Rev. Michael Piazza in Liberating Word says of Obadiah, “the book of Obadiah is only one chapter long; twenty-one verses about a nation that is now extinct. While it is tough to see its scriptural value, I wonder if it is not a parable, like one found in Genesis. Just a few chapters before we find the story of Jacob and Esau, there is a story about two brothers. As you will recall, Cain killed his brother Abel. When he was confronted by God, the murderer’s question was “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Obadiah is saying that this is a question only murderers would ask. We are all cousins and have an obligation to help one another if we can. If we ever forget that, the ultimate result will be human extinction.”
About the book of Jonah Rev Michael Piazza in Liberating Word says “Like Obadiah, the book actually addresses a foreign country, but the point was probably aimed at the people of God. Jonah is call by God to go to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. ,,Assyria was a military empire centered in what is modern day Iraq. They existed for three centuries and were hated by their neighbors who they raided, kidnapped, and abused at will…God calls Jonah to go and preach to this hated city and call the residents to repent…In general, the Hebrews were not seagoing people, so the writer’s point in the parable is that Jonah decided to flee from God by going to the end of the earth…In verse 9, Jonah repents and, with a prayer of thanksgiving, promises to keep his vow to God…So, the people of Nineveh heeded Jonah’s warning, and everyone, for the King on down, turned from their wicked ways and repented.
In chapter 4, we find a great passage about how angry Jonah is that God has spared the people, which was exactly what Jonah had feared would happen. He didn’t want them to change their ways, and he sure didn’t want God not to annihilate them. They were enemies, and annihilation was exactly what they deserved. Nothing would have made Jonah happier, and hence nothing could have made Jonah angrier than to see unworthy enemies redeemed. Like all of us, Jonah believed in grace, until he had to offer it to someone he didn’t like. Grace is really what most Christians hate most about God.”
Rev. Michael Piazza in Liberating Word says of Obadiah, “the book of Obadiah is only one chapter long; twenty-one verses about a nation that is now extinct. While it is tough to see its scriptural value, I wonder if it is not a parable, like one found in Genesis. Just a few chapters before we find the story of Jacob and Esau, there is a story about two brothers. As you will recall, Cain killed his brother Abel. When he was confronted by God, the murderer’s question was “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
ReplyDeleteObadiah is saying that this is a question only murderers would ask. We are all cousins and have an obligation to help one another if we can. If we ever forget that, the ultimate result will be human extinction.”
About the book of Jonah Rev Michael Piazza in Liberating Word says “Like Obadiah, the book actually addresses a foreign country, but the point was probably aimed at the people of God. Jonah is call by God to go to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. ,,Assyria was a military empire centered in what is modern day Iraq. They existed for three centuries and were hated by their neighbors who they raided, kidnapped, and abused at will…God calls Jonah to go and preach to this hated city and call the residents to repent…In general, the Hebrews were not seagoing people, so the writer’s point in the parable is that Jonah decided to flee from God by going to the end of the earth…In verse 9, Jonah repents and, with a prayer of thanksgiving, promises to keep his vow to God…So, the people of Nineveh heeded Jonah’s warning, and everyone, for the King on down, turned from their wicked ways and repented.
In chapter 4, we find a great passage about how angry Jonah is that God has spared the people, which was exactly what Jonah had feared would happen. He didn’t want them to change their ways, and he sure didn’t want God not to annihilate them. They were enemies, and annihilation was exactly what they deserved. Nothing would have made Jonah happier, and hence nothing could have made Jonah angrier than to see unworthy enemies redeemed. Like all of us, Jonah believed in grace, until he had to offer it to someone he didn’t like. Grace is really what most Christians hate most about God.”