Jonah: When God Says GO, I say NO!
Devotion based on Week 4 of “The Prophets” – Jonah (WATCH HERE)
Jonah 1:-2 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
There are very few occupations that run into danger instead of away from it. For all the men and women of our armed forces, police force, firemen and paramedics, we salute you. The normal reaction to danger is to move away from it. The normal reaction to places of crime and nefarious activity is to avoid it. We are evil averse. We don’t want to be affected by it or in the middle of it (or at least I don’t.)
So God’s direction to Jonah says a lot about our God.
Where wickedness abounds, he wants his word to be proclaimed.
The LORD wasn’t ready to abandon the wicked city of Nineveh, but give them an opportunity to turn from their wickedness. We might have given up on them and written them off as “no hope,” but God didn’t.
He wanted his Word to enter the stronghold of wickedness.
So he called Jonah, son of Amittai to do it.
How would you respond to this assignment? Would you see it as a promotion? A privilege? A burden or wasted effort?
Jonah…how did he respond?
3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
Moving about 2500 miles in the opposite direction, Jonah wanted nothing to do with Nineveh and being the spokesperson for the LORD.
Like receiving a calendar invite from the LORD to go to Nineveh, Jonah quickly clicked “Declined” and created an excuse why he couldn’t do it…he would be 2500 miles away!
I find it easy to look at Jonah and shake my head and say, “Why didn’t you just go?”
What is interesting is Jonah tells us why.
Jonah 4:2 He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity
The problem for Jonah wasn’t fear of personal harm. It wasn’t imposition of time. It was the power of the grace of God. He KNEW God would relent from punishing Nineveh if they repented. He knew the power of the Word. He knew God wanted to change their hearts.
Yet his heart remained without concern or compassion for the people of Nineveh.
The LORD saw Nineveh as a people he loved and desired to turn from their wickedness and live. Jonah…just wanted a Sodom and Gomorrah light show destroying Nineveh.
When God tells you to “Go!”, what leads you to say “No!”?
Sure it can be fear, uncertainty, or different priorities, but sometimes it can be because we selfishly don’t want that person or group to hear about grace, forgiveness and the love of God.
Forgive us LORD!
As we have experienced your grace, your love and your forgiveness, let us always be ready to bring that message of repentance and forgiveness to whomever you send us…in our homes, workplaces, school classrooms, or sports field. Let us not run from your call, but run with your call!
Apply: When have you felt the “nudge” of the Lord to share your faith? Have you embraced the opportunity or “fled to Tarshish”? What was going on in your heart that led to your response?
Prayer: Lord, when you say “Go” lead me to take the message of grace and share it with whomever you put in front of me. AMEN!
Obadiah: The Kingdom Is the Lord’s!
Devotion based on Week 4 of “The Prophets” – Obadiah (WATCH HERE)
Obadiah’s prophecy closes with both sobering warning and glorious hope. After describing Edom’s pride and the destruction it would bring, Obadiah looks forward to a day when God’s people would be restored:
“People from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau, and people from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines. They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead… Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.” (Obadiah 19–21, NIV)
These verses remind us of two powerful truths: pride always leads to a fall, but God’s kingdom brings restoration and hope to the humble.
As we’ve seen this week, Edom’s downfall was rooted in pride. They trusted in their mountain strongholds, their alliances, and their wisdom. They gloated when Israel fell and even participated in their suffering. But pride blinded them to reality and made them callous to others. As Proverbs 16:18 says: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Pride today is just as dangerous. It whispers that we can handle life on our own, that our accomplishments are enough, that our worth is found in comparison to others. Pride keeps us from seeing our need for God, blinds us to the traps of sin, and leads us to treat others with indifference, or worse, with disdain.
Think of how pride shows up: in the workplace, when we insist on being right rather than working for peace. In families, when grudges are held because saying “I was wrong” feels too costly. In our spiritual lives, when we depend on our routines or knowledge rather than the grace of Christ. Pride may look strong, but it is a fragile foundation that always crumbles.
Obadiah doesn’t leave the story in ruin. He points to restoration: the people of God would once again inherit the land, their enemies would no longer triumph, and deliverers would rise up from Zion. Most importantly, he closes with this phrase: “The kingdom will be the Lord’s.”
This is the key to hope. Restoration isn’t achieved by doubling down on pride, but by repentance. Repentance is laying down our self-sufficiency and turning to God’s mercy. When we confess our pride, our self-reliance, our stubbornness, our indifference toward others, God does not meet us with rejection. Instead, He meets us with grace.
Through Christ, we see the ultimate deliverer who rose not just on Mount Zion but from the grave itself. He humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:8) and was exalted as King of Kings. Where pride brings downfall, Jesus brings forgiveness and life. Where pride enslaves, He brings freedom. Where pride isolates, He restores us into God’s family.
The final words of Obadiah anchor us: “The kingdom will be the Lord’s.” That’s the antidote to pride. We don’t have to build our own little kingdoms, prop up our egos, or cling to control. God’s kingdom is unshakable. His reign gives us strength when we feel weak, wisdom when we are confused, and answers when pride tells us to trust only ourselves.
