Daily Manna: Misery of the Unforgiving

Saturday 10, August 2013

TEXT: OBADIAH 10-21

KEY VERSE: “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever” (Obadiah 10).

Henry Ward Beecher, an American preacher once said in a sermon, “the cynic is a man who never sees a good quality in a man, and never fails to see a bad one. He is the human owl, vigilant in darkness, and blind to light, mousing for vermin, and never seeing noble game.”

This appears to be an apt description of Edom’s attitude towards Jacob, his twin brother, which God considers punishable. The frosty relationship between Edom and Israel had antecedents. From the time Esau, the progenitor of the Edomites sold his birthright to Jacob, things had never remained normal between the two. From that time, Esau continued to antagonise anything that is Jacob’s. Most unfortunately, he passed this animosity on to his children who later did terrible things against Jacob’s lineage. God considered this unacceptable and unpardonable. His consequent verdict was that Edom would be wiped out from the surface of the earth (verse 10).

Unforgiveness is a deadly sin which has the capacity to frustrate the grace of God in a believer’s life. It has wickedness, hatred and murder as siblings. It is for this reason that the Bible counsels that we do away with little foxes that spoil the vine. If you already have a challenge with unforgiveness in your life, why not return to the Cross and there abide until God pours His righteousness into your heart.

God’s verdict against Edom was justified. It was a nation that opposed all that God initiated, especially, His love and plan for Israel. As Esau was profane and refused to retain God in his knowledge, so were his descendants. It is amazing how a simple act of indiscretion could become a monster which eventually destroyed the foundation of the Edomite nation. Sin is deadly.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Sow what you expect to reap.

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