“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”
OBADIAH
JOURNAL
When I read Obadiah through the lens of how God sees it, the foolishness of hate becomes almost painful. Violence against a brother. Standing back while harm is done. Quiet satisfaction when someone else falls. God names it plainly, not just as wrongdoing, but as a distortion of what we were created to be. Gloating over another’s misfortune, rejoicing in their trouble, protecting our own position while someone else suffers. None of that reflects His heart.
Edom wasn’t powerless or overlooked. They were strong, established, secure in the mountains of Seir. Yet instead of using that strength for peace, they used it to compete, to resent, to strike when Israel was weak. From God’s perspective, it isn’t just political betrayal, it’s a brother turning against a brother. Possessiveness, selfishness, and pride masquerading as strength. God sees how small that kind of power really is.
What strikes me is the contrast. God confronts Israel’s rebellion directly, but His goal is always restoration. With Edom, the issue runs deeper. It’s the refusal to love. The choice to harden the heart, to delight in another’s downfall, to elevate self at the expense of relationship. That way of living can’t coexist with God’s design, so it ultimately collapses under its own weight.
Revelation paints the opposite picture. The prayers of God’s people rise like incense before Him. He sees every cry, every longing for justice, every desire for restoration. And when He responds, it’s not random or cruel. It’s decisive. God moves to set things right, to shake what is broken, to remind creation that harmony matters to Him.
What I keep coming back to is this. God didn’t create us to compete like rivals or hoard what we think is ours. He created us for harmony with Him and with one another. We were meant to push each other toward our best selves, not tear each other down. That is the higher-minded spirit God has placed within us. Love that refines instead of destroys. Truth that heals instead of humiliates.
Paul’s words in Corinthians feel less like poetry and more like a measuring line straight from the heart of God. Love is patient and kind. It doesn’t envy or boast. It isn’t proud or self-seeking. It doesn’t delight in evil or keep score. It protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. From God’s perspective, anything that falls short of that isn’t wisdom or strength. It’s foolishness. And love, real love, is the clearest evidence that we are living the way we were created to live.
When I read Obadiah through the lens of how God sees it, the foolishness of hate becomes almost painful. Violence against a brother. Standing back while harm is done. Quiet satisfaction when someone else falls. God names it plainly, not just as wrongdoing, but as a distortion of what we were created to be. Gloating over another’s misfortune, rejoicing in their trouble, protecting our own position while someone else suffers. None of that reflects His heart.
Edom wasn’t powerless or overlooked. They were strong, established, secure in the mountains of Seir. Yet instead of using that strength for peace, they used it to compete, to resent, to strike when Israel was weak. From God’s perspective, it isn’t just political betrayal, it’s a brother turning against a brother. Possessiveness, selfishness, and pride masquerading as strength. God sees how small that kind of power really is.
What strikes me is the contrast. God confronts Israel’s rebellion directly, but His goal is always restoration. With Edom, the issue runs deeper. It’s the refusal to love. The choice to harden the heart, to delight in another’s downfall, to elevate self at the expense of relationship. That way of living can’t coexist with God’s design, so it ultimately collapses under its own weight.
Revelation paints the opposite picture. The prayers of God’s people rise like incense before Him. He sees every cry, every longing for justice, every desire for restoration. And when He responds, it’s not random or cruel. It’s decisive. God moves to set things right, to shake what is broken, to remind creation that harmony matters to Him.
What I keep coming back to is this. God didn’t create us to compete like rivals or hoard what we think is ours. He created us for harmony with Him and with one another. We were meant to push each other toward our best selves, not tear each other down. That is the higher-minded spirit God has placed within us. Love that refines instead of destroys. Truth that heals instead of humiliates.
Paul’s words in Corinthians feel less like poetry and more like a measuring line straight from the heart of God. Love is patient and kind. It doesn’t envy or boast. It isn’t proud or self-seeking. It doesn’t delight in evil or keep score. It protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. From God’s perspective, anything that falls short of that isn’t wisdom or strength. It’s foolishness. And love, real love, is the clearest evidence that we are living the way we were created to live.
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