When pride says, “I can handle it,” the Lord says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
When pride says, “I don’t need anyone,” the Lord says, “Carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2).
When pride says, “I deserve the glory,” the Lord reminds us, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31).
The good news of Obadiah is that the Lord reigns. His kingdom is eternal, His mercy is greater than our pride, and His forgiveness restores us. Align your heart to Him, and you will find strength, wisdom, and blessing far beyond what pride could ever offer.
Apply: Take time today to ask: where is pride hiding in my life? Am I trusting in my strength, my resources, or my wisdom more than God? Am I quick to judge others instead of showing compassion? Pride may feel natural, but it blinds us to God’s truth. Repentance opens our eyes and our hearts.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for the pride that blinds me and makes me rely on myself instead of You. Humble my heart so I may see Your kingdom clearly and live under Your reign. Thank You for Jesus, who conquered sin and pride through His cross and resurrection. Help me live each day trusting not in my strength but in Yours. Amen.
Obadiah: Pride turns us from others
Devotion based on Week 4 of “The Prophets” – Obadiah (WATCH HERE)
“On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.” (Obadiah 11, NIV)
The prophet Obadiah paints a sobering picture of Edom’s pride. When their brother nation Israel was under attack, instead of showing compassion, Edom stood aloof. Worse, they even joined in the looting and rejoiced over Judah’s downfall. Pride had hardened their hearts to the plight of others. Rather than seeing Israel’s suffering as an opportunity to show mercy, Edom used it to exalt themselves.
Pride does that. It blinds us to the needs of others and makes us callous to their pain. Where humility opens our eyes to suffering and moves us to compassion, pride whispers, “They got what they deserved,” or “That’s not my problem.”
Obadiah 12–14 lists Edom’s offenses: they gloated, rejoiced, boasted, looted, and even handed survivors over to their enemies. Pride not only kept them from helping — it pushed them toward harming. In their arrogance, they failed to see that their actions placed them under God’s judgment.
We see the same danger today. When a neighbor loses their job, pride can make us think, “If they had worked harder, they wouldn’t be in this mess.” When someone’s marriage falls apart, pride may cause us to gossip instead of grieve. Even in the church, pride can make us distant, critical, or self-congratulating when others struggle, instead of walking with them in compassion.
The call of Christ is different. Paul writes in Philippians 2:3–4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” To ignore the hurt of others is to walk in the way of Edom. To step into the pain of others with love is to walk in the way of Christ.
The danger of pride is that it also blinds us to our own vulnerability. God tells Edom in Obadiah 15, “The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you.” Pride may seem powerful in the moment, but it leads to destruction. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
But there is hope. God’s answer to pride is found in Jesus. Where Edom exalted themselves over others, Jesus humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). Through His humility, He broke the power of sin and pride. Through His mercy, He restores us when we repent. By His Spirit, He softens our hearts so that we no longer stand aloof, but step forward in compassion.
The good news of Obadiah is that though pride brings judgment, God provides a future: “But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance” (Obadiah 17). Deliverance comes not through our pride, but through God’s grace.
Apply: Where am I tempted to “stand aloof” to others’ pain? Do I ever gloat at another’s failure, even quietly in my heart? Look for one tangible way this week to enter into someone’s struggle with compassion instead of distance.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for the times pride has made me blind to the needs of others. Keep me from standing aloof when I could step forward in love. Deliver me from arrogance and fill me with the humility of Christ, who laid down His life for me. May Your Spirit shape me to be a person of compassion, reflecting Your mercy in an unmerciful world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Obadiah: The Folly of Prideful Wisdom!
Devotion based on Week 4 of “The Prophets” – Obadiah (WATCH HERE)
“Will I not on that day,” declares the Lord,
“destroy the wise men out of Edom,
and understanding out of Mount Esau?
Your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman,
so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
and you shall be cut off forever.”
— Obadiah 8–10 (ESV)
As we have seen this week, the short book of Obadiah is a sobering warning against pride. Today are verses that show us how pride can disguise itself as wisdom. In verses 8–10, God confronts Edom—a nation descended from Esau—for its arrogance, violence, and misplaced trust in its own wisdom and strength.
Edom was known for its strategic cities, rocky fortresses, and alliances. They believed themselves untouchable, clever, and self-sufficient. Their pride blinded them to betray their “brother Jacob”—Israel—when Israel was under attack. Rather than offering help, Edom stood aloof. Worse, they joined in the violence, taking advantage of their brother’s vulnerability.
This passage shows us the dangerous chain reaction of pride: it starts with self-assured wisdom, progresses to indifference, and eventually results in injustice. God does not overlook this.
The Lord calls out the wise men of Edom. This is not because being wise is evil, but because the Edomites had begun to idolize their own understanding. They trusted in their ability to interpret the world, to make deals, and to navigate threats, all without God. Their wisdom became self-contained and cut them off from humility and compassion.
