseph will be a flame roaring across the field, devouring everything. There will be no survivors in Edom. I, the Lord, have spoken! Obadiah 1:18
A friend of mine is a farmer who raises corn, soybeans, and some cattle, but his main crops are hay and straw. He spends his summer bailing them and filling at least two large barns.
Straw is very useful as bedding. Animals love it. And humans can be comfortable laying on it because it is so soft.
One of the things it is not good for is burning. It burns very well, but it burns too fast. One second it is here, the next it is gone.
It’s hard to use as a fire starter because it doesn’t burn long enough to ignite the kindling. Because straw is so light, when it burns, the ashes blow away, leaving nothing behind.
The Consequences of Disobedience
That is exactly what God was saying about the house of Edom. They would burn up quickly and completely and there would be absolutely nothing left of them.
Why would the Lord do such a thing to a nation who were close relatives to the Israelites? The answer was written earlier in this chapter.
The Edomites not only refused to help the Israelites when they were taken into captivity, but they gloated and rejoiced because of it. Their decision resulted in disobedience to God.
They then went into Israel and plundered the land, taking all of their wealth. In verse 15, the Lord says, “All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads.”
The Lord says the same thing to us, only differently. Edom received judgment because of what they did. Now, in the New Testament, our judgment comes because of what we don’t do.
The Results of Obedience
Jesus died and rose again as the ultimate sacrifice. He made salvation available to all who will accept that for themselves. If a person does not accept this salvation will face eternal judgment.
If we take a look in the book of Galatians, chapter 6 says, “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” 6:7
As a young person, I learned that verse worded like this, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
Just a side note on the wording of that translation. Satan will do everything he can to deceive people from believing that salvation is as easy as receiving Jesus..
Our verse for today talks about the total destruction of Edom. The Edomites thought they were getting away with something but they weren’t. We won’t get anything past the Lord either! Obedience to the Word will keep us from seeing the consequences of disobedience to God.
Lord, help us to sow love, hope and joy, not selfishness or discord, for we want to reap a life that you favor.
Related Posts
Read Obadiah, It’s only one chapter.
Check out this related post on temptation which could lead to disobedience to God
Also this other related post called How To Reach Lost People For The Kingdom Of God.
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