Bible Commentary

Twenty years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians (50-51 AD) to a people Paul describes “your work that comes from faith, your effort that comes from love, and your perseverance that comes from hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father” (v.3). In Paul's commendation we note the three essentials of the Christian life: faith, love, perseverance.

In this series about finding God as you face grief we read from Obadiah for an example of anger as Judah raged against the Edomites for siding with their enemy. Lamentations 1 composed a song of despair at Judah's fall. In Lamentations 3 the writer tried bargaining with God to bring vengeance on Judah's enemy. None of these common stages of grief healed or erased the pain of Judah's situation. But today Isaiah will remind us, as he speaks to Judah, that in the trials and tragedies of life God offers us encouragement and hope.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross describes bargaining as a common stage in the grieving process. We make promises to God, change a habit or attitude and get more active in church. But what about the inside of your life – a change of heart, a realization that unless motive and understanding are clarified, nothing really changes?

The Smith’s handsome young son, who had been our music leader, married and moved away. He and his wife were killed in an automobile accident within the year. I came home from Fort Worth to find a dad struck silent by grief and a mother shrieking uncontrollably.

Today marks our fifth Sunday in the book of Judges and we are still not having fun! A couple of weeks ago someone in my Sunday School class asked, “When do we get to the positive part?”

How did this “Obadiah” make it into the canon of Scripture? Twenty-three verses of anger shouted at the Edomites hardly seem edifying to a person desiring to grow in faith. Perhaps the text pushes us to face the tragedies and hard questions of life.

Because the Bible is about life, people and God, it includes tragedy and joy, failure and hope, and the powerful reminder that neither fate nor circumstance is the master of creation. Hence we have a story like Jephthah’s to remind us not to reshape God to fit our preferences or motivations.

In our current economy few people are guaranteed “a sure thing.” The economy can falter and a secure job this year may not be so secure next year. All these reasons can motivate us to earn and build as large a personal nest egg as possible to protect against potential failures. The Bible teaches us to have the right perspective on money and its use in our daily life.

When reading scripture, two things always surprise me: first, that God keeps offering us grace when we mess up and, second, that God’s way is beyond our expectations.

Interpreters of this section of Jesus’ teachings often divide it into The Two Ways (13-14); The Two Trees, sometimes called Two Kinds of Religious Leaders (15-23); and The Two Houses (24-27). Overall, some name the whole section The Great Invitation, since these verses invite persons to accept one or more pathways to life.