In a culture that prizes opinion, knowledge, and being “right,” it’s easy to begin thinking we are the ultimate arbiters of truth. Pride masquerades as insight. We forget that God alone is the source of true wisdom—and that His wisdom is often upside-down from the world’s. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25).
Once Edom exalted its own wisdom, its perspective warped. Instead of seeing Israel as family, as their “brother,” they saw an opportunity. Instead of empathy, they chose advantage. This is what pride does: it isolates us in a world where we are always right, always the most important, and always justified in our apathy.
When we think we see clearly without God’s light, we end up blind to understanding the pain of others. We no longer feel the urgency to help, to advocate, or to step into someone else’s suffering. Like Edom, we can find ourselves standing by while others hurt.
True wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord and acknowledgement that all wisdom comes from him. God’s wisdom begins with humility. James 3:17 says, “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits.” That kind of wisdom isn’t focused on being right or powerful—it’s marked by compassion and perspective.
The tragedy of Edom was that they forgot their story. They forgot their connection to Jacob, their shared heritage, and the covenant God made with both nations. When we walk in pride, we forget our own need for grace. And when we forget our need, we withhold it from others.
Obadiah reminds us that wisdom without humility is no wisdom at all. Pride in our own intellect or insight leads us to isolation, cruelty, and ultimately destruction. But when we submit our minds and hearts to the Lord, He reshapes our perspective—restoring empathy, renewing compassion, and calling us back to love.
Apply: Consider today where you have set your wisdom up before the Lord’s wisdom. Does your “know it all” spirit get in the way of caring for others.
Prayer: Lord, strip away any pride that blinds us. May we walk not in the arrogance of our own understanding, but in the humble, others-focused wisdom that comes from above.AMEN
Obadiah: The Traps of Pride
Devotion based on Week 4 of “The Prophets” – Obadiah (WATCH HERE)
“If thieves came to you, if robbers in the night—Oh, what a disaster awaits you—would they not steal only as much as they wanted? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? But how Esau will be ransacked, his hidden treasures pillaged! All your allies will force you to the border; your friends will deceive and overpower you; those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect it.” (Obadiah 5–7, NIV)
Pride is dangerous. Obadiah delivers a striking picture of Edom’s downfall comparing it to thieves who come in and steal. However, unlike ordinary thieves who take only what they want, Edom’s destruction would be total. Allies would betray them, friends would deceive them, and traps would be set that they would never see coming. The reason? Pride had blinded them. They trusted in their strongholds, their alliances, and their own cunning. But the very things they leaned on became the source of their downfall.
Pride does that. It blinds us to reality, makes us overconfident, and dulls our awareness of danger. Just as Edom did not see betrayal coming, pride can leave us vulnerable to spiritual traps. How so?
- The Trap of Self-Sufficiency
Edom trusted in their wisdom, wealth, and mountain fortresses (v. 3–4). We fall into the same trap when we believe we don’t need God’s help. Self-sufficiency seems like strength, but it’s actually a trap that isolates us from God’s grace. God becomes a last resort versus a point of first reliance. Our culture boasts “self-sufficiency” as a virtue but often leaves the Lord out of the picture. We must remember Jesus’ words in John 15:5 “Apart from me you can do nothing.” - The Trap of False Security
Edom thought their allies would protect them, but those very allies betrayed them. We too can put false security in friends, career success, or financial stability. These can all crumble overnight. True security is only in Christ. As King David understood in Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” - The Trap of Deception
Pride convinces us that we see things clearly, when in fact we may be blind to danger. Just like Edom’s leaders, who didn’t notice betrayal brewing, we too can miss Satan’s traps of temptation, compromise, or worldly thinking. Accepting a small tweak on God’s truth can leave us distant from a biblical foundation. Wanting the friendship or employment can lead us to “justify” behavior or priorities that lead us away from a solid relationship with Christ. Pride is deceiving. Satan is the father of lies and loves to distort the truth. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
So how do we avoid pride’s blindness?
- Stay Humble: Recognize daily that we need God’s wisdom, not just our own. Humility keeps our eyes open. (James 4:6)
- Stay Rooted in God’s Word: Scripture acts as a plumb line to reveal truth when pride tempts us to ignore warning signs. (Psalm 119:105)
- Stay Dependent on Christ: Through prayer and trust in Jesus, we find real strength and protection that no earthly alliance can provide. (Philippians 4:13)
- Stay Alert in Community: God gives us fellow believers in our church who speak truth, hold us accountable, and help us notice dangers we might miss. (Hebrews 10:24–25)
The traps are real. Be alert. Be watchful. Be humble so you don’t get caught!
Apply: Pride says: “I’ve got this.” Faith says: “God’s got me.” Take time today to ask: Where am I trusting in my own strength instead of God’s? Are there areas of my life where I’m blind to danger because pride tells me I’m secure? Confess those to the Lord and ask Him to open your eyes.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for the pride that blinds me to dangers and makes me trust in myself more than in You. Keep me humble and alert. Protect me from the traps of self-sufficiency, false security, and deception. Teach me to walk in Your wisdom, depend on Your grace, and rest in Your strength. In Jesus’ name, Amen.