Devotionals

THE VALIDITY OF A RUMOUR

by Henry Jaegers
07/29/19
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THE VALIDITY OF A RUMOUR

By Henry Jaegers

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.  Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. (Obadiah 1:1,2)

The first word that captures my attention in this verse, is the word rumour. It is somewhat deceiving because according to modern vernacular, it has something to do with gossip. When we hear somebody say something is a rumour, they usually mean that it is a message that's going around that is not necessarily true. It cannot be verified; it is merely something that has been heard.

Webster's dictionary does not give us a lot of help on this, but what it does tell us is that it is something that is heard or a message or something whispered which often comes into the category of gossip.

The scriptural word rumour, means merely a message that has been spoken or determined. So, to properly understand the message before us it is necessary to clarify the biblical meaning of the word “rumour”. We cannot dismiss the fact that the word is before us in the authorized version.

Perhaps the Hebrew rendition gives us more clarity of what this verse is telling us:

This is the vision of ‘Ovadyah. Here is what Adonai ELOHIM says about Edom. As a messenger was being sent among the nations saying, “Come on, let’s attack her,” we heard a message from ADONAI:

I have chosen the title "the validity of a rumor" because it is not a form of gossip but a message sent from God by the hand of Obadiah to the nation of Edom. When considering this title, I see three important factors that should be considered in this verse.

1. It is a message from God and is not an arbitrary form of communication. Because of Edom's wickedness, the message is set in concrete and determined to happen. No matter how profane Edom is and no matter how greatly has been his rejection of God, he is about to discover that he, by his own choice, has become the enemy of God and must face the consequences of that action. No matter how secure Edom thinks that he is, he has become insecure by his choice to reject the counsels and the person of God.

2. It is a message sent to those who are to be the instruments of destruction. They are God's messengers like Babylon was to Israel, so are they chosen by God to bring Edom down. They are men who are not threatened by Edom’s security or pride but have devised a method and a way to bring Edom down. When the Scripture said that an ambassador is sent, it merely means that the message has gone forth and the nation has been chosen to do the work of God. Although these messengers of God do not understand what is happening with them, and to them, behind the scenes, the ambassador is the message and the idea sent from God is to activate these nations to do his will concerning Edom. They are ambassadors sent from God with a purpose.

3. The message is concerning Edom. They are trenched in totally secure in their circumstances and situation. They have deliberately set themselves up to be invulnerable and unable to be detected or defeated. There were mountains, caves, guards and high cliffs where they would be able to detect any invading forces, but the fact is, that God has determined this evil against them and they are about to realize that God, not themselves, is in control.

The message we wish to Convey from these verses is that God always has the last word in all matters. When we choose to follow him and be faithful, He always has our back, and we have security against all who are against him. But if we, like Esau, place too much confidence in our own talents and abilities, God has his ways of bringing us down. What we mean by that, is not necessarily down to destruction, but maybe just down to earth as we come to realize what worms we are when it comes to understanding and doing the will of God. I recently read an interesting article by G Campbell Morgan, and he made this statement, that before promotion or success can happen, there must be failure. If there is no failure then there can be no progress.

So, if you happened to be in the circumstance where fear of failure dominates your life, be encouraged, because failure is our greatest teacher and the greatest lessons that we can learn is not when we are up but when we are down. Someone has wisely said that the Christian life is like an elevator. The way up is through the “abasement”. Well said!