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Daily Devotions

Obadiah

Obadiah 
Day 
Day 12

"Even destroy the wise men"

Text: Obadiah 8

THE ROLE OF ADVISERS

Every kingdom had some kind of infrastructure. From a careful reading of Obadiah, we can figure out the basic infrastructure.

1. The king

2. The army of the king

3. The allies of the king

4. The “wise men” who gave advice to the king

a) For economic growth.
b) For stability and strength.

Edom may have felt very secure. The kingdom had survived for a very long time. It had been able to survive over many years! It had waged wars successfully with their allies against their enemies.

A WORD OF WARNING FROM THE LORD

But Edom had left God out of the picture. Its original roots included a religion where the Lord God was worshipped by their illustrious ancestors like Isaac and Abraham. This God now addressed Edom solemnly.

“‘Will I not in that day,’ says the LORD,
‘Even destroy the wise men from Edom.'”
Obadiah 8

1. “Says the LORD”

a) The LORD made Himself known to Edom.
b) The leaders of Edom were addressed.
i) The king
ii) The military leaders
iii) The wise men

2. In the past

a) Edom had a very violent history.
b) It had been hostile to Israel right from the start.
c) It refused to acknowledge Israel as a nation.
d) It was likely that the wise men guide the king of Edom in foreign affairs.

3. “Even destroy the wise men from Edom”

a) One of the things God could do to affect the strength of Edom was to destroy the wise men.
b) Without their counsel the king would not be able to govern the nation as effectively.
c) There was nothing the wise men or the king could do to prevent the destruction of the wise